Healthcare
Healthcare
Healthcare
NHS Dance Injury clinic referral
The NHS Dance Injury Clinics are available at three hospitals in London, Birmingham and Bath with sports and exercise medicine (SEM) facilities and are free at the point of use. In order to be referred to these services you must be registered with a GP. We recommend that you take information from this website with you to the appointment to make the referral process as smooth as possible. If you are registered with a GP in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland unfortunately we are currently unable to accept referrals to the clinics in England. (Please contact us for advice or browse our private healthcare options). The NHS Dance Injury clinics are led by an SEM consultant with experience treating dancers, alongside a dance-specialist physiotherapist. Each clinic is able to refer to a wider multidisciplinary team including podiatrists, surgeons, dieticians and psychologists/psychiatrists. The NHS Dance Injury clinics advocate for a non-surgergical treatment approach where possible, with all clinics having less than 6% surgery referral rate. Since the first clinic opening in 2012, across the three clinics they have seen more than 1,500 dancers.
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AT YOUR GP APPOINTMENT:
Explain to your GP that you are a professional or pre-professional dancer, dance teacher or choreographer and that your injury requires timely, expert management if you want to avoid it seriously impacting your career. Stress the importance of getting back to full dance fitness post-injury and it would therefore be beneficial to see a dance specialist for their opinion on the best course of treatment. If your GP requires more information signpost them to our 'Information for GPs'.
As an NHS patient you have the legal right to choose the most appropriate referral path, regardless of geographic location. For more information about seeking referrals for specialist care please click here.
Please contact us or ask your GP to contact us if you have any difficulties seeking a referral.
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Select your preferred hospital from the list below for further information on how to refer a patient, the services provided, and the clinical team:
INFORMATION FOR GPs:
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“80% of dancers experience at least one injury that affects their ability to perform each year” (Laws, 2005).
Dancers require specialist care from medical practitioners who understand the demands and requirements of professional dance training and performance. This specialist knowledge can now be provided by the teams working within the NHS Dance Injury clinics. These clinics can assist the dancer in returning to training, rehearsal or performance more quickly and at optimal health and fitness. Immediate care by a practitioner with dance-specialist knowledge can reduce the number of subsequent visits to NHS services, making a referral to the dance injury clinics more cost effective.
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The NHS Dance Injury Clinics take place in London (Mile End Hospital), Birmingham (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) and Bath (Royal United Hospital) and appointments can be made via the e-Referral System (e-RS) by the dancer's GP. Referrals can also be made by Consultants and Medical Specialists from other hospitals via letter, fax or email.
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Details of how to refer patients to each clinic can be found by clicking on the links above. Please note that if booking through e-RS the clinics are within the SEM clinics and will not specifically state 'dance injury clinic'. The clinics can receive referrals from both primary care and from Secondary care, therefore if a GP is referring a dancer to one of the clinics it will be costed as secondary care, not tertiary care. The service is funded via the CCG, not NHS England, however it is likely to still be cost effective for GP's in the long run to use the NHS Dance Injury Clinics as the dancer will receive the appropriate care. Multiple cases have demonstrated that when dancers are originally seen by their local secondary care provider this does not resolve their issue or it is not resolved in a timely manner, and ultimately costs the CCG more money with unnecessary extra appointments and referrals.
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If you experience any difficulties making referrals to any of these clinics or have any questions about the service please contact us.