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This page contains information for general practitioners on how to refer patients aged 16 years and over to Neurosurgery services at Mater Hospital Brisbane.
Catchment criteria applies for referrals for this service. Patient referrals from outside the Mater SEQ Catchment (which includes Metro South and West Moreton Hospital and Health Services) may not be accepted.
The Mater Centre for Neurosciences provides a comprehensive service for patients throughout Queensland, and has been designed to meet the specific needs of patients and their families. From one dedicated location, Mater Centre for Neurosciences provides specialist care for stroke, epilepsy, neurosurgery, neurology and spinal surgery.
How to send a referral
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.
Non Acute Skull Fracture/Non-acute traumatic brain injury
Brain Tumours (intracerebral, meningioma, skull base, pituitary)
Neurovascular disorder (aneurysm, AVMs, other)
Hydrocephalus and VP shunt
Trigeminal neuralgia and other cranial nerve abnormalities
Spine
Peripheral Nerve compression including carpel tunnel syndrome, ulnar nerve entrapment neuropathy, common peroneal and lateral cutaneous nerve of thigh compression syndromes
Other referrals to emergency not covered within conditions:
Essential information (Referral will be declined without this)
Additional referral information (useful for processing the referral)
Other useful information for management (not an exhaustive list)
Categorisation
Available appointments are provided to our patients based on clinical priority. A process of categorisation ensures safety and equity of access.
Category 1 – urgent
Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 30 days
Category 2 - Priority
Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 90 days
Category 3 - Routine
Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 365 days
Intracerebral space-occupying lesion, (suspected or confirmed on CT) with minimal and/or slowly progressing symptoms
Symptomatic small benign intracranial tumours (e.g. acoustic neuroma/vestibular schwannoma, meningioma, craniopharyngioma epidermoid cyst, arachnoid cyst) without cerebral oedema
Pituitary tumour associated with visual field deficits and/or symptomatic hyper/hypopituitarism
Functioning or non-functioning pituitary adenoma, pituitary tumours with slowly progressive visual field deficit
Incidental finding on imaging e.g. epidermoid cyst, arachnoid cyst and/or unusual pathology e.g. adults with newly diagnosed chiari malformation, empty sella, temporal lobe herniation, venous angioma
Pituitary tumours with no visual impairment, normal pituitary function and/or mild hyper-prolactinemia
Previously diagnosed hydrocephalus with evidence of raised intracranial pressure
New diagnosis of hydrocephalus on CT or MRI
Patient with complications or suspected complications of an in situ VP shunt
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension – in patients with persistent symptoms or visual deterioration despite medical therapy including repeat lumbar punctures
No category 2 criteria
Routine review of VP shunt in an asymptomatic patient
Asymptomatic AVM or aneurysm or brain and spine, i.e. not associated with an intracranial haemorrhage or acute neurological deficit
Counselling – investigation of patients at high risk of intracerebral aneurysms e.g. family history in first degree relatives, polycystic kidney disease, inherited connective tissue diseases, coarctation of the aorta
Co-morbidities e.g. patient taking anti-platelets or anti coagulants
Non-acute skull fracture
Non-acute traumatic brain injury
No category 3 criteria
Peripheral nerve compression syndrome with
Frequent and / or progressive peripheral nerve compressive symptoms with corresponding clinical signs
Recurrence of significant symptoms or clinical signs after surgical decompression
Intermittent or mild symptoms of peripheral nerve compression failing to respond to reasonable and appropriate non- operative measures of greater than 6 months duration and considered to warrant assessment for surgical decompression
Appropriate category 2 patients will initially be assessed / reassessed and case managed by an expert musculoskeletal clinician
Appropriate category 3 patients will initially be assessed / reassessed and case managed by an expert musculoskeletal clinician
Severe/intractable trigeminal neuralgia
Failed maximal medical management, including difficulty swallowing /eating/ drinking
Moderately severe trigeminal neuralgia partially controlled with medication for consideration of surgical treatment including patients with side effects to medical therapy
Essential information (Referral will be declined without this) General Referral Information Relevant condition information Relevant pathology and imaging reports Categorisation Available appointments are provided to our patients based on clinical priority. A process of categorisation ensures safety and equity of access.
Mater Health offers patients the opportunity to attend bulk billed clinics. To provide your patient with the opportunity to attend a bulk billed clinic, please provide a named referral to one of the specialists listed above.
If you would like to discuss a referral, including clinical criteria, or update the status of a current patient please contact our priority GP phone line on 07 3163 2200 .
We provide up to date data on how long patients are waiting for their clinic first appointment by specialty here.
These Mater Referral Guidelines align with standardised best practice tools for referral to publicly funded specialist outpatient services developed in Queensland through the Clinical Prioritisation Criteria project.
Content last reviewed: 13 December 2023
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