How to Refer a Family
Referrals can be made by writing to the Unit. Occasionally patients contact us directly but we ask them to seek referral through their general practitioner, who may have other useful information about the family.
Urgent Referrals
For urgent referrals (e.g. during pregnancy) families can always be seen within a few days in Birmingham.
Where the Family Can be Seen
The clinical service offers:
- general genetic clinics
- specialist genetic clinics
- ward consultations
- domiciliary consultations
- telephone consultations for professional colleagues
General Genetics Clinics
These are held weekly in Birmingham and on a regular basis at hospitals throughout the region.
In order to provide a district based service, consultants and genetic counsellors are responsible for certain segments of the region and some genetic counsellors are now based in districts.
If you wish your patient to be seen in the local genetic clinic please specifically request this in the referral letter - the consultant to whom you write will then pass on the referral to the appropriate colleague. If, however, you wish a particular clinician to see a patient (because of a known specialist interest) please make this clear in the referral letter; it is more likely that the patient will be offered an appointment in Birmingham in this instance.
Patients from districts without a local genetic clinic are offered appointments with the consultant responsible for their district at Birmingham Women's Hospital.
| District | Hospital Venue | Consultant |
| Bromsgrove & Redditch | The Alexandra Hospital | A Norman |
| Herefordshire | County Hospital | P Farndon |
| Kidderminster | Kidderminster Health Centre | A Norman |
| Evesham | Community Hospital | A Norman |
| Worcester | Worcestershire Royal Hospital | A Norman |
| Shropshire | Royal Shrewsbury/Princess Royal | C Oley |
| Mid Staffordshire | Stafford | J Morton, S Bowden |
| North Staffordshire | North Staffs | T Cole, S Sharif |
| South East Staffordshire | Queen's, Burton | C Oley |
| Rugby | Orchard Centre | L Brueton |
| North Warwickshire | George Eliot | L Brueton, S Sharif |
| South Warwickshire | Warwick | L Brueton, S Sharif |
| South/Central Birmingham | Women's/Children's | D Williams, S Sharif |
| East Birmingham | Heartlands | C McKeown (general), L Brueton (paediatrics) |
| North Birmingham | Good Hope | C Oley |
| West Birmingham | City | D Williams |
| Coventry | Coventry & Warwick | C McKeown |
| Dudley | Russells Hall | S Bowden, C Oley |
| Dudley | New Corbett | S Bowden |
| Sandwell | Sandwell District | H Cox |
| Solihull | Solihull | S Bowden |
| Walsall | Manor | H Cox, S Bowden |
| Walsall | Shelfield CDC | H Cox |
| Wolverhampton | New Cross | H Cox, J Morton |
Specialist Genetics Clinics
Cancer Genetics Clinics
Consultant led clinics dealing specifically with familial cancers are presently held (weekly, monthly or quarterly) at:
| Venue | Consultant |
| Birmingham Women's Hospital | T Cole, E Maher, K R Ong |
| Stoke | S Sharif |
| Shrewsbury | C Chapman |
| Telford | C Chapman |
| Burton | K R Ong |
| Wolverhampton | C Chapman |
| Worcester | T Cole |
| Hereford | T Cole |
| Coventry (covering all of Warwickshire) | K R Ong |
| Stafford | K R Ong |
| Cannock | K R Ong |
| Solihull | K R Ong |
| Good Hope | C Chapman |
| Sedgley (Dudley) | C Chapman |
| Walsall | C Chapman |
VHL Clinic
| Venue | Consultant |
| Selly Oak Hospital | E Maher |
| BMEC City Hospital | E Maher |
Gorlin Syndrome Clinic
| Venue | Consultant |
| Birmingham Women's Hospital | P Farndon |
Other Specialist Clinics
Neurogenetics
| Specialist Interest | Venue | Consultant |
| Neurogenetics |
QE Neurosciences - Birmingham, Birmingham Women's Hospital - Birmingham New Corbett Hospital - Stourbridge |
A Norman |
| Huntingtons disease | QE Neurosciences, Birmingham | A Norman |
Ophthalmic Genetics
| Venue | Consultant |
| Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre | D Williams |
Fetal Medicine
| Venue | Consultant |
| Birmingham Women's Hospital | L Brueton |
Other Clinics (Including Joint Clinics)
| Venue | Consultant |
|
Craniofacial, Cleft Palate, Epidermolysis Bullosa Birmingham Children's Hospital |
J Morton |
| Skeletal Dysplasia, Growth, Endocrinology, | |
| Birmingham Children's Hospital | T Cole |
| Oswestry | T Cole, C Oley |
| Stoke | T Cole |
| Coventry | C McKeown |
|
Neuro Metabolic Birmingham Children's Hospital |
L Brueton |
| Ataxia Clinic, Birmingham Children's Hospital | L Brueton |
| Paediatric Neuropathy, Birmingham Children's Hospital | L Brueton |
| Lysosomal Storage, Birmingham Children's Hospital | L Brueton |
| Long QT syndrome, Birmingham Women's Hospital | H Cox |
| Cardiomyopathy, Selly Oak Hospital | H Cox |
| Cardiac Genetic Clinic, Birmingham Women's Hospital | H Cox |
| Cardiac Genetic Clinic, Birmingham Children's Hospital | H Cox |
| Grown Up Congenital Heart Clinic, Birmingham Women's Hospital | H Cox |
| Deafness Clinic, Birmingham Women's Hospital | C Mckeown |
| Dysmorphology, Gulson Hospital, Coventry | C Mckeown |
| Combined Fetal Medicine, Birmingham Women's Hospital | S Bowden |
| Joint Marfans Clinic, Birmingham Women's Hospital | S Sharif |
| Neurofibromatosis Clinic, Birmingham Women's Hospital | S Sharif |
| Joint Paediatric Neurofibromatosis Clinic, Gulson Hospital, Coventry | S Sharif |
| Joint Neurofibromatosis 2 Clinic, QE Hospital, Birmingham | S Sharif |
| Overgrowth Disorders, Birmingham Women's Hospital | T Cole |
| Adult Endocrinology/Genetics, Selly Oak Hospital | T Cole |
| Adult Bone Genetic Clinic, Selly Oak Hospital | T Cole |
| Retinoblastoma Clinic, Birmingham Children's Hospital | T Cole |
| Disorder Sex Development, Birmingham Children's Hospital | T Cole |
| Stafford CDC | J Morton |
| Cannock CDC | J Morton |
LinkWard or Domiciliary Consultation
It may be possible for us to visit a patient and relatives in hospital or at home. Please telephone to discuss the individual case.
LinkTelephone Consultations
We try to offer a telephone consultation service for professional colleagues between 9 am - 5 pm on weekdays. If a clinician or genetic counsellor is not immediately available, your call will be returned not later than the following morning. There is an answerphone out of office hours.
When to Offer a Family Genetic Counselling
The most appropriate time for offering and giving genetic information will vary from family to family; when the family is ready to take decisions about the future is the most appropriate time for referral.
It is best if the referral can be made before a pregnancy is planned, as other family members may need to be examined, or specialised tests performed. Some carrier detection tests are not accurate during pregnancy.
What Happens when a Referral is Received
The referral letter is passed to one of the clinical teams. An appointment may be despatched immediately to the patient, but more information may be required before seeing the patient in the clinic. This may involve contacting the referring doctor for further information about the family, writing to the patient for more specific information, or obtaining medical information about relatives reported to be affected.
In certain cases one of our genetic counsellors may contact the family, and see them at home or in a family history clinic, to gain further information and take a family pedigree. Blood tests may need to be carried out on members of the family and our genetic counsellors will often liaise with the referring doctor over this.
Nearly all families are asked to complete a form giving personal details and to return a reply slip to say that they will be attending the clinic.
Family Tree
For most patients a family tree (pedigree) is constructed as this is the best way to record genetic information. Full names (including maiden names) and dates of birth will be recorded. Specific questions are asked about the health of family members, and pregnancy losses, stillbirths, infant deaths, multiple marriages and consanguinity noted. The genetic notes are always confidential and held separately from general hospital notes.
Relatives of the patient may need to be examined, and sometimes investigated, if an autosomal dominant disorder with variable expression is suspected.
This page was last modified on Fri Feb 12 2010
