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Neurodevelopmental Services

BLOFIELD SURGERY: PATIENT INFORMATION FOR NEURODEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES 

Due to increased requests for ADHD or Autism assessments, we hope the following information will be helpful in navigating the different referral processes and potential outcomes.  

Children (0-18) 

Referral to Local NHS Services for Assessment and Diagnosis 

Child is >6 years old  

If your child is >6 years of age and attends school then the school should make the referral for assessment, rather than the GP. This new referral pathway was created in June 2024 and recognises that schools are in a better position to gather the necessary information for referral. 

The following website outlines the referral process. This information can be passed to the school in case they are not yet aware of this new referral process.  

6 years plus Assessment Team | NCH&C (norfolkcommunityhealthandcare.nhs.uk) 

If your child is >6 years of age and is either home schooled or does not attend school at all, please book a routine appointment to discuss your concerns as these referrals in this category would be made by the GP 

Child is <6 years of old 

ADHD – ADHD referrals cannot be made until the child is 6 years old. If you have concerns, support can be accessed via Just One Norfolk if needed  

Autism – Please book a routine appointment to discuss concerns about autism with the GP. We can refer under the age of 6 if there are concerns about autism (for example if there are significant social communication problems). Your Health visiting team may also be a useful point of contact to discuss concerns.  

Referral via Right to Choose 

Referral via Right to Choose provides you the option of seeking assessment via a provider of your choice.  

In this circumstance: 

  • You need to investigate and decide which provider you would like to be referred to – we cannot recommend providers. We acknowledge there are many providers that can be accessed nationwide via the Right to Choose Pathway 
  • The Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) have currently approved four Right to Choose providers for ADHD and autism assessments: 
  • Once you have chosen a provider, please visit their website and ensure you have filled out all the pre-referral information (each provider will require something different to refer and without this information we will be unable to refer) 
  • Then contact the reception team at Blofield Surgery to ask for a referral to one of the listed providers and which condition you would like to be assessed for.  
  • If, following an assessment medication is prescribed, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to provide this medication, but each case will be reviewed on an individual basis  
  • Blofield Surgery will consider shared care prescribing on a case-by-case basis only if the assessment has been carried out by one of the above ICB approved assessment services.  
  • If we do take on shared care prescribing and the provider does not or is unable to fulfil their part of the shared care agreement, then we will not be able to continue prescribing specialist medications until back under NHS services (part of the safe prescribing of these medications means you must have annual review with the specialist whilst you remain on the medication) 
  • Please note that providers may periodically pause accepting any new referrals.   

 

 

 

BLOFIELD SURGERY: PATIENT INFORMATION FOR NEURODEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES 

Adults (>18 years) 

Referral to Local NHS Services for Assessment and Diagnosis 

 

ADHD 

For referral to local NHS services, please contact the reception team to book a routine GP appointment  

Autism 

You can self-refer for an NHS autism assessment via Autism Service Norfolk, using the link below. We advise that if you do this, please contact the reception team or complete an online Accurx Query form to inform us.  

Autism Service Norfolk | NCH&C (norfolkcommunityhealthandcare.nhs.uk) 

Right to Choose 

Referral via Right to Choose provides you the option of seeking assessment via a provider of your choice.  

In this circumstance: 

  • You need to investigate and decide which provider you would like us to refer to – we cannot recommend providers. We acknowledge there are many providers that can be accessed nationwide via the Right to Choose Pathway 
  • The Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) have currently approved four Right to Choose providers for ADHD and autism assessments: 
  • The Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) have approved four Right to Choose providers: 
  • Once you have chosen a provider, please visit their website and ensure you have filled out all the pre-referral information (each provider will require something different to refer and without this information we will be unable to refer) 
  • Then contact the reception team at Blofield Surgery to ask for a referral to one of the listed providers and which condition you would like to be assessed for.  
  • If, following an assessment medication is prescribed, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to provide this medication, but each case will be reviewed on an individual basis  
  • Blofield Surgery will consider shared care prescribing on a case-by-case basis only if the assessment has been carried out by one of the above ICB approved assessment services.  
  • If we do take on shared care prescribing and the provider does not or is unable to fulfil their part of the shared care agreement, then we will not be able to continue prescribing specialist medications until back under NHS services (part of the safe prescribing of these medications means you must have annual review with the specialist whilst you remain on the medication) 
  • Please note that providers may periodically pause accepting any new referrals.   

Blofield Surgery – Patient information for neurodevelopmental Services

CPNs, Physiotherapist, Speech Therapist, Dietician, Occupational Therapist, Macmillan Nurses, Counsellor.


These are services to which the Practice has access and we are able to

refer patients to them as the need arises.

The Health Visitor

The Health Visitor holds mother and baby clinics at Heathlands Village Hall, Blofield Heath each month and also carries out home visits. Her work mostly involves health matters of mothers and young families and monitoring the development of the under fives. She can be telephoned directly to discuss any problems in these areas.

The Midwife

The Midwife works in co-operation with your doctor and the hospital obstetricians to provide all the necessary care during pregnancy and after confinement. She holds weekly antenatal clinics at the surgery, carries out home visits and arranges parentcraft classes.

The Community Nurses

Our Community Nurses provide the domiciliary nursing care for people registered with the Blofield Surgery and are in daily contact with the doctors. They are also part of a nursing team who together cover a wider area.

You can contact them by telephoning the surgery.

Health Care Assistants

The Health Care Assistants deal with blood tests, blood pressure monitoring, smoking cessation advice, ECG’s, NHS Health Checks, ear irrigation, stitch removal, routine dressings, 24Hr Blood Pressure monitoring, 24Hr ECG monitoring, B12 injections, INR Clinics, etc

Nurse Prescriber

The Nurse Prescriber is able to deal with most minor injuries and minor illnesses such as coughs, earache, diarrhoea, rash, skin infections, red eye, allergic reactions, cystitis, thrush, childhood illnesses, emergency contraception and others. They are qualified to issue prescriptions.

Our Nurse Prescriber covers the majority of available same day appointments.

Practice Nurses

The practice nurses can give help and advice on many aspects of health care such as vaccinations and immunisations, cervical smears, complicated dressing of wounds, diet, pessary changes, child immunisations, NHS travel vaccines, breast self-examination and general health advice. They run chronic disease management surgeries covering areas such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, etc 

Nurse Practitioner

The Nurse Practitioner’s role is to work alongside the GPs to see, assess and treat patients for conditions such as chest infections, back pain, general infections, abdominal pains, minor injuries, emotional health, women’s health, unwell children, skin conditions, migraines etc.  They will offer advice and support, can prescribe medications if appropriate, order X-rays and refer to the hospital for routine or emergency admission.   

Our Nurse Practitioner covers the majority of available same day appointments.

Family Planning

Advice can be obtained from any of the doctors during normal surgery hours by booking an appointment.

  • Contraception is available on an emergency basis or routinely.
  • Smear tests can be booked with a nurse.
  • Breast screening is arranged locally and appointments will automatically be sent to women in the appropriate age group.