Referral Pathways
Where referrals flow, where they fail, and how to unblock them — from community to tertiary care.
Referral flow — where care escalates
Volume, rejection rate and turnaround at each hand-off
Community / CHW
Primary clinic
Volume12.4k/yr
Rejected3%
Turnaround1 days
Primary clinic
District hospital
Volume6.8k/yr
Rejected11%
Turnaround6 days
District hospital
Regional hospital
Volume3.1k/yr
Rejected18%
Turnaround12 days
Regional hospital
Tertiary / specialist
Volume1.4k/yr
Rejected27%
Turnaround34 days
Bottleneck detected: Regional → Tertiary referrals show 27% rejection and 34-day turnaround (target 14). Paediatric surgery is the main driver. Recommended: e-referral triage + specialist outreach.
Care journey — Hypertension
Standard pathway coverage vs target
- Community screening58%
CHW BP checks in the ward
- Clinic confirmation74%
Repeat BP + risk assessment
- Medication initiation62%
First-line therapy started
- Lifestyle counselling44%
Diet, salt, activity
- Monthly follow-up51%
Adherence & titration
- Lab monitoring39%
U&E, lipids, HbA1c
- Specialist referral71%
Physician / cardiology
- Long-term control46%
BP at target
Pathway integrity
Where patients are lost
Screening → Diagnosis-26%
Diagnosis → Treatment start-12%
Treatment → Follow-up-23%
Follow-up → Lab monitoring-31%
Referral → Specialist attend-29%