Outpatients Department
How we can help you
Our Adult Outpatient Department provides outpatient appointments with doctors, nurses and allied health professionals from a range of surgical and medical specialties.
You can use our services if you have been referred from, a general practitioner, specialty doctor or attended the Sutherland Hospital Emergency Department.
The Outpatient Department also provides post-operative follow up appointments. These will be organised by the medical team upon your discharge from the hospital.
Our Services include:
Our Surgical services cover:
- Ear, Nose and Throat
- Gastroenterology
- General surgery
- Anaesthetics
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedics/Joint Replacement Surgery
- Urology
- Urodynamics
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Ophthalmology, Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Services at The Sutherland Hospital are only taking electronic referrals.
Faxed Referral will no longer be accepted for these services.
Our Medical services cover:
- Antenatal
- Cardiology
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Child and Adolescent Unit
- Dermatology
- Diabetes Education Clinic
- Early Pregnancy Assessment Service (EPAS)
- Endocrinology / Diabetes
- Gynaecology
- Infectious Disease
- Neurology / Electroencephalogram (EEG)
- Renal
- Respiratory / Lung Function Laboratory
- South Care Geriatricians Outpatients
- Supportive and Palliative Care
- Radiology
- Nuclear Medicine
We are updating more of our services to electronic referrals. Antenatal, Paediatric and Renal Services will be added to our list of services to be accepting electronic referrals.
Effective from Wednesday, 22 April 2026, we are only accepting electronic referrals for all of our below services:
| Antenatal | Early Pregnancy Assessment Service (EPAS) | Neurology |
|
Dermatology |
Gynaecology | Respiratory |
|
Endocrine / Diabetes |
Infectious Diseases | Paediatrics |
From early June we will also be transitioning our Palliative and Supportive Care and Southcare Geriatricians Services.
Faxed Referral will no longer be accepted for these services.
For instruction on how to send an electronic referral, see our resources.
We are a team of different health professionals including:
- Doctors who will assess, treat and help you manage your medical condition.
- Nursing staff who help look after wounds, check your blood pressure, measure your height and weight, and provide education. Clinical Nurse Consultants may also be at your appointment.
- Administration Staff who will help you organise your appointments, inform you about what will happen and answer any questions you may have.
You will need a referral letter from your local general practitioner (GP) or specialty doctor to use this service.
The Sutherland Hospital now requires all referrals to be provided by a GP, with electronic referral submission via GP practice software or the MyHealthLink Portal as the preferred method for submitting and managing referrals.
Please ask them to complete an electronic referral for you, to a named clinician of your choice explaining your medical history, relevant test results, X-ray results and what medicines you are taking.
We will then send you a letter in the post with the details of your appointment date, time and location. You will also receive a reminder text message to confirm your appointment 7 days prior to your attendance.
If your address or phone number changes, or you need to change or cancel your appointment, please telephone the clinic that you will be attending. This number can be found in the service information on our website.
Will I always see the same doctor at each visit?
The Sutherland Hospital is a teaching hospital so you will be seen by a specialist doctor or a specialist doctor in training. You will stay under the care of the specialist doctor but you may see the doctor in training for your appointments
What should I bring to my appointment?
- Current Medicare card or Veteran Affairs card
- Any Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card, or Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card.
- Insurer details (e.g. workers compensation, public liability or third party).
- Recent X-rays or medical images and their reports, if applicable.
- If you have any particular medical needs we suggest you come prepared (for example, bring your medicines, if you are diabetic please bring food).
- Activities to keep you entertained while waiting (e.g. a book, music player with headphones, crosswords). There are televisions in the waiting area.
- To avoid missing your appointment we suggest you collect refreshments from the cafes located in the foyer of the hospital before checking in. If you need to leave the waiting area for any reason, please inform staff at the reception desk.
Can I eat and take my medicines before my appointment?
You can eat and take medicines as normal unless the doctor has told you to stop taking medicines or not to eat. It is a good idea to bring any medicines you may need to take during the time you are at your appointment.
Waiting times for an appointment are different for each speciality and depends on the seriousness of your medical condition. The department is busy and there may be delays when you arrive for your appointment. We ask that you arrive at your allocated appointment time to prevent having to wait longer.
If we have your mobile phone number, you will receive a text message reminding you of your appointment date and time 3 days before your appointment.
Please let us know if you need an interpreter. You can contact us by 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 us on 02 9540 7067
When you come to our hospital for your appointment, please go to the reception desk of our Outpatients Department, where our firendly administration staff will assist you.
We are a teaching hospital and you may be asked to be involved in research or for a student to be present at your appointment. You have a right to say no. If you do so, this will not impact in any way on the services we will provide.