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 specialty service.

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network

Southern Adelaide Local Health Network

Women's and Children's Health Network

Inclusions

  • polydactyly
  • syndactyly
  • underlapping / curly toes
  • overlapping fifth toe
  • bunions

Exclusions

  • toe deformities secondary to neurological disease
  • any deformity which is not causing pain, ulceration, or difficulty with shoe fitting

Triage categories

Category 1 (appointment clinically indicated within 30 days)

  • nil

Category 2 (appointment clinically indicated within 90 days)

  • toe deformities causing pain or ulceration

Category 3 (appointment clinically indicated within 365 days)

  • all other toe deformities

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.

  • details of presenting condition including:
    • deformity
    • pain, ulceration, callouses, swelling
    • functional limitations
    • problems with footwear
    • any previous management or treatment, e.g. orthotics
  • relevant medical history
  • if x-rays have been done please include date and location of provider

Clinical management advice

Polydactyly

  • refer if causing difficulty with shoe fitting

Syndactyly

  • most require no intervention

Underlapping / curly toes

  • 95% require no intervention
  • strapping is not effective
  • ensure shoes have adequate room
  • only refer if causing significant pain or ulceration

Overlapping fifth toe

  • 50% require no intervention
  • strapping is not effective
  • ensure shoes have adequate room
  • only refer if causing significant pain or ulceration

Bunions

  • medial arch support can help symptoms
  • surgery is not advised until growth plates have closed

Referral details for specific sites

Referrals to Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) for Toe Deformities can be directed to Paediatric Podiatry.

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.