Gastroenterology Outpatient Services at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

The Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) provides specialised assessment and care of patients with problems of the gastrointestinal tract and liver, including diseases of the oesophagus, stomach, small and large bowel and the pancreas.

The Department has close functional links with the surgical gastroenterology units: Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery and Colorectal Surgery.

Contact details

Referrals

General gastroenterology and hepatology referrals
Fax: (08) 8222 7188

Appointment enquiries

Outpatient area: (08) 8222 7020

Appointment location

Gastroenterology and liver disease clinics are held in:
Location: TQEH ground floor, main block

Telephone: (08) 8222 7020
Fax: (08) 8222 7188

Services and clinics

The Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology provides specialised assessment and care of patients with problems of the gastrointestinal tract and liver, in both acute inpatient and outpatient care settings. 

A letter will be posted to the patient advising their appointment time. Please include patient’s mobile phone details. The GP or referring doctor will receive a copy of the letter sent to the patient

Gastroenterology and hepatology outpatients

Clinics are held for patients with general gastroenterological problems as well as for inflammatory bowel diseases, motility or functional gastrointestinal disorders, and pancreato-biliary diseases.

In additional to management of general gastroenterological and hepatological conditions, a number of gastroenterologists have the expertise and special interest in providing care for patients with the following conditions:

Liver disease and virus hepatitis

Dr M Teo
Dr R Kimber
Dr D Hugnh

Interventional endoscopy

Dr E Teo

Inflammatory bowel disease

Dr J Fon
Dr S Costello

Staff and conditions seen

Tuesday

Conditions seen - General Gastroenterology

Clinic - Gastroenterology 1.30 pm to 5.00 pm

Doctors:

  • Dr Ilmars Lidums
  • Dr Peter Wilson
  • Dr Ahmad Hizwani Abdul Rahman
  • Registrars

Wednesday 

Conditions seen - Liver Disease and Viral Hepatitis

Clinic - Liver Clinic 1.30 pm to 5.00 pm

Doctors:

  • Dr Marcus Teo
  • Dr Richard Kimber
  • Dr Dep Hugnh
  • Registrars

Thursday

Conditions - IBD Inflammatory Bowel Disease(IBD)

Clinic – IBD 1.30 pm to 5.00 pm

Doctors:

  • Dr James Fon
  • Dr Sam Costello

Friday 

Conditions seen - General Gastroenterology 

Clinic – Gastroenterology - 1.30 pm to 5.00 pm

Doctors: 

  • Dr Dan Worthley
  • Dr Ahmad Hizwani Abdul Rahman
  • Registrars 

Bulk bill clinics

Dr Marc LeMire conducts a bulk billed Liver Clinic at the RAH for which the waiting period is approximately 2 months. For referrals to be accepted for this clinic they need to be addressed to Dr LeMire.

Referral process

Immediate referral process – all gastro/hepatology problems

Where consultation is urgent, the gastroenterologist (GE) registrar on call should be contacted via Queen Elizabeth Hospital switchboard (08) 8222 6000. Alternatively, if the problem is urgent and the patient is unstable, the patient should be sent directly the ED of the nearest hospital for assessment.

Less urgent referrals – luminal gastroenterology
(not IBD - separate referral process)

Referrals are received in the ambulatory care area and are triaged every 7 to 14 days. If the referral requires more urgent assessment, you should call the on-call GE registrar for advice.

The preferred method of referral is by fax or letter. Please do not send both as this results in duplication and wastes time in triage. If you have concerns, we suggest that you confirm the referral has been received by calling the GE OPD admin staff on Fax number: (08) 8222 7188.

All referrals are triaged. Appointments are offered according to clinical urgency as judged against set criteria. As we receive a greater number of referrals than we can see, some will not receive an appointment and others may incur a significant wait.

For less urgent problems, please consider other options and do not refer to multiple hospitals for the same complaint. In general, we will not see out of area patients unless they have a condition which requires tertiary hospital or expert management. If there are particular reasons you want a patient from outside area to be seen at the QEH, this should be set out in the referral.

Should changes occur to a patient’s medical condition while waiting for an appointment, please either send updated clinical information or where appropriate, contact the GE registrar via the switchboard (08) 8222 6000.

Referrals unlikely to be offered an appointment

Referrals for outpatient appointments from the Emergency Department will not be accepted, unless agreed to during the patient’s initial presentation by the GE registrar on call.

The Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology does not provide second opinions for patients already under the care of other gastroenterologists, except in exceptional circumstances, which should be clearly explained in the referral. 

Consultants and registrars of other clinics should consider whether incidental non-life-threatening GE problems could be managed by a patient’s general practitioner and whether the problem merits specialist input in competition for access to scarce specialist resources.

Discharge guidelines and information

Patients whose medical condition has stabilised or resolved and for whom no further appointment has been made will be formally discharged. If further gastroenterological/hepatological assessment is required, a new referral that explains the reason should be faxed to us on (08) 8222 7188.

Gastroenterology referral information sheets

At the time of triage, only the information contained within the referral is available to the specialist. Consequently, simply requesting review without providing sufficient information about the problem will lead to significant delays in assessing the referral which will most likely be returned to you for more information. In particular, an adequate history and copies of previous investigations such as blood tests, x-rays and endoscopy reports are essential.

The following referral templates of problems commonly referred to gastroenterology outpatients provide the minimum information required for assessing a referral under the headings of eligibility, priority, differential diagnosis, clinical information and investigations required.

All the requested investigations/results for the specific clinical conditions must be addressed in the referral.Gaps in the information will lead to a triage delay.

All the usual general information must also be provided, specifically each patient’s:

  • age
  • social situation
  • general health
  • level of independence
  • comorbidities & mental status being particularly relevant in referrals for older people.

Clinical referral templates have been developed for the following common GE problems:

General gastroenterology

Liver diseases

Alternative care options/health information for low-priority conditions while waiting for appointment or if no appointment is made:

Not all patients with gastroenterological or hepatological complaints can be offered appointments in the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) clinics due to limited resources.

Options for obtaining further information are listed below.

Other clinical resources to consider:

Important to note that private referral is an option. Other information is available on the GESA website.