Useful Management Information
- Children with hip pain and potential orthopaedic diagnosis (e.g. perthe’s disease, slipped epiphysis, hip dysplasia and others) should be referred directly to orthopaedics
- If you have a reason to suspect a child in Queensland is experiencing harm, or is at risk of experiencing harm, you need to contact Child Safety Services
- In the majority of cases it is thought inappropriate for children to wait more than 6 months for an outpatient initial appointment
Minimum Referral Criteria
Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days) |
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Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days) |
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Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days) |
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If your patient does not meet the minimum referral criteria
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Essential Referral Information
- History of joint symptoms. Note duration, joints or regions involved
- Report presence or absence of concerning features
- Persistent fevers
- Weight loss (how much?)
- Rash
- Diarrhoea or bloody stools
- Abdominal pain
- Focal neurological signs
- Wasting
Additional Referral Information
Highly desirable Information – may change triage category
- Detailed history of joint pain - diurnal or day to day variation, exercise symptoms
- Family history of joint problems or inflammatory bowel disease
- Recent respiratory or skin infections or systemic viral illness
- Physical examination including heart sounds if rheumatic fever or post streptococcal arthritis considered
- Burden of disease; school missed, ability to participate in usual activities, dependency for activities of daily living/hygiene/dressing
- Joint examination findings – swelling, range of motion, erythema, heat
Desirable Information- will assist at consultation
- Other past medical history
- Immunisation history
- Developmental history
- Medication history
- Significant psychosocial risk factors (esp parents mental health, family violence, housing and financial stress, department of child safety involvement)
- Height/weight/head circumference and growth charts with prior measurements if available.
- Other physical examination findings inclusive of CNS, birth marks or dysmorphology
- Investigations as appropriate to clinical presentation:
- consider XR of hips or knees if involved
- consider FBC ESR ELFT
- consider rheumatologic and serological investigations for autoimmune or post infectious causes if appropriate. These investigations are not required for categorisation
Send Referrals To
Smart Referrals
Preferred Method
About Smart Referrals
Secure Web Transfer
Send to: Gold Coast Health Service District
Internal Referrals
Paediatric Medicine (E-Blueslips)
Fax
Post
Paediatric Referral Centre
Gold Coast University Hospital
1 Hospital Boulevard
Southport QLD 4215
Enquiries
Service Availability
Facilities
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.
Child Safety
If you have a reason to suspect a child in Queensland is experiencing harm, or is at risk of experiencing harm, contact Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Services . Please consider if mandatory reporting applies.