Referral to emergency

If any of the following are present or suspected, please refer the patient to the emergency department (via ambulance if necessary) or seek emergent medical advice if in a remote region.

  • acute uncontrolled bleeding

For clinical advice, please telephone the relevant metropolitan Local Health Network switchboard and ask to speak to the relevant specialty service.

Central Adelaide Local Health Network

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network

Southern Adelaide Local Health Network

Women's and Children's Health Network

Exclusions

  • single episode of post-coital bleeding with normal cervical screening test and liquid based cytology without oncogenic human papillomavirus

Triage categories

Category 1 (appointment clinically indicated within 30 days)

  • nil

Category 2 (appointment clinically indicated within 90 days)

  • nil

Category 3 (appointment clinically indicated within 365 days)

  • recurrent or persistent unexplained post-coital bleeding with normal cervical screening test (Co-Test)
  • recurrent or persistent post-coital bleeding and ectropion cervix

Central Adelaide Local Health Network only accept referrals for people greater than 18 years of age.

Due to limitations in infrastructure and resources, the Women's and Children's Hospital cannot accommodate referrals for individuals with a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 45, as well as individuals over the age of 69 years of age.

Essential referral information

Completion required before first appointment to ensure patients are ready for care. Please indicate in the referral if the patient is unable to access mandatory tests or investigations as they incur a cost or are unavailable locally.

  • current medications and allergies
  • past medical/surgical/obstetric/psychosocial history
  • onset, duration and course of presenting symptoms
  • menstrual history:
    • cycle, day/months
    • days of bleeding
    • blood loss
    • previously trialled treatments
  • height/weight
  • BMI
  • blood pressure trends
  • abdominal examination findings
  • pelvic examination including speculum exam findings
  • trans-vaginal/pelvic ultrasound
  • relevant imaging and reports including location of company and accession number

Pathology

  • complete blood examination (CBE)
  • beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (ßhCG)

Sexually active people

Complete a sexually transmitted infection screen, including:

  • human immunodeficiency virus and syphilis serology
  • chlamydia and gonorrhoea which requires:
    • endocervical swab for culture and
    • endocervical polymerase chain reaction swab or urine sample
  • cervical Co-Test

Clinical management advice

Post coital bleeding is defined as persistent non-menstrual bleeding that occurs within 24 hours of vaginal intercourse.

Concerning features may include:

  • women greater than 35 years of age
  • frequent and heavy post coital bleeding
  • abnormally appearing cervix
  • no previous cervical screening test
  • active smoker

Clinical resources

Consumer resources

Reason for request

  • to establish a diagnosis
  • for treatment or intervention
  • for advice and management
  • for specialist to take over management
  • for a specified test/investigation the General Practitioner cannot order
  • for other reason (e.g. rapidly accelerating disease progression)
  • transfer of care from another tertiary service
  • clinical judgement indicates a referral for specialist review is necessary.

Patient demographic details

  • full name, including aliases
  • date of birth
  • residential and postal address
  • telephone contact number/s – home, mobile and alternative
  • Medicare number, where eligible
  • name of the parent or caregiver, if appropriate
  • preferred language and interpreter requirements
  • identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

Clinical modifiers

  • impact on employment
  • impact on education
  • impact on home
  • impact on activities of daily living
  • impact on ability to care for others
  • impact on personal frailty or safety
  • identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

Other relevant information

  • Willingness to have surgery, where surgery is a likely intervention.
  • Choice to be treated as a public or private patient.
  • Compensable status, e.g. DVA, Work Cover, Motor Vehicle Insurance, etc.
  • Relevant social history, including identifying if you feel your patient is from a vulnerable population, under guardianship/out-of-home care arrangements and/or requires a third party to receive correspondence on their behalf.
  • Triage of a specialist outpatient referral is based on clinical decision making to allocate an appropriate urgency categorisation.
  • Where appropriate and where available, the referral may be streamed to an associated public allied health and/or nursing service. Access to some specific services may include initial assessment and management by associated public allied health and/or nursing, which may either facilitate or negate the need to see the public medical specialist.
  • A change in patient circumstance (such as condition deteriorating or pregnancy) may affect the urgency categorisation and should be communicated as soon as possible.
  • All new referrals will be triaged by a consultant and appointment times scheduled according to clinical urgency.

Adolescents transitioning from paediatric to adult specialist services require a formal handover from paediatric specialist clinician to adult specialist clinician as well as a formal referral from the referring specialist to ensure initial transfer of care is completed.

The General Practitioners role in this process is to provide support to patients as part of holistic care. All ongoing referrals to specialists can subsequently be provided by the General Practitioner once the transfer of care has occurred.