Chest Clinic
How We Can Help You
The Chest Clinic is a Tuberculosis service located within South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) consisting of a specialised team of Doctors, Nurses, Clinical Nurse Consultant and Nurse Unit Manager. Our services include prevention, surveillance and treatment of Tuberculosis.
What we do:
- Assessment, investigation, treatment and management of active and latent Tuberculosis
- Directly observed therapy for active Tuberculosis treatment
- Tuberculosis screening for healthcare workers including students for clinical placement and pre-employment after assessment by employer or General Practitioner (GP)
- Immigration screening referred by BUPA
- Contact tracing of all active Tuberculosis cases
- Education, information, support and counselling to staff and community of SESLHD
- BCG vaccination clinic is currently not available however advice provided and referred onto other clinics
Who is eligible to use our service:
- This service is available to anyone seeking assistance or information relating to Tuberculosis. We provide over the phone advice as well as nursing and Doctors appointments (referrals needed for doctor’s appointments)
Cost of the service:
- As Tuberculosis is a public health risk all investigations, monitoring, and treatment of active and latent Tuberculosis is free of charge. No Medicare card or health fund is required
Immigration screening for Health Undertakings:
- People from overseas planning on staying in Australia are required to have a health assessment as part of their visa application
- BUPA is contracted by Department of Home Affairs to undertake these health assessments
- If you reside within the St George area you may be referred to St George Hospital Chest Clinic from BUPA for ongoing Tuberculosis screening which is a visa application requirement
Waiting times:
- Waiting times for an appointment in the medical clinics are extensive and change frequently. Nursing services wait times are minimal. The department is busy and there may be delays when you arrive for your appointment so, please allow extra waiting time to attend to everything required for your appointment
For more detailed information on Tuberculosis, including fact sheets and patient resources available in multiple languages, please visit the links below:
Our Physicians:
- Dr Wei Lai Vicky Chang
- Dr Shu Han Emily Liu
- Dr Anthony Byrne
Our Specialised Nurses:
- Joshua Banner – Nurse Unit Manager
- Mei Qi He – Acting Clinical Nurse Consultant
- All referrals should be sent via fax to (02) 9113 1948 or via email to SESLHD-StGeorgeChestClinic@health.nsw.gov.au
- Referrals can be accepted from GP’s, Specialist’s, hospital in patients (teams) and Chest Clinic staff where all referrals will be triaged according to clinical need
- Immigration referrals are referred via BUPA
- Proof of identification
- Insurer details (workers compensation, public liability or third party)
- Any previous Chest X-Rays, CT scans, blood tests or doctors’ letters (if available)
- Adult vaccination card for pre-employment screening
- Activities to keep you entertained while waiting (for example, a book, music player with headphones, crosswords)
Please let us know if you need an interpreter.
You can contact us telephoning the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450. Tell the operator what language you speak and then ask the interpreter to set up a telephone conversation between you, an interpreter, and the healthcare professional you want to speak with.
We are a teaching hospital and student doctors or nurses may be involved and supervised by senior staff during your visit. You have the right to say no. If you do so, this will not impact in any way on the services we will provide.
Monday to Friday, 9.00 am – 4.30 pm
Lower Ground floor
Prince William Wing
Belgrave Street
Kogarah NSW 2217
What is Tuberculosis (TB)?
- TB is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis and usually affects the lungs but can be found in other parts of the body such as lymph glands, kidneys, gastrointestinal etc. TB is preventable and curable
How do people become infected with TB?
- TB is spread through the air when a person has active TB disease in their lungs or throat. It is spread when that person is talking, coughing, sneezing or singing near other people. Most people will get TB after spending a lot of time with a person with active disease.
- TB is not spread by household items such as cutlery, crockery, toilet seats or telephones
What is the difference between latent and active TB?
- Latent TB is when TB bacteria is in your body but sleeping i.e. not making you sick
- People with latent TB do not have any TB symptoms and cannot spread TB
- Once you are diagnosed with latent TB it is lifelong and is always a chance you can become active
- Active TB is when the bacteria causes infection and makes you sick with symptoms
- Without treatment TB can be spread from one person to another if disease is in the lungs or throat
What are the signs and symptoms of TB?
- Persistent cough for more than 2-3 weeks and not responding to other treatment
- Coughing up blood
- Fevers
- Night sweats
- Unexplained weight loss
- Feeling of tiredness and loss of appetite
- TB that is not in lungs will have different symptoms relating to the area it is present
What does it mean to be contact of TB?
- You may have been identified as a person who has had contact with someone while they were infectious with active TB. If you are contacted by the Chest Clinic, we will commence TB screening which involves a blood test and possibly a chest X-Ray. This is preventative healthcare to help identify latent TB before developing to active TB and provide preventative treatment or monitoring
Is it safe for me to continue working and be with others?
- As a contact of a person with active TB disease, you are not infectious and cannot pass TB onto anyone else. If your screening test is positive, it still does not mean that you are infectious
- If you are diagnosed with active TB disease in your lungs or throat you will not be able to work or socialise until cleared by the Chest Clinic
- If you develop any TB symptoms do not delay in seeking medical attention