TYPICAL ORGANISATION OF A REFERRAL LETTER

1. Name and address of recipient

2. Date (The date in the case notes, which will be the date
of your OET test)

3. Salutation (Dear Dr Smith….)

4. Name and age of person referred (e.g. Re: John Watson,

aged 71 years)

5. Introduction. Must be short. It summarises 1. The

patient’s chief complaint and 2. What you want the
recipient to do about it. It often begins with the words: I
am writing to refer (name of person referred)….

6. Further information of chief complaint / Recent medical

history relevant to the referral

7. Secondary complaint / Current medical condition

8. Discharge plan / Treatment plan

9. Concluding sentence (e.g. Please do not hesitate to

contact me… etc.)

10. Sign off (Yours sincerely)

11. Your job title (e.g. Nurse/Dentist/Doctor)

*NOTE: This is only a suggested typical structure. On test day you

must remain flexible and use whatever structure works best for the
case notes in front of you.

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