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 painful enlargement of a Bartholin’s gland/cyst
- acute trauma including:
- vulva/vaginal lacerations
- haematoma and/or
- penetrating injuries
- Bartholin’s abscess
Please contact the gynaecology on-call registrar to discuss your concerns prior to referral.
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
- Royal Adelaide Hospital (08) 7074 0000
- The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (08) 8222 6000
Northern Adelaide Local Health Network
- Lyell McEwin Hospital (08) 8182 9000
Southern Adelaide Local Health Network
- Flinders Medical Centre (08) 8204 5511
Women's and Children's Health Network
- Women’s and Children’s Hospital (08) 8161 7000
Exclusions
- vulval disorders without a trial of first-line treatment
Triage categories
Category 1 (appointment clinically indicated within 30 days)
- suspicion of malignancy
- unexplained vulval lump/ulceration/bleeding
- post-menopausal women with abnormal vulval lesions
- immunosuppressed women with vulval lesion/s
Category 2 (appointment clinically indicated within 90 days)
- Bartholin’s/vulval cysts in women greater than 40 years of age
- suspected vulval dysplasia
- vulval dermatoses, including Lichen Sclerosus
- vulval warts where:
- the diagnosis is unclear
- the patient is immunocompromised
- there is atypical presentation including pigmented lesions
Category 3 (appointment clinically indicated within 365 days)
- Bartholin's / vulval cysts in women less than 40 years of age
- vulvar dermatitis
- vulval lesions with any of the following:
- treatment is not tolerated
- unresponsive to first-line treatment
- vulval warts
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.
- past medical/surgical/obstetric/psychosocial history
- current medications and allergies
- hormonal contraception use
- onset, duration and course of presenting symptoms
- presenting symptoms history, including:
- pain
- swelling
- pruritus
- dyspareunia
- localised lesions, pigmented or non-pigmented lesions
- sexually transmitted infection (STI) or other vaginal infection/s
- trauma where appropriate
- medical management to date
- pelvic examination findings
- height/weight
- BMI
- relevant diagnostic/imaging reports including location of company and accession number
Pathology
- an up-to-date cervical screening test as per the cervical screening guidelines
- sexually active people – please complete a STI screen, including:
- human immunodeficiency virus and syphilis serology
- chlamydia and gonorrhoea which requires:
- endocervical swab for culture and
- endocervical polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab or urine sample
- herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus PCR screen
Vulval ulceration present
- wound swab M/C/S and
- PCR screen for herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus
- exotic travel history including location, date and length of stay
Vulval dermatitis present
- allergy skin testing results
- fungal swab/scraping if suspicion of candidiasis
Clinical management advice
The primary causes of vulval disorders commonly include vulvovaginal candidiasis, dermatological conditions like Lichen Sclerosus and irritant or contact dermatitis. These conditions can often be effectively managed with first-line treatments provided by a general practitioner within the community.
It is important to note that relying solely on antibiotics may not result in complete resolution of Bartholin's cysts, particularly when they are large or recurring. Surgical marsupialisation, a procedure to drain the cyst and prevent future recurrences, may be necessary. Therefore, it is recommended to seek medical advice for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Clinical resources
- Australian STI Management Guidelines for Use in Primary Care
- Australian Indigenous Health Info Net - Central Australian Aboriginal Congress: Women's Business Manual for Remote and Rural Practice 7th Edition
- Australian Medical Association - New Stolen Generation resources for GPs
- Cancer Australia - Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding in Pre- Peri- and Post-Menopausal Women: A Diagnostic Guide for General Practitioners and Gynaecologists
- Cancer Council - Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines
- Pelvic Pain Australia – Health Professionals
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.