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.
- nil
For clinical advice, please telephone the relevant metropolitan Local Health Network switchboard and ask to speak to the relevant specialty service.
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
Category 1 (appointment clinically indicated within 30 days)
- nil
Category 2 (appointment clinically indicated within 90 days)
- more than 3 to 4 presentations of lower respiratory infections requiring antibiotics in the past 12 months
Category 3 (appointment clinically indicated within 365 days)
- nil
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.
- description of lower respiratory tract symptoms with supporting investigations e.g. chest x-ray, sputum culture, white cell count
- details of antibiotics previously prescribed for respiratory tract infections
- any environmental factors which may increase susceptibility to infection e.g. housing, environmental smoke, tobacco smoke exposure
- any medication storage/administration needs, particularly if prolonged courses of antibiotics are expected to be required
Additional information to assist triage categorisation
- relevant allied health/diagnostic/imaging reports, including location of company and accession number
Clinical management advice
- if child experiences symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection with a cough which lasts < 4 weeks and resolves spontaneously, no further assessment or treatment is needed
- if suspected protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB) (chronic wet cough with no signs or symptoms suggesting an alternative diagnosis):
- treat with a 2 to 4 week course of oral antibiotics until resolution of wet cough
- suggest empirical treatment with broad spectrum antibiotic such as amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 25mg/kg (max 875mg amoxicillin component) twice a day
- if penicillin-allergic, consider azithromycin or co-trimoxazole
- if the child has experienced ≥ 3 episodes of PBB within the last 12 months, consider referral to Paediatric Respiratory Medicine for evaluation of any underlying or predisposing conditions.
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.