Once you have been referred into a Hospital, you will follow a pathway until you are treated or discharged.

A common pathway is;

• First Outpatient appointment (usually within 6 weeks of referral)
• A diagnostic test of some kind i.e. X-rays e.g. CT/MRI/Ultrasound, Echocardiograms (ECG’s) nerve conduction studies, Endoscopies (usually within 6 weeks)
• You may receive notification at this stage that everything is normal and therefore you will be discharged back to the care of your GP
• Or you may receive a follow up appointment to discuss the results of your test and the next steps
• If you then require surgery to treat your condition you will probably need a pre-admission appointment to make sure that you are fit for surgery
• You will either receive your surgery as a day case patient, in which case you can go home on the same day that you receive your surgery or as an Inpatient where you will be given a date to be admitted to Hospital to receive your treatment
• Treatment could be medication, a tube of cream, advice, surgery or other interventions
• If you fail to attend any of these appointments, the Hospital are allowed to discharge you back to your GP and you will no longer be under the care of the Hospital.