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Nasal problems

Checked: 23-11-2022 by Rob Adams Next Review: 23-11-2023

Nasal treatment

Referrals for an ENT opinion for any nasal treatment in a child (including septal deviation, nasal polyps, septal perforation and chronic rhinosinusitis) are subject to the Nasal Treatment funding policy. This policy has Prior Approval, Criteria Based Access and Exceptional Funding sections. If Prior Approval or Exceptional Funding is required then this must be obtained before the referral is submitted via e-RS

Please see CKS links on Sinusitis and Allergic Rhinitis in the resources section below which also refer to children.

Prior Approval - If referral for treatment in secondary care is required then prior approval should be secured before referring patients. Please refer to the Non Cosmetic Nasal Treatment and Sinusitis PA/CBA Policy (which applies to all ages) for further information and submit the prior approval application form if criteria for referral are met. (A referral can be made for an opinion only but this should be done via the Advice and Guidance route initially).

Exceptional Funding - If the patient does not meet the criteria in the prior approval policy and there are exceptional circumstances then you can consider applying for Exceptional Funding for the patient. You can do this by completing the EFR application form and by emailing it from an nhs.net account to BNSSG.EFR@nhs.net.

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If there are any red flags or diagnostic uncertainty (including suspected foreign bodies) then referrals do not require funding and should be sent via eRS and marked urgent where they will be triaged by the secondary care team and seen as appropriate. There is no 2WW ENT service for children but if immediate treatment is required or malignancy is a concern then please discuss with on call team.

Epistaxis

Please see specific Remedy page on Epistaxis

Resources

Sinusitis - CKS guidelines (updated June 2018)

Background information | Allergic rhinitis | CKS | NICE

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.