Referrals
Are you referring to the right service?
RPH is an Adult service.
Children and teens: Referrals for child and adolescent health services should be directed to Perth Childrens Hospital.
Country patients: Visit AHCWA MAPPA
Immediate Referrals
To arrange an urgent review or advice, please phone the RPH switchboard on 9224 2244 and ask to speak with the on-call registrar for Respiratory Medicine.
After verbal clinical handover and agreement with the registrar that the patient requires an appointment with RPH within 7 days please email the patient’s referral to:
RPH.OutpatientReferrals@health.wa.gov.au
Ensure the referral is:
- marked IMMEDIATE
- the name of the registrar or consultant spoken with is written on the referral.
- all essential referral information, investigations, clinical photos are included.
IMMEDIATE (Appointment within 7 days):
| Presenting Issue | Details |
| Acute Pulmonary Embolism that is clinically stable and started in anticoagulation | See Clinician Assist WA: Acute General Medicine Assessment (seen within 7 days) |
| Haemoptysis without known lung disease | Medium volume of haemoptysis as defined as expectoration of 30 to 200mls within 24 hours |
| Pleural disorders | Large pleural effusion +/- suspected malignancy with no hypoxia or respiratory distress |
| Suspected lung cancer/thoracic malignancy |
Suspected primary thoracic cancer. |
Urgent and Routine Referrals
Referrals are triaged based on clinical priority following the Respiratory and sleep medicine Referral Access Criteria.
In-scope Respiratory Medicine conditions:
- Asthma
- Bronchiectasis Chronic Suppurative Lung Disease
- Chronic cough
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Haemoptysis without known lung disease
- Interstitial lung disease (ILD)
- Lung cancer/thoracic malignancy
- Non-calcified Pulmonary Nodules
- Occupational lung disease
- Pleural disorders
- Post COVID Syndrome
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Recurrent respiratory infections without known lung disease
- Sarcoidosis (Pulmonary)
- Shortness of breath/dyspnoea without a known cause
- Sleep disordered breathing (suspected or confirmed)
- Sleep disorders excluding sleep disordered breathing
If a specific test result cannot be obtained due to access, financial, religious, cultural or consent reasons a Clinical Override may be requested. This reason must be clearly articulated in the referral.
The access criteria for some Respiratory Referrals require Lung Function testing to be completed and sent with the referral.
This helps the RPH clinicians to triage the referral more accurately.
Spirometry information can be found at Clinician Assist WA » Spirometry Testing and Evaluation
If you need to refer to another community provider to perform spirometry or other Respiratory function tests, visit Clinician Assist WA » Respiratory Function Testing.
Minimum Standard Referral is included in the standard Referral-form-templates and is available at Minimum-standards-for-outpatient-referrals-Central-Referral-Service.
Please ensure patient email and mobile phone numbers are included to enable contact with the patient. Patients can be flagged for Video or Telephone consultations at referral, triage or follow-up. Named referrals for Respiratory Medicine will be allocated a suitably qualified specialist to see the patient. Note that these referrals are booked on a first on, first off principle from the outpatient waitlist. Where appropriate and where available, Respiratory Medicine referrals may be streamed to an associated public allied health and/or nursing service. Access to some specific services may include initial assessment and management by associated public allied health and/or nursing, which may either facilitate or negate the need to see the public medical specialist.
The Respiratory and sleep medicine Referral Access Criterialists conditions that should present to the Emergency Department.
If any of the following are present or suspected, phone 000 to arrange immediate transfer to the Emergency Department or seek emergent advice if in a remote area.
Consider referral to most relevant specialty based on assessment Consider referral to physiotherapy if likely musculoskeletal in nature SeeClinician Assist WA: Tuberculosis SeeClinician Assist WA: Tuberculosis Tuberculosis is a notifiable disease. Report all cases to the Department of Health, preferably withing 24 hours of diagnosis If there is any suspicion of TB, even if the risk is uncertain, seek advice from theWestern Australia Tuberculosis Control Program (health.wa.gov.au)
Condition
Details
Respiratory function testing in absence of a consultation
SeeClinician Assist WA: Spirometry Testing and Evaluation
Chest wall pain with normal chest CT
Consider referral to General Medicine or Chronic Pain Clinic
Non-cardiac chest pain with normal chest CT
Occupation Fitness Assessment
Occupational asbestos related lung disease
Significant asbestos exposure or asbestos related lung disease – seeAsbestos Review Program (accepts state-wide referrals)
Directed screening Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis/non-tuberculosis mycobacterial infections
EMHS is responsible for providing public health services to the people who reside within its boundaries.
The emhs-catchment-map.pdf (health.wa.gov.au) outlines the suburb catchment areas for East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS). The country areas that flow to EMHS are Kimberley, Pilbara and Wheatbelt.
Referral to a hospital for assessment and/or treatment is based around multiple criteria. These include:
- Place of residence – most hospitals have catchments to help service people closer to home. For country patients, the residence of family with whom they will reside whilst attending appointments can be taken into consideration.
- Age – RPH is an Adult Hospital, children are only treated by some hospitals.
- Hospital location of specialty services – some conditions need designated specialist services that are not available at all hospitals.
Please use this information to guide referrals to the hospital servicing your patient's residence and inform your patients of these criteria when you are referring them for public hospital services via the Central Referral Service (CRS).