Definition of referral for further care
Referral can be defined as a process of referring a sick child to a health centre or hospital for further care and treatment because the health post has insufficient resources (drugs, equipment, skills).
Referral is a two-way process and ensures that a continued care is maintained to the children. It is done from the community to your health post and from your health post to next higher health facility. It also involves not only direct patient care but support services such as transport and communication. The referral process begins by the referring health professional communicating to the receiving health professional relevant patient information. The receiving health professional communicates back to the referring health professional with information and plan for a continuum of care, thereby completing the referral process.
The referring health unit or facility is a health service facility that initiates the referral process. Your health post can be both a referring to a higher health centre or hospital and a receiving unit from a higher facility for follow-up and continuous care. If you are a referring unit, facilitate transportation and write a communication report to inform your actions to facilitate the problem on the way.
A receiving health unit or facility is a health service facility that receives patients from referring units and ensures that the required care is given to the patients and returns her/him with feedback. As a community health worker, you should incorporate the feedback given into your future child health activity.
Reasons for referring a child to a health centre or hospital
The following are considered good reasons for referring a child to a higher facility:
- When a child needs urgent care for a severe health problem.
- When a child has a severe classification/s in the ICCM classification chart.
- When the identified care is beyond the capabilities of your facility.
- When children's require inpatient care that cannot be given at your facility.