Information for Referrers

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Page Contents

  1. General information
  2. Who can make a referral
  3. Responsibilities for Referrers
  4. How to amend or cancel a referral
  5. Referral guidelines

1. General information

The following outlines referral guidelines for registered healthcare professionals referring patients for diagnostic or therapeutic nuclear medicine procedures at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Nuclear Medicine procedures are performed at the following sites within MFT:

Nuclear Medicine

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9WL

0161 276 4820

  • All general nuclear medicine procedures as outlined in these guidelines
  • PET-CT studies referred via The Christie PET Portal for oncological indications
  • PET-CT studies for non-oncological indications as defined in these guidelines
  • PET-CT myocardial perfusion studies
  • Radioactive iodine therapy for benign thyrotoxicosis

Isotopes Department

Wythenshawe Hospital
Southmoor Road
Wythenshawe
Manchester
M23 9LT

0161 291 2101

  • All general Nuclear Medicine procedures with the exception of myocardial perfusion studies

Nuclear Medicine

North Manchester General Hospital
Delaunays Road
Crumpsall
Manchester
M8 5RB

0161 720 2310

  • All general Nuclear Medicine procedures as defined in these guidelines

Referrals for any clinical indication not listed in these guidelines should be discussed directly with one of our Nuclear Medicine Practitioners before referral. The departments can be reached via email on mft.nm@nhs.net or via the contact details above.

Patients requiring general anaesthetic

Currently it is only possible to provide general anaesthetic for paediatric patients referred for PET-CT assessment of congenital hyperinsulinism.

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2. Who can make a referral

  • We do not routinely accept referrals from General Practitioners and expect these patients to have been seen by a Consultant under the appropriate speciality.
  • Internal MFT referrers must use the Hive EPR system for making referrals.
  • External referrers made either post or email the referral to the department. It is also possible to make external referrals using Epic Care Link if a referrer has access.
  • Non-medical referrers may make referrals as defined within their scope of practice where they have been trained and entitled by MFT.
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3. Responsibilities for Referrers

The following outlines the responsibilities of the referrer when referring patients for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures involving ionising radiation – as defined under the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposures) Regulations 2017 (IR(ME)R) as amended. Any referral not meeting these criteria will not be actioned and be returned to the referrer.

  • The referrer must be a registered healthcare professional as defined in IR(ME)R.
  • Referrers must consider the referral guidelines provided below.
  • Any referral not within the guidelines below should be discussed directly with one of the Nuclear Medicine Practitioners.
  • Referrers must provide enough information to enable us to appropriately identify the individual undergoing the procedure e.g. full name, date of birth, address, NHS number and/or local hospital number as applicable.
  • Referrers must provide sufficient relevant clinical history to enable the appropriateness of the procedure and justification of the medical exposure to be evaluated by the practitioner.
  • Where appropriate please ensure you provide information on pregnancy or breastfeeding.
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4. How to amend or cancel a referral

To help avoid any accidental or unintended exposures to our patients, any amendments or cancellations to referrals must be communicated to the Nuclear Medicine department as soon as possible.

For interval (Hive) referrals this can be performed using the Hive secure chat functionality.

For external referrals this can be done by contacting the department at mft.nm@nhs.net or via the following numbers:

Oxford Road                    0161 276 4820

Wythenshawe                0161 291 2101

North Manchester       0161 720 2310

Any cancellations must be followed up with personal communication for confirmation.

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5. Referral guidelines

5.1 PET-CT (oncology)

Referrals oncology PET-CT must be made via The Christe PET Referral Portal (https://petct-portal.christie.nhs.uk/). These will be managed centrally and allocated the most appropriate imaging site within the Greater Manchester PET-CT network. Referrers should follow to RCR Evidence-based Guidelines for the use of PET-CT in the United Kingdom (as revised) found here: https://www.rcr.ac.uk/our-services/all-our-publications/clinical-radiology-publications/.

5.2 PET-CT (non-oncology)

Referral for non-oncology PET-CT may be made either via The Christie PET Referral Portal (https://petct-portal.christie.nhs.uk/) or directly to the department using the contact information given. We currently accept referrals for:

  • Dementia, epilepsy
  • Congenital hyperinsulinism
  • Infection or inflammation
  • Vasculitis
  • Cardiac Sarcoid
  • Myocardial viability assessment
  • Cardiac implantable device related infection
  • Infective endocarditis – prosthetic and tissue valve
  • Non cardiac Sarcoid
  • PUO

5.3 Myocardial perfusion imaging

MFT will accept referrals under the following guidelines issued by the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology:

  • Appropriate Use Criteria for Cardiac Radionuclide Imaging

https://www.asnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AUC-for-Cardiac-Radionuclide-Imaging.pdf

  • Appropriate Use Criteria for PET Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/61/8/1221

5.4 General nuclear medicine procedures

Click the link below to download a table of referral criteria for general Nuclear Medicine procedures performed within MFT.

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