PIFU is Patient-Initiated Follow-Up. PIFU gives patients and carers the flexibility to arrange their follow-up appointments as and when they need them, rather than routine appointments which may not fit the patient’s needs.
You can find out more about PIFU here on the NHS England website
The Trust launched PIFU during 2021 and went live with several specialties. Since this time the Trust has rolled out PIFU to a number of other specialties.
As a reminder the table below outlines the length of the PIFU and conditions covered by the PIFU for each of these specialties:
| Specialty | Length of PIFU | Conditions |
| Breast | 6 months | Benign breast conditions only |
| Cardiology | 12 months | All cardiology conditions, Heart Function, Arrhythmia |
| Dermatology | 12 months | All dermatology conditions |
| ENT | 12 months | All ENT conditions |
| Gastroenterology | 24 months (PIFU plus) | IBD |
| General Surgery | 3 and 6 months | All general surgery conditions |
| Gynaecology | 6 months | All conditions |
| Gynaecology | 12 months | Currently only miscarriage and uro-gynaecology |
| Neurology | 24 months | All neurological conditions |
| Ophthalmology | 6 months | Selected sub-specialties |
| Oral Surgery | 12 months | All oral surgery conditions |
| Pain | 9 months | All pain conditions |
| Plastic assessment and dressing clinic (PADC) | 2 months | Plastic dressing |
| Plastic Surgery | 12 months | All sub specialties |
| Respiratory Physiology | 18 months | Sleep study |
| Rheumatology | 18 months | All rheumatology conditions |
| Trauma and orthopaedic | 12 months | All trauma and orthopaedic conditions, orthopaedic fracture |
| Urology | 6 months | All urology conditions |
| Vascular Surgery | 6 months | All vascular surgery conditions |
Page last updated: 08 August 2023
