Sample referral letter for nurses
Original model letter written for this site. Dates and names are fictional. Checked 11 Nov 2026.
Referral letter: Referral to a community mental health nurse after an intentional overdose
Task: You are a registered nurse on the medical ward of the local hospital. Using the information in the case notes, write a letter to Ms Eleanor Holroyd, Community Mental Health Nurse, referring Ms Gledhill for follow-up in the community. Address the letter to Ms Eleanor Holroyd, Community Mental Health Nurse, Community Mental Health Service, 14 Park Street.
22 October 2026
Ms Eleanor Holroyd
Community Mental Health Nurse
Community Mental Health Service
14 Park Street
Dear Ms Holroyd,
Re: Ms Caroline Gledhill, DOB 14/03/2004
I am referring Ms Gledhill, a 22-year-old law student being discharged today after an intentional paracetamol overdose, for a home visit by 24 October, ongoing support and risk review.
She was admitted on 19 October after taking approximately 30 paracetamol 500 mg tablets with alcohol following an argument with her ex-partner. She completed intravenous acetylcysteine, and her liver function and INR were normal. Psychiatric assessment diagnosed a moderate depressive episode. She regrets the overdose and denies current suicidal intent or plan, although she has intermittent passive thoughts. She self-harmed at 15–16 and binge drinks most weekends.
Sertraline 50 mg each morning was commenced on 21 October. As she is under 25, please monitor for increased agitation or suicidal thoughts, as well as her mood and response to treatment.
A written safety plan has been completed, and she has agreed to avoid alcohol. Her mother will stay for one week and will hold and give her sertraline, and no over-the-counter medicines will be kept at the flat. She has consented to this referral and to information sharing with her mother. Her GP will review her on 29 October.
Yours sincerely,
Registered Nurse
Medical Ward
Body: 187 words
What it keeps: Risk comes before background: what happened, what she says now, what the nurse must monitor and what is already in place at home.
What it leaves out: The tonsillectomy, netball, the cat, hospital food and the mother's opinion of the ex-boyfriend add nothing to the risk review.
Read the full case notes and write it yourself
What each paragraph does
- Purpose and the three requests (home visit by 24 October, ongoing support, risk review) in the first sentence, so the reader knows what to do before reading why.
- The risk story in order: what happened, what was done, the diagnosis, what she says now and relevant history. Dates and doses are exact.
- The new medicine and the one thing the receiving nurse must watch for, with the reason (age under 25).
- What is already in place, who has consented, and the next review date, so the nurse does not duplicate it.
What a nursing referral letter needs
- Purpose line first Name the patient, who you are referring to and what you want (visit, assessment, advice).
- Risk before background If there is a safety issue, state it and what is already in place before social history.
- Medicines and consent Doses, new treatments, who holds them, and that the patient agrees to the referral and to sharing.
- Next step and date Say who sees the patient next and when, so the receiving nurse can plan.
Write one yourself
Cover the sample and write from the case notes, then compare. There are 19 nursing referral tasks; here are the first few:
- Referral to pulmonary rehabilitation after a COPD admission
- Referral to a falls prevention program after a fall at home
- Referral to hospital-in-the-home for intravenous antibiotics
- Referral to a community mental health nurse after an intentional overdose
- Adolescent asthma: referral
- Small partial-thickness burn: referral
Free OET writing checker · Referral letter guide and template · All writing samples (PDF) · OET letter format
Questions candidates ask
How long should an OET referral letter for nurses be?
The body should be about 180 to 200 words. Relevance matters more than hitting an exact count: leave out anything the reader cannot use.
What goes first in an OET referral letter?
The purpose: who you are referring, to whom, and what you want them to do. The reader should know the request after the first sentence.
Can I use note form?
No. The task asks you to expand the relevant notes into complete sentences and use letter format. Dates, doses and results can be written as figures.
Is this the letter OET would mark as a perfect answer?
It is one good way to answer, written for this site. OET does not publish a single correct letter, and your own marks depend on the six Writing criteria.
Where can I practise writing one?
The bank has 19 nursing referral tasks with case notes; write one, then paste it into the free writing checker for an instant check.
Sources
Last checked . Rules and prices change: confirm on the official page before you book or apply.
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