Orthopaedic clinic - Hip and knee outpatient service in CALHN

The Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) Orthopaedic and Trauma Service provides inpatient and outpatient care for patients living in the CALHN area who suffer from hip and knee problems.

Services

Services include:

  • Outpatient clinic consultations for diagnosis and management of the following (but not limited to):
    • osteoarthritis
    • inflammatory arthritis
    • post-traumatic arthritis
    • developmental dysplasia of the hip/hip deformity
    • avascular necrosis
    • soft tissue injuries in the knee including cruciate ligament injury and meniscal tears
  • We also specialise in complex revision arthroplasty and hip preservation surgery in young adults
  • Post-operative reviews
  • Virtual clinic for reviews from Country areas and nursing homes
  • Inpatient consultation and admission

Services are also provided to patients referred from rural and remote areas within South Australia and the Northern Territory on referral from the Royal Darwin Hospital or Alice Springs Hospital. In addition, CALHN also receives referrals from other local health networks (LHNs) for complex hip and knee disorders, adolescent hip disorders and complex revision surgery and infected joint replacement.

Children are usually managed by paediatric specialists, with referral to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Appointment Locations

Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH)

Outpatient clinics are held on Level 3 (ground floor) of the RAH.

Our clinic is located at Level 3G.6

Royal Adelaide Hospital
1 Port Road SA 5000

RAH Outpatients Map

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH)

Orthopaedic Outpatients, Ground floor, Area 3
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
28 Woodville Road, Woodville SA 5011

TQEH map (PDF 341KB)

Clinics operation times

RAH

clinics operate Monday to Thursday for patients with various hip and knee orthopaedic conditions.

TQEH

clinics operate Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for patients with various hip and knee orthopaedic conditions.

Orthopaedic podiatry

works closely with the clinic specialists offering services across both sites. For more podiatry information please view the CALHN Podiatry outpatient services page.

RAH Consultants

  • Bogdan Solomon – Head of Unit 051
  • Mr Robert Baird
  • Mr Sam Benveniste
  • Mr Richard Clarnette
  • Mr Luke Mooney
  • Prof Donald Howie
  • Assoc Prof Pete Smitham
  • Assoc Prof Mark Rickman–Head of Unit 051
  • Mr Justin Alexander
  • Mr Ben Beamond
  • Mr Jakub Jagiello
  • Mr Domenic Leonello
  • Mr James McLean
  • Mr Justin Munt
  • Mr Anthony Nguyen
  • Mr Mike Smith
  • Mr Aman Sood
  • Mr Justin Webb

TQEH Consultants

  • Dr Linda Ferris – Head of Unit
  • Mr Ahmad Bajhau
  • Dr Gavin Nimon
  • Mr Collie Begg
  • Mr Nick Pourgiezis
  • Mr David Campbell
  • Assoc Prof Mark Rickman
  • Dr Nancy Cullen
  • Mr Chi Gooi
  • Mr Shahram Shahrokhi
  • Dr Christy Graff
  • Mr John van Essen

GP Information

Refer your patient

Fax referral to us

We accept GP and specialist referrals to this service.

All referrals are triaged by the service according to clinical urgency. Patients who are unstable and requiring immediate assessment should be sent directly to the Emergency Department.

To refer your patient, follow the outpatient service information, triage and referral guidelines, complete and fax a referral to us. For urgent referrals, also contact the Registrar to discuss the case.

To ensure appropriate and timely triage, include all demographic and clinical details as well as relevant investigation results.

If you are concerned about any delay of the appointment or if there is any deterioration in your patient’s condition, contact the Registrar on call on

  • RAH — (08) 7074 0000
  • TQEH — (08) 8222 6000.

Clinical features indicative or potentially serious pathology (PDF 214KB)

To make a referral

RAH

  • Fax: (08) 7074 6247
  • Telephone: 1300 153 853

TQEH

  • Fax: (08) 8222 7188
  • Telephone: (08) 8222 7030

Discharge guidelines and information

If the patient or GP is concerned about a post-operative patient and orthopaedic assessment is required earlier than planned, a phone call to the RAH orthopaedic outpatients department on 1300 153 853 or TQEH orthopaedic outpatients department on (08) 8222 7010, will allow this to be discussed with one of the orthopaedic nurses. After hours, the on-call orthopaedic registrar should be contacted with the above numbers to discuss the patient.

If a Joint Replacement patient is experiencing any issues or has any questions or concerns regarding post-operative care of their joint replacement, the can call:

  • RAH Joint Replacement Nursing Service via the switchboard on (08) 7074 0000 pager #1731 or pager #1942
  • TQEH Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner via mobile on 0466379802

Patients whose orthopaedic condition has stabilised or resolved and for whom no further appointment has been made will be formally discharged or integrated into a long term management plan. If assessment is required again, a new referral, explaining the reason should be faxed to us.

As only the GP referral is available to the specialist at the time of triage, simply requesting review without providing information about the problem is insufficient and will lead to significant delays in assessing the referral which will most likely be returned to you for more information.

Alternate care options / health information for low priority

Dependant on the type and severity of the hip and / or knee condition, there may be a lengthy wait for some patients to be seen in the orthopaedic outpatient clinics.

In most cases, the key to appropriate management is a detailed history and examination. Options for obtaining further information regarding various hip and knee conditions and to provide guidance for assessment, investigations and management are listed under the below pathways and resources.

Health Pathways

Health Pathways South Australia is an online portal designed to be used by general practice at the point of care to guide best practice assessment, management and referral of common clinical conditions.

Related resources

Patient information

How to access the clinic

Referral from your GP

You need a referral letter from your GP or medical practitioner to access this service.

Your doctor will need to fax your referral letter to us. We will be in contact with you within clinically recommended times, depending on waiting list length. If there is no waiting list, you will receive an appointment booking letter or we will contact you to arrange a suitable time.

Information sheets

Please refer to the information sheets below for information regarding the outpatient service.

Useful links for further information