Maternity referral not accepted

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Does anyone have experience of successfully appealing a decision not to accept a self-referral? It is one of my local hospitals but they seem to have reduced the catchment area. They say you can appeal if you have exceptional circumstances.

So has it been rejected as you are not in the catchment area?

How far out of catchment are you? And is there a specific reason you have self referred to that one and not the one in your catchment?

I was in the catchment until the end of last year and it is no further away than the other option in the area. I actually went there (though sadly miscarried) in my previous pregnancy but they seem since then to have changed the rules.

But now the catchment has changed why do you need that one?

Because it’s a better hospital than the alternative. Hence the self-referral. You seem unduly aggrieved by my query. I’m looking for constructive comments from others who may be/have been in a similar boat.

There is literally nothing in my posts to suggest I’m aggrieved… that’s a bit of an over the top response. I’ve asked very basic questions as you didn’t give much information at all, to try and establish if there’s reason to appeal.

If it's UCLH I wouldn't bother...

Unfortunately in my experience they tend to be strict on this unless exceptional circumstances because they need to ensure they can provide quality care for the patients they have to take.

The rules changed where we are between my pregnancies and the hospital I had my first baby at then wasn’t accepting referrals from my area for the second baby. I did end up at that hospital but that was purely because complications in my first pregnancy & birth meant I was at risk of multiple things in my second pregnancy and the other hospital did not have the specialised consultant available I needed for my care. I know a friend of mine tried to appeal just based on it being the better hospital and was refused because they have to prioritise care for the women they need to take.

@ToKittyornottoKitty apologies perhaps I misread your posts🙂

@Jellybunny98I am higher risk due to age and medical history but I don’t know whether that would justify my going to this hospital over the other one?

I should add that the hospital I want to go to is actually the closest hospital to home!

It’s unlikely based on that alone because all maternity units take women of all ages, and all hospitals will have consultants and teams to cope with medical history- depends on what medical history obviously but it would need to be something very specific that the other hospital cannot accommodate rather than just you preferring the other one.

Could there be a particular consultant you’d want to request at your favoured hospital if consultant led? I realise they may not care regardless. The only other thing I thought could be citing transport issues. Ultimately if they’re strict on it it won’t make a difference anywhere, but it could be worth a shot if you are really keen.

Is it the easiest to get to? If you had to get public transport, is it possible/easier than the other one, or cheaper in a taxi, or quicker in traffic? These are all reasons I’ve heard friends use for a preference.

The hospital I work at has recently changed the referral criteria. We were overwhelmed with referrals from patients out of area. Reducing the criteria means we can get through the patient case load we have. Not sure what would count as exceptional circumstances (though, it being the closest one to you sounds like a reasonable request!)

Exceptional circumstances is basically a medical condition that your local hospital has no expertise in that the ‘chosen’ hospital does.

preference, location, I want, travel, or past births don’t cut it due to sheer volume of requests.

@TravellingJackIt is! Perhaps that’s worth mentioning. Did that reasoning work for your friends?

@overworkI completely understand. I just find it odd as it’s literally my closest hospital (as the crow flies and in the car)!