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 dyspnoea. If there are any other associated symptoms such as chest pain, fever, signs of respiratory distress, a chest x-ray is indicated with a clinical review with either a general practitioner or at the emergency department
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.
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)
- unexplained chronic dyspnoea not requiring acute presentation to emergency department — see Referral to Emergency
- dyspnoea associated with exercise not responding to a trial of anti-asthma treatment
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 within your referral 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
- interpreter required
- details and timeline of symptoms including variability and severity
- relevant medical conditions
- chest x-ray
Additional information to assist triage categorisation
- relevant allied health/diagnostic/imaging reports, including location of company and accession number
- consider cardiac conditions as part of the differential diagnosis, refer accordingly and consider electrocardiogram/chest x-ray/blood pressure
- if able to access
- lung function pre and post bronchodilator
- pulse oximetry
Clinical management advice
If the dyspnoea is long standing (i.e. greater than 4 weeks duration) or associated with exercise induced cough or wheeze, please consider asthma.