Bleeding Disorders
Adult

Haematology

Useful Management Information

  • Refer to local HealthPathways or local guidelines
  • Any patient with a known bleeding disorder and active bleeding should be referred urgently to Emergency.
  • Serious bleeding disorders, e.g. haemophilia A and B, will be diagnosed in early life. Less serious disorders, e.g. Von Willebrand’s disease (VWD), may present in adulthood (type 1 & 2). A form of VWD can be acquired later in life associated with autoimmune disease. Only type 3 VWD causes severe bleeding problems. Other inherited clotting factor deficiencies are very rare.
  • Treatment options in mild VWD include tranexamic acid and desmopressin.

Minimum Referral Criteria

Does your patient meet the minimum referral criteria?
Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days)
  • No category 1 criteria
Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days)
  • Suspected Von Willebrand’s (VWD) and pregnant
  • Suspected VWD and planned surgery
Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days)
  • Known history of stable Von Willebrand’s disease with no significant bleeding

If your patient does not meet the minimum referral criteria

  • Assessment and management information may be found on a range of conditions at HealthPathways
  • If the patient does not meet the criteria for referral but the referring practitioner believes the patient requires specialist review, a clinical override may be requested:
    • Please explain why (e.g. warning signs or symptoms, clinical modifiers, uncertain about diagnosis, etc.)
  • Please note that your referral may not be accepted or may be redirected to another service

Essential Referral Information

  • Presence of any red flags (pregnancy)
  • Detailed family history
  • History of epistaxis, post tooth extraction bleeding, post-partum haemorrhage etc
  • Coagulation screen
  • Von Willebrand assay

Additional Referral Information

  • PFA100 (platelet function test)
  • Blood group
Last updated 19 June 2025

Send Referrals To

Smart Referrals

Preferred Method
About Smart Referrals

Secure Web Transfer

Send to: Gold Coast Health Service District

Internal Referrals

Haematology (E-Blueslips)

Fax

(07) 5687 4497

Post

Cancer Referrals Centre
Gold Coast University Hospital
1 Hospital Boulevard
Southport QLD 4215

Enquiries

(07) 5687 2708

Related HealthPathways

No directly related pathways found

Service Availability

Dr Rachel Wooldridge
Medical Director Haematology

Facilities

Gold Coast University Hospital

If you would like to send a named referral, please address it to the specialist listed above, who will allocate a suitably qualified specialist to see the patient. Alternatively, you can view a full list of our specialists.

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