Urgent & safeguarding
Immediate risk to life or serious harm: always 999. Police non-emergency: 101.
Emergency — immediate risk to life or serious harm
Call 999. Police non-emergency: 101.
Hampshire Adult Services — safeguarding & adult social care
In hours 0300 555 1386 (Mon 8:30–17:00, Tue–Thu 9:30–17:00, Fri 8:30–16:30 — expect long waits). Out of hours 0300 555 1373. Professionals' referral route and guidance on the safeguarding page.
Children — Inter-Agency Referral Form (IARF), Hampshire
Level 3/4 need or immediate safeguarding concerns → complete the IARF online. Children's Services 0300 555 1384 (in hours), 0300 555 1371 (out of hours).
Family Help / early help — referral pathway & Level 2 forms
Thresholds, intervention pathway and district Level 2 request-for-support forms (including Eastleigh & Winchester).
National Domestic Abuse Helpline
24/7 freephone 0808 2000 247. Free, confidential, run by Refuge.
Hourglass — older victims of abuse
Helpline 0808 808 8141 for older people experiencing (or at risk of) harm, abuse or exploitation.
Modern Slavery Helpline
24/7 0800 0121 700.
Prevent (counter-terrorism / radicalisation concerns)
Non-urgent: call 101 and ask for the Hampshire police Prevent team, or refer via ACT. Emergency: 999.
Prescribing & formulary
HIOW Joint Medicines Formulary
What's actually stocked, approved or restricted locally — traffic-light status across primary care, hospital, community and mental health providers.
Guides & handbooks
CESEL guides
Clinical Effectiveness South East London — concise, practical primary-care guides across most general medical topics.
The Green Book — Palliative Care Handbook (RUH)
Symptom control doses, syringe drivers and end-of-life prescribing in one PDF.
Death certification & coroner referral — Wessex LMCs
Current process (medical examiner system, MCCD, when coroner notification is required) with decision-making flowchart.
GINA — Global Initiative for Asthma
Current GINA strategy report and pocket guides for asthma diagnosis and stepwise management.
PCDS — Primary Care Dermatology Society
A–Z of skin conditions with photos and primary-care management guidance.
Referrals & local services
MSK physiotherapy — self-referral (HIOW Healthcare)
Patient self-referral (or GP referral) into community MSK physio; area-specific forms under the referrals page. Red-flag exclusions listed on the form.
South Coast Fatigue — ME/CFS service
NHS-commissioned service for mild–moderate ME/CFS, age 16+, Hampshire & IOW. GP or consultant referral only; diagnosis must be made (and screening bloods done) before referral.
Home oxygen — Vivisol
Regional home oxygen provider. Order via HOOF Part A for non-specialist/temporary supply. Oxygen enquiries 0800 833 531; patient line 0800 917 9840.
Frailty team referrals verify number
Number supplied as 0400 121 2594 — this isn't a valid UK dialling code (04 range doesn't exist), so it's likely a typo (0300…?). Confirm from the practice directory and correct here.
Steady and Strong — strength & balance classes
Hampshire CC falls-prevention exercise classes (Otago-based); 100+ venues plus online. No referral needed, but a fall in the last 3 months → consider the NHS falls pathway first.
WalkTogether — borough health walks (formerly Health Walks)
Free volunteer-led weekly walks, ~1 hour / 2–3 miles with slower options; suitable for long-term conditions and mobility issues. Just turn up.
Southampton wellbeing walks — My Journey
Free led walks across the city (Common, Weston Shore and more), graded by pace; new walkers register on arrival.
Smokefree Hampshire — stop smoking service
Free 12-week 1:1 support with NRT or vape allowance; self-referral or professional referral. Covers Hampshire (excludes Southampton and Portsmouth city residents).
Inclusion Recovery Hampshire — drug & alcohol service
Free, confidential NHS recovery service (25+; under-25s via Hampshire 24/7 on the same number). Self-referral or GP referral. 0300 124 0103. Local hub: 41 High Street, SO50 5LG.
Adult social care — Hampshire County Council
Care needs assessments, care at home, Connect to Support directory and contact routes.
Mental health
italk — NHS Talking Therapies (CBT)
Self-referral for adults in Hampshire with anxiety, low mood, stress; CBT and guided self-help.
EYCS — youth counselling service
Free, confidential 1:1 counselling for 11–19s in the borough and southern parishes (venues include local GP surgeries and community centres); 6 sessions. Referral form on their site.
No Limits — children & young people's support
Free counselling, advice and drop-in support for under-26s across Southampton and Hampshire.
ADHD & autism questionnaires internal
Currently held on practice email. If wanted, the standard freely-licensed instruments (e.g. ASRS, AQ-10, SNAP-IV) could be linked here directly instead — say the word.
Diabetes & respiratory
West & North Hampshire Community Diabetes Service
Specialist diabetes nurses, dietitians and consultants (Hampshire & IOW Healthcare, formerly Southern Health). Advice line and patient education courses (New to Type 2, WISER, DiaMOND, SHINE, carb counting) — sign patients up via e-referral.
Tel 0300 003 0120 — option 1 specialist nurses, option 2 admin/bookings. Helpline Mon–Wed & Fri 9:00–15:00, Thu 9:00–13:00.
West Hants: [email protected] · North Hants: [email protected]
EDEN diabetes — clinician resources
Practical diabetes education resources for primary care (Leicester Diabetes Centre).
PITstop diabetes verify URL
Primary-care diabetes training and resources.
Diabetes UK
Patient information, Learning Zone and helpline for people living with diabetes.
Asthma + Lung UK
Patient support for asthma, COPD and lung cancer — helpline, inhaler technique videos, condition information.
Cancer support
Macmillan Cancer Support
Support line 0808 808 00 00 (7 days) — emotional, practical and financial support for anyone affected by cancer.
Maggie's
Free drop-in cancer support centres (nearest: Southampton, at the general hospital) — no referral or appointment needed.
Women's & sexual health
EPAU — Winchester confirm criteria
01962 824484. Typical indications (confirm local criteria): confirmed early pregnancy (positive test, roughly <16 weeks) with pain and/or bleeding; suspected ectopic — discuss same day (haemodynamically unstable → 999/ED); recurrent miscarriage follow-up or hyperemesis per local pathway.
BPAS — abortion care
Self-referral for NHS-funded abortion care and pregnancy counselling. Booking line 03457 30 40 30.
AI tools
Decision support only — verify against the cited source, and never enter patient-identifiable data outside approved, information-governance-cleared tools.
Medwise AI
Clinical question-answering search built for healthcare professionals: retrieves bite-sized answers from trusted sources (NICE, CKS, SIGN and integrated local guidelines) with the source shown, rather than free-generating text. Free tier for UK clinicians.
Microsoft Copilot
General-purpose LLM assistant — useful for drafting letters, summarising documents and admin. Not a clinical knowledge source; only use an NHS-tenanted/enterprise version for anything touching patient data.
Heidi Health
AI medical scribe — transcribes the consultation and drafts structured notes/letters for your review. Requires practice sign-off (DPIA/IG, patient consent process) before clinical use.
HRT quick reference
Working summary and dose-equivalence data drawn from NICE NG23 (2024), BMS Tools for Clinicians and the BNF. Prescribing decisions and dose checks remain with the clinician — check the BNF for doses, interactions and licensing before prescribing.
Choosing the regimen — 3 questions
1. Uterus? No → oestrogen-only (unless sub-total hysterectomy, or hysterectomy for moderate/severe endometriosis → combined). Yes → progestogen is mandatory. 2. Contraception still needed? (<55y, sexually active, menstruating; not needed if amenorrhoeic ≥2y when ≤50, or ≥1y when >50) → options include oestrogen + 52 mg IUS, CHC if eligible, or sequential HRT + progestogen-only contraception. Stop hormonal contraception at 55. 3. Amenorrhoeic >1y? Yes → continuous combined. No → sequential combined; switch to continuous within 5y of starting or by age 54.
Oestrogen dose bands by preparation
Re-set from BMS Tools for Clinicians dose-equivalence data. * = off-licence (higher doses rarely needed for symptom control).
| Preparation | Ultra-low | Low | Standard | Moderate | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oestrogel (pump) | ½ pump | 1 pump | 2 pumps | 3 pumps | 4 pumps |
| Sandrena (gel) | 0.25 mg | 0.5 mg | 1 mg | 1.5–2 mg | 3 mg* |
| Lenzetto (spray) | 1 spray | 2 sprays | 3 sprays | 4–5 sprays* | 6 sprays* |
| Patch | 12.5 µg | 25 µg | 50 µg | 75 µg | 100 µg |
| Oral estradiol | 0.5 mg | 1 mg | 2 mg | 3 mg* | 4 mg* |
Start low, uptitrate to symptom control. Prefer transdermal if >60y, raised BMI, migraine, or VTE/CVA risk factors.
Progestogen dose per oestrogen dose band (endometrial protection)
Re-set from BMS Tools for Clinicians: Progestogens and endometrial protection. Cont = continuous (daily); Seq = sequential (12–14 d/cycle).
| Oestrogen dose | Micronised progesterone | Medroxyprogesterone acetate | Norethisterone | 52 mg LNG-IUS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cont | Seq | Cont | Seq | Cont | Seq | ||
| Ultra-low / Low | 100 mg | 200 mg | 2.5 mg | 10 mg | 5 mg† | 5 mg† | One device covers up to 5 years' use |
| Standard | 100 mg | 200 mg | 2.5–5 mg | 10 mg | 5 mg† | 5 mg† | |
| Moderate | 100 mg | 200 mg | 5 mg | 10 mg | 5 mg | 5 mg | |
| High | 200 mg | 300 mg | 10 mg^ | 20 mg^ | 5 mg | 5 mg | |
† 1 mg norethisterone protects the endometrium for ultra-low to standard dose oestrogen, but the lowest stand-alone dose available in the UK is 5 mg (off-licence use of three-a-day Noriday POP ≈ 1.05 mg can be considered if 5 mg is not tolerated). ^ Limited evidence on optimal MPA dosing with high-dose oestrogen; advised dose based on studies reporting 10 mg continuous providing protection with up-to-moderate dose oestrogen.
NICE NG23 — Menopause (2024)
Diagnosis, treatment and review; the underlying national guideline.
BMS Tools for Clinicians
Free British Menopause Society tools: HRT preparations & equivalent alternatives, progestogens & endometrial protection, unscheduled bleeding on HRT — the source documents behind the tables above.
High triglycerides — local pathway
Redrawn summary of the local hypertriglyceridaemia pathway (aligned with NICE CG181). Verify against the original guideline before relying on thresholds.
Repeat with a fasting sample to confirm, and review for secondary causes: alcohol excess, poorly controlled diabetes, hypothyroidism, renal or liver disease, obesity, and drugs (steroids, thiazides, beta-blockers, oestrogens, antipsychotics, retinoids).
CVD risk is underestimated by QRISK at these levels. Optimise lifestyle (alcohol, weight, glycaemic control) and treat secondary causes; manage overall CVD risk (statin per usual criteria). Seek specialist advice if persistently elevated despite this.
Repeat fasting measurement after an interval of 5 days but within 2 weeks; review for secondary causes. If it remains above 10 mmol/L → refer for / seek specialist (lipid clinic) advice.
Urgent specialist (lipid clinic) referral — significant acute pancreatitis risk — unless explained by alcohol excess or poor glycaemic control (address these and re-check promptly). Safety-net for abdominal pain.