Information for Health Professionals on our Neurology Clinics

All our clinics require a referral and must be addressed to the appropriate doctor. 

Clinic Name	Clinic Day	Clinic Times	Specialist	Phone/Fax	Location
General Neurology	Monday (weekly)	0900 - 1200	Professor James Colebatch	9382 2407 / 9382 3463	Institute of Neurological Sciences, POWH Level 2, High Street Building
General Neurology / Multiple Sclerosis	Tuesday (1st & 3rd Tuesday of month)	0900 - 1130	Professor Arun Krishnan	9382 2414 / 9382 2428	Institute of Neurological Sciences, POWH Level 2, High Street Building
Aboriginal and Torres Islander General Neurology Clinic	Tuesday (1st Tuesday of month only)	1400 - 1630	Dr Joanna Offord	02 8347 4800 / 02 8347 4810	La Perouse Aboriginal Community Health 1 Elaroo Ave, Phillip Bay NSW 2036
General Neurology Clinic / Nerve & Muscle Clinic	Tuesday (2nd & 4th Tuesday of month)	0900 - 1200	Professor Arun Krishnan Dr Roshan Dhanapalaratnam Dr Joanna Offord	02 9382 2422 / 02 9382 4265	Institute of Neurological Sciences, POWH Level 2, High Street Building
General Neurology	Thursday (weekly)	0900 - 1200	Associate Professor Alessandro Zagami	02 9382 2422 / 02 9382 4265	Institute of Neurological Sciences, POWH Level 2, High Street Building

Inclusion Criteria for General Neurology Clinics

We treat patients aged 16 and above from within the POWH local district with general neurological symptoms not requiring management at one of our sub-speciality clinics.

For referrals to La Perouse Aboriginal Community Health Neurology Clinic – patient must be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander also

Exclusion Criteria for General Neurology Clinics

Due to the demand on the General Neurology Clinic, if the patient does not meet the requirements for a sub-speciality clinics review such as Nerve & Muscle, Multiple Sclerosis or Epilepsy Clinic, and the patient does not live within the local area they will be referred back to their local hospital or district health service for management. We do not see patients under the age of 16 years. 

We are unable to see Worker’s compensation or Third Party payers and Medicare Ineligible patients through our public general neurology clinics due to long waiting lists.

The following information will be mandatory for all incoming referrals:

• General patient information (name, contact number, Medicare no. etc.) including language spoken and if interpreter is required
• Reason for referral, including diagnosis or suspected diagnosis, location of injury or affected area(s) of body
• Specialist being referred to
• Comorbidities
• Medical history
• Medications
• Findings from investigations
• Current management plan
• Relevant investigations relating to why the patient is being referred (eg CT Brain if for headaches)

This needs to be emailed to POWNeurology@health.nsw.gov.au for triage by the neurologist prior to any bookings being made. 

Once reviewed, a letter is posted to the patient at the address nominated on the referral. A copy of this confirmation is also faxed to the referring doctor.

If you feel your patient requires urgent review, a phone call from the general practitioner to the neurologist directly is required to discuss the patient's case. 

If a patient misses an appointment without notice, a "Did Not Attend" letter will be posted to the patient and faxed to the referring doctor/general practitioner advising them to contact the clinic to rebook or to attend their GP to discuss alternative options should they not want to continue to attend the clinic. 

If the patient cancels in advance, a cancellation letter is posted to the patient advising of the cancellation as well as being faxed to the referring doctor/general practitoner to advise the patient has cancelled their appointment. This way the referring doctor/general practitioner can discuss with the patient whether a further appointment needs to be made and re-referral occur. 

We may refer patients for relevant blood tests or medical imaging as part of the clinical assessment.