Hand Clinic

To come to the Hand Clinic you will need your family doctor to write you a referral letter explaining your medical history and hand condition, relevant test results and what medicines you are taking.

The Hand Clinic needs to receive a current referral in order to schedule an appointment for you.

You will either be provided with an appointment date and time by your referring Doctor when you see them, or the Hand Clinic will contact you later with an appointment date and time.

If a referral has been sent to the Hand Clinic, and you have been waiting longer than 2 weeks to receive information about your appointment, please contact the Hand Clinic on +61 2 9382 7201 between 11am and 4pm Monday to Friday.

If you need to change or cancel your appointment please telephone the Hand Clinic on +61 2 9382 7201 between 11am and 4pm Monday to Friday.

How often you need to attend the hand clinic may change depending on who you see and how your hand condition is going.

If you need help in-between clinic visits, please contact the Hand Clinic Nurses, who will assist you with your query and care.

If you call during business hours (8am - 4pm) please call the Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital switchboard on 02 9382 7111 and they will direct your call.

Outside these hours please either attend your general practitioner or local Emergency Department.

You may have been asked by the referring hospital to fast (not to eat or drink) from midnight on the night before your appointment and you should remain fasted until you have been reviewed by the medical team.

However, if you feel unwell or have a condition affecting your blood sugar, please alert the reception staff or nursing staff in the clinic.

If you need to take any medications before your appointment e.g. antibiotics or pain relief, please do so with only a sip of water and tell staff when you are seen. 

You may need to follow up with your family doctor. The doctor will let you know if you need to.

If you need surgery urgently you may be booked for surgery on the same day as your appointment. Surgery is based on medical priority and may mean that your operation is booked for another day. Should you undergo surgery and are discharged the same day, you will need someone to take you home.

If you would like to speak to Hand Unit staff over the phone using an interpreter, phone the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 13 14 50 and ask to speak to staff on 9382 7201.

TIS National is a free and confidential government service throughout Australia. Call cost is that of a local call.

When you come to your Hand Clinic appointment, your treatment may take several hours. This is because you will be seen not only by a doctor, but also by nurses and hand therapists. You may also require X-rays or other tests. We aim to see everyone on time, unfortunately we often have emergency cases which means you may have to wait.

We will let you know how long you will have to wait. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

We are 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 say no, this will not impact in any way on the services or care we will provide for you.

Any person with a hand injury or condition relating to their hand, wrist and forearm.