Instructions for referrals
Psychiatric Referral Team
The City of Helsinki’s Psychiatric Referral Team operates in a centralised unit within First Line Services, and one of its key tasks is to assess the need for specialised care. Referrals to psychiatric outpatient clinics and adult psychiatric outpatient care are sent to the Referral Team.
Urgent referrals of 1–7 days will be processed on the first working day after receipt of the referral, and those with urgency levels from 8–30 and >30 days will be processed between 1–21 days after receipt.
The Referral Team works in close collaboration with the regional acute psychiatric care, assessment and consultation teams of First Line Services. These teams are tasked with carrying out their part in the assessment periods for cases requiring acute and longer diagnostic assessments, as directed by the Referral Team.
Please note that the Referral Team does not handle emergency referrals, referrals of minors or referrals for inpatient psychiatric care. The referral team also does not handle referrals to HUS Psychiatry, the City of Helsinki’s Substance Abuse Outpatient Clinic or the City of Helsinki’s Youth Station.
Please follow these steps
Referrals to adult psychiatric outpatient care in the City of Helsinki are centrally processed by the Referral Team.
These instructions apply to providers who are not part of Apotti:
Please send your referral and its attachments via secure e-mail to sotepe.lahetekasittely@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program).
Please do not send duplicate copies of the referral via paper post or fax. Incoming emails will be acknowledged with a confirmation message no later than the next working day.
If you would like more information about referral processing, please call the Secretary of the Referral Team Mon–Fri, 8:00–15:00.
Call +358 40 505 9333(Link starts a phone call)
Postal address:
Aurora Hospital, Referral Team
Nordenskiöldinkatu 20, building 19, D-Staircase, 1st floor, room 104
PO BOX 6800, 00099 CITY OF HELSINKI
If you encounter clients in your work who would be interested in starting opioid substitution treatment, you can refer them to an Opioid Substitution Treatment Assessment Clinic. Our services are free of charge for patients.
The Opioid Substitution Treatment Assessment Clinic assesses the client’s need for opioid substitution treatment. Any further treatment and possible opioid substitution treatment and medication will be individually planned based on this assessment.
Treatment is initiated both in outpatient and inpatient settings. The opioid substitution treatment outpatient clinic handles the initiation and coordination of treatment.
The opioid substitution treatment outpatient clinic also has a mobile team that works flexibly in the client’s living environment when necessary and aims to reach out to patients who have challenges attaching to outpatient services.
The Opioid Substitution Treatment Assessment Clinic also cooperates with the Helsinki City Hospital, providing consultations and initiating assessments in the hospital’s wards.
- Substance Abuse Outpatient Clinics and Symppis centres book appointments directly into the opioid substitution treatment assessment team’s generic clinician calendar.
- Units using Apotti should make their referrals using work queue messages.
Apotti’s work queue: HEL PÄI KORH ARVPKL TH
- Units that do not use Apotti can contact the Opioid Substitution Treatment Assessment Team’s nurses directly. Clients can also book appointments without referrals.
The Opioid Substitution Treatment Assessment Team’s phone service is open on weekdays from 10:00 to 14:30:
Call: +358 40 704 1386(Link starts a phone call)