There are mainly 3 types of letters in OET.

1. Transfer Letters (Common)
2. Discharge Letters (Common)
3. Information Letters (Extremely Rare)

Suppose, you are a nurse working in a hospital and Mr Parker is a patient under your care. Mr Parker was admitted 10 days ago with a fracture and underwent surgery.

1. Will you transfer / discharge Mr Parker if his recovery is satisfactory?
2. Will you transfer / discharge Mr Parker if his recovery is not satisfactory?

Well, you will discharge Mr Parker if his recovery is satisfactory and transfer to another care / facility of his recovery is slow or nil.

OET – Transfer Letter

27 May 2020

Mr Harold Finch
Senior Manager
Simpson’s Palliative Care

Dear Mr Finch,

Re : Mr Clarke Kent; 67 years

Mr Clarke Kent requires continued care after being diagnosed with hepatocellular cancer with varices.  He has poor prognosis and is set to be discharged today.

On 20 May, Mr Kent was admitted to our facility with delirium and hypoglycemia for which symptomatic treatment was provided. Blood investigation and liver function test revealed liver abnormality and a USG confirmed the diagnosis. After a discussion with Mr Kent and his family, it was decided that he would receive conservative management at a palliative care but he remained in the hospital for a few more days.

Four days later, Mr Kent developed signs of acute kidney injury. However, he refused dialysis and other procedures. His condition was managed with fluids, laxatives and cessation of nephrotoxic medication.

As for today, Mr Kent’s condition has shown no improvement and his prognosis is still not good, therefore, a final decision to move him to your facility has been reached.

Mr Kent has had alcohol dependent syndrome since 2010 and drinks excess 50 units in a week. He has had type two diabetes since 2005. Furthermore, he has recurrent gastric problems and he is on medication docusate, thiamine, spironolactone and metformin.

It would be appreciated if you could provide palliative care for Mr Kent with no active intervention. He will require assistance in his self care with special emphasis on maintaining his dignity. Kindly engage him with alcoholic withdrawal program to the extent he is capable of. Please note, his oral medication need to be continued and his blood sugar levels need to be monitored. In addition, please provide psychological support for his family.

Please contact me for any additional information regarding Mr Kent while he was under our care.

Yours sincerely,

Eda
Charge Nurse
Northern General Hospital
Sheffield.

Next: How did we write this letter Part 1