Outpatient specialist clinics
Urgent referrals
For urgent referrals, please contact the relevant specialty on-call clinician through Flinders Medical Centre switchboard on (08) 8204 5511 to discuss early review.
Routine referrals
Quick links
- Updated SALHN Outpatient Clinics & Community Services Contact Details (PDF 76KB)
This new resource has been developed to include updated contact details (fax and phone number for clerical enquiries), as well as direct hyperlinks to the relevant clinic pages. The clinics are now organised in sections for ease of navigation (eg Medical, Surgical, Mental Health, Paediatrics, Women's Health). - Outpatient Triage and Referral Guidelines
- Specialist Outpatient Waiting Time Report (last report published - June 2022)
- A-Z Outpatient Clinic Directory
- HealthPathways SA (register for login here) and additional clinical support options
Routine process
Routine referrals to Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) Outpatient specialist clinics should be made by faxing the referral to the relevant clinic using the standard template (or the clinic specific template if available).
On receipt, routine referrals are triaged to determine their urgency level, which may take up to a few weeks. This triaging process varies between departments and is greatly facilitated by referrals being aligned with the SALHN outpatient referral guidelines if available. Referral guidelines have been developed by some specialities and outline triage categories as well as essential clinical information to allow for safe clinical triaging in a safe and consistent manner. The referring doctor may be asked to provide additional clinical information to assist with the triaging process if essential clinical information needs to be clarified.
Contact is usually made back via letter to the referring doctor and the patient after the referral has been triaged. A letter is usually posted to the patient 3 weeks before the appointment date to confirm appointment details.
Status of referrals
The status of each referral can be checked by calling the relevant clinic. A report outlining waiting times per specialty is available in the Specialist Outpatient Waiting Times Report which provides an indication of usual wait times (scroll down for latest report).
Clinical guidance
Additional clinical guidance with suggested GP management and referral pathways can be found at HealthPathways SA or through additional clinical support options. This may assist while the referral is being triaged and/or the patient is waiting to be seen. Further information can be found on the Outpatient Referral Process page.