This site contains the South Australian Clinical Prioritisation Criteria (CPC) for most frequently referred neurosurgery conditions.
Neurosurgery conditions
Please note this is not an exhaustive list of all conditions for outpatient services and does not exclude consideration for referral unless specifically stipulated in the neurosurgery exclusions section.
- Arachnoid Cyst, Cranial and Spinal
- Brain and Spinal Tumours
- Brain Trauma
- Brain Trauma
- Brain Tumours Intracranial, Skull Base and Pituitary
- Chiari
- Craniocervical Junction Abnormalities
- Hydrocephalus
- Hydrocephalus and CSF Circulation Disorders
- Macrocephaly
- Neurovascular Disorders
- Peripheral Nerve Compression
- Spinal - Neurosurgery
- Spinal - Neurosurgery
- Trigeminal Neuralgia and Other Cranial Nerve Abnormalities
- Vascular Malformations of the Brain
Out of scope
Not all medical conditions are covered by the CPC, as certain conditions may be considered out of scope or managed by other specialist services:
- Common peroneal nerve injury - refer to orthopaedic CPC or plastics and reconstructive surgery CPC
- Adult congenital scoliosis - refer to Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) orthopaedic spinal unit
- Post concussive symptoms without radiological abnormality - refer to South Australia Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service (BIRS) for adults and Children and Adolescent Brain Injury Rehab Services (CABIRS) for children.
- Musculoskeletal spinal pain with systemic inflammatory disorder referrals, confirmed by symptoms or pathology tests. Refer to rheumatology
- Paediatric congenital scoliosis - refer to Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) orthopaedic spinal unit
- Paediatric spinal fractures - refer to orthopaedic spinal unit at WCH
- Adult spine fracture referrals within CALHN and Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) refer to orthopaedic surgery Spinal (adult) CPC
Exclusions for public specialist outpatient services
Not all ophthalmology conditions are appropriate for referral into the South Australian public health system. The following are not routinely provided in a public specialist outpatient service:
- Adults with asymptomatic treated hydrocephalus without one of the following:
- clinical deterioration/new symptoms
- transfer of care (interstate/international)
- transition of care from paediatric service
- clinical deterioration/new symptoms
- Incidental/asymptomatic craniocervical junction variants and expected degenerative changes in adults
- Non-specific axial spinal pain
- Undisplaced non compound skull fracture in adults
- Traumatic brain injury without radiological abnormality
- Trigeminal neuralgia and other cranial nerve abnormalities in adults which have:
- not been previously treated in a primary care setting
- not had a trial of at least one preventative agent
- not been previously treated in a primary care setting
Emergency information
See the individual condition pages for more specific emergency information.
Feedback
We welcome requests for further information or feedback on the CPC and website, please refer to the relevant form below.
Please email the completed form to Health.CPC@sa.gov.au.
Review
The neurosurgery CPC is due for review in July 2026.