The role of the Practice Secretary is to type all of the referral letters for patients and if an appointment request has not been made in the consultation to raise the appointment request onto the Choose and Book System, so that the patient can then book an appointment.

Once the Practice Secretary has raised the request onto the system, they will then print off the request which will have:

• A Unique Booking Reference Number
• A list of hospitals that the patient can choose from to attend
• A Password

This will then be available to collect from reception or will be emailed to the patient to enable them to book the appointment.

If the patient knows they are being referred via the Choose and Book system and they haven’t received their paperwork within 3 weeks they should contact the Secretary directly for the information to be reprinted. This information can either be sent or the patient can come into The practice to collect it.