IMPORTANT: Change to Medway and Swale TIA referral pathway from 26 June 2023
Urgent changes in the pathway for transient ischaemic attack (TIA) services for Medway and Swale patients will be in place from Monday 26 June. This is due to an urgent, unresolvable workforce issue.
Instead of GPs in Medway and Swale referring patients to Medway Community Healthcare (MCH), GPs in Medway and Swale will need to refer patients, depending on the patient’s postcode, to either Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Foundation Trust (MTW) or Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (DGT).
From Monday 26 June, referrals will need to be sent to either MTW or DGT, dependent on the patient’s postcode.
All patients with a ME2 and ME3 postcode requiring a referral to the TIA service need to be sent to the DGT TIA service at dgn-tr.dvhstrokeservices@nhs.net.
All patients with a ME1, ME4, ME5, ME6, ME7, ME8, ME9, ME10, ME11 and ME12 postcode requiring a referral to the TIA service will need to be sent to the MTW TIA service at mtw-tr.tia-ref@nhs.net.
The referral form for both MTW and DGT are linked here It has also been added to the DXS system.
The patient may need to attend clinic at either MTW or DGT to see a stroke clinician.
The diagnostics will be co-ordinated and provided by the accepting provider and the patient will need to travel to either site to attend the diagnostic appointments.
Should a patient need help with transport, patient transport should be accessed in the usual way but please ensure that patients are aware they will be attending MTW and DGT.