There are several ways you can check the status of a hospital referral or appointment yourself, without needing to contact the surgery.
Using the NHS App
If your GP referred you through the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) — which is the case for most GP referrals — you may be able to view your referral and appointment details directly in the NHS App. Once logged in, go to Appointments to see your referral information.
If you haven’t already set up the NHS App, you can download it free from the App Store or Google Play. You’ll need to verify your identity using NHS login.
Find out more about the NHS App
Using a patient portal link
When you were referred, you may have received a letter or email with a unique link or reference number to access the relevant hospital or clinic’s own patient portal. This can allow you to view your referral status, confirm you’re on the waiting list, and in some cases book or change your appointment.
Not all services offer this feature, and what’s available varies between hospitals and departments — but if you received a link, it’s worth trying first.
Contacting the hospital or clinic directly
The quickest way to get an update on your referral is usually to contact the hospital or clinic’s appointments team directly. They can confirm your referral has been received, tell you roughly where you are in the queue, and in some cases arrange an earlier appointment.
The contact number for your specific department or service will be on any letter you’ve received from the hospital. If you haven’t received a letter yet, you can contact the relevant hospital switchboard:
- Salisbury District Hospital — 01722 336262 (Ask to be connected to the relevant department’s appointments team)
- Find your department on the Salisbury NHS website
If the hospital can’t help — asking us to write on your behalf
If you’ve already contacted the hospital or service and weren’t able to get a resolution, we can write to them on your behalf to request that your referral or appointment be reviewed.
This is not something we can do automatically — we’ll need you to request this from us and complete a short form first. Here’s how:
- Contact our reception team — let us know by phone or in person that you’d like us to write to the service on your behalf
- We’ll send you a form — our admin team will email you a Referral Expedition Request Form to complete
- Fill in the form yourself — the form asks for your referral details, your reasons for the request, and any changes to your symptoms. We cannot complete this on your behalf
- Return it to us — email the completed form to orchard.clinical@nhs.net or hand it in at reception
- We write to the service — our admin team will send a letter and your completed form to the relevant hospital or clinic
We aim to do this within ten working days of receiving your completed form. Please note that we cannot guarantee your appointment will be brought forward — that decision rests with the hospital’s clinical team.
Contact us
Phone: Please see relevant contact section above or Email: orchard.clinical@nhs.net
You can also contact us through the NHS App or by speaking to a member of our reception team in person.