Referral guidelines for healthcare professionals

Below are all the policy documents, resources and guidelines you need for radiology referrals, along with the radiology department contact details for all of our hospitals.

This is for use by entitled referrers only – not patient information.

Page last updated 26/05/2026.

Documents

iRefer guidelines for clinical radiology services 

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Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography

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RAD02 IRMER SOP05 policy document

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IRMER Paused and Checked poster

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Guidelines

Referral criteria

Referring clinicians are responsible for making referrals in accordance with Nuffield Health Employers Procedure and in accordance with iRefer, or other relevant, guidelines.

Referrals not meeting either the referral criteria in the RCR guidelines cannot normally be justified.

Making referrals

A request for a radiological examination shall only be performed accepted upon satisfactory completion of a referral form signed by a state-registered healthcare professional entitled to refer in accordance with the employer’s procedure RAD02 IRMER SOP05.

Referrals can be submitted electronically or on paper referral forms. In the case of electronic referrals, the referrer’s name and signature are implied by the granting of password-protected rights for that individual to access the electronic referral system.

Pre-signed referral forms and sharing of electronic passwords, both of which have the potential to permit requests by unauthorised/unentitled individuals, shall not be permitted and represent a breach of IR(ME)R.

Amending and cancelling referrals

Referring clinicians are responsible for cancelling any duplicated or no longer required referrals, and well as amending referrals in accordance with Nuffield Health Employers Procedure (IRMER02 Referral Criteria and Making, Amending and Cancelling Referrals).

Should a referrer require a referral to be amended or cancelled, they must contact the Radiology Department in person or by phone promptly in order to avoid the possibility of an accidental or unintended exposure taking place.

Imaging request forms

The request form must be unambiguous and sufficiently legible such that all information contained within it can be transferred between referrer and provider without loss of meaning.

a) Patient identification: Patient's full name, address and date of birth to help verify the patient's identity and to enable patient contact for the purposes of attendance at the examination. It is helpful if the patient’s printed hospital sticky label is used.

b) Modality: Please indicate modality required by placing an 'x' in the box provided or specifying in writing.

c) Areas to be imaged: Examination requested or specific region for examination must be identified including laterality where appropriate.

d) Clinical details: In accordance with the Ionising Radiation [Medical Exposures] Regulations (IR[ME]R), all requests must carry sufficient clinical information to enable the requested examination to be justified. Referral criteria are based on The Royal College of Radiologists Guidelines, access to which can be provided by the Imaging Department. Clinical detail would typically include a working or differential diagnosis for confirmation of condition or choice of conditions; for further clarification such as severity, stage, grade or identification; diagnosis for exclusion; confirmed diagnosis for information required in further management e.g. treatment planning.

e) Referrer information: Request must be completed dated and signed by the referrer (forms which have been pp’d will not be accepted) and include appropriate contact details.

f) Referrer’s declaration: Please read and sign NB Pregnancy status: For all requests for X-ray examinations between the diaphragm and the knee of persons of child-bearing age (12–55years) – please indicate if possibility of pregnancy.

Referrer 'Pause and Check'

To minimise the risk of incident and ensure the correct patient gets the correct examination at the correct time, we recommend referrers carry out a 'Pause and Check' procedure.