Infectious Diseases Outpatient Clinic
We care for and treat people with infections that require specialist infectious diseases assessment and management.
We have two clinics:
An intravenous antibiotic therapy clinic for those with infections requiring antibiotic treatment that can be safely given at home administered by community nurses from Southcare. This might be a blood stream infection, or an infection involving bones and joints or the heart. Referral should be made directly to the infectious diseases specialist or doctor in training, and would usually be ongoing care after you have been cared for in Sutherland hospital.
An outpatient clinic attended by an infectious disease specialist and a doctor in training. This clinic provides management of infectious diseases problems for those who have been discharged from the hospital and require ongoing care, and people referred by their general practitioner. Appointments may be face-to-face in the clinic or by telehealth, with referrals as below.
GP electronic referrals only - we are no longer accepting faxed referrals for this clinic.
Doctor |
Clinical and Research Areas |
Clinic Days |
|
Dr Robert Stevens |
Infectious diseases physician | Thursday PM |
| Dr Ben Knippenberg | Infectious disease physician and microbiologist | Thursday PM |
| Dr Roselle Robosa | Infectious disease physician and microbiologist | Thursday PM |
Clinic Type |
Day of the week |
| Home Intravenous Antibiotic Therapy Clinic | Tuesday AM |
| Infectious Diseases | Thursday PM |
Infectious problems which we treat include:
- Bone and joint infections
- Heart infections
- Recurrent skin and soft tissue infections
- Infections in travelers
- Infections requiring specialist care such as cryptococcal infection and Q fever.
- Assessment of the need for preventive therapy against tuberculosis ·
- Any infectious issue for which your general practitioner is recommending a specialist infectious diseases opinion but usually not those below.
Infections best seen by other specialist services:
- Infections with hepatitis viruses are best cared for by a doctor with a special interest in liver infections.
- People with HIV/AIDS are provided with a specialist surface by the Waratah Clinic at St George hospital phone 91132957
- People with sexually transmitted infections are provided with a specialist service by the Short Street centre sexual health clinic at St George hospital, phone 91132742
- People with active tuberculosis are provided with a specialist service by the Chest Clinic at St George hospital 91132430
The process for referring a patient is:
- GP/referrer to send electronic referral. We are no longer accepting faxed referrals for this clinic.
- The referral will be checked to ensure it is valid. If not valid then extra information will be sourced from the referrer
- If valid, the referral will be triaged by clinic doctor
- Appointment made as per doctor’s recommendation
- Patient notified by confirmation letter as well as a text/call 1 week prior to appointment
For instruction on how to send an electronic referral, please click to see our resources here
A valid referral requires:
- Written by a medical practitioner in a private practice or an SMO
- Written to a named doctor within the clinic
- Signed and dated by referring practitioner and include their Provider Number and place of practice
- Include length of referral, unless it is a 12 month referral
- Patient to have signed financial consent form.
We are a teaching hospital and you may be asked to be involved in research or for a medical 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.
Is there a waiting list?
Yes
Waiting list details:
All referrals are prioritised and allocated according to criteria.
If you hold a valid Medicare card the visit is Bulk Billed.
If you do not hold a Medicare card a fee will be charged on arrival, please contact the clinic for further information.
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 us on 9540 7067