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.

  • haemodynamic instability
  • obstructive jaundice
  • severe abdominal pain

Please contact the 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

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network

Southern Adelaide Local Health Network

Category 1 (appointment clinically indicated within 30 days)

  • suspected malignancy
  • pancreatic cyst with concerning features including:
    • nodules
    • greater than 3cm size
    • pancreatic duct dilatation

Category 2 (appointment clinically indicated within 90 days)

  • pancreatic cyst without concerning features
  • pancreatic cyst less than 3cm size

Category 3 (appointment clinically indicated within 365 days)

  • nil

For more on outpatient referrals, see the general referral information page.

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.

  • identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander  
  • relevant social history, including identifying if you feel your patient is from a vulnerable population and/or requires a third party to receive correspondence on their behalf
  • interpreter required
  • past medical/surgical history
  • medications and allergies
  • smoking/alcohol and other drug status
  • age
  • history of presenting complaint
    • concerning features for example nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain,
    • duration and frequency of symptoms
    • previous management trialled and efficacy
  • height/weight
  • body mass index
  • pathology:
    • complete blood examination (CBE)
    • electrolytes urea and creatinine (EUC)
    • liver function test (LFT)
    • glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) if diabetic
    • c-reactive protein (CRP)
    • lipase/amylase
  • abdominal ultrasound (US)
  • chest-abdomen-pelvis with contrast computed tomography (CT)
  • relevant diagnostic/imaging reports including location of company and accession number

Additional information to assist triage categorisation

  • chest-abdomen-pelvis medical resonance imaging (MRI)
  • MRI pancreas + magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP)