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This page contains information for general practitioners on how to refer patients aged 16 years and over to Neurology services at Mater Hospital Brisbane.
Catchment criteria applies for referrals for this service. Patient referrals from outside the Mater SEQ Catchment (which includes Metro South and West Moreton Hospital and Health Services) may not be accepted.
Mater offers a comprehensive neurology service for public patients through the Mater Neurosciences Centre Brisbane. Consisting of surgeons, physicians, nurses and allied health professionals, the Mater Neurosciences Centre Brisbane is designed to meet the specific needs of patients and their families.
In addition to general Neurology services, patients can be referred to dedicated clinics for
How to send a referral
Stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
Progressive loss of neurological function
Seizures/epilepsy
Headache/migraine
Movement disorders
Peripheral Neuropathy
Other referrals to emergency
Essential information (Referral will be declined without this)
Additional referral information (useful for processing the referral)
Other useful information for management (not an exhaustive list)
Medical Management:
Categorisation
Available appointments are provided to our patients based on clinical priority. A process of categorisation ensures safety and equity of access.
Category 1 – urgent
Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 30 days
Category 2 - Priority
Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 90 days
Category 3 - Routine
Clinically recommended timeframe for initial appointment is 365 days
> 50 years with raised CRP/ESR or if giant cell arteritis or vasculitis suspected
Severe frequent headaches and trial of at least 3 migraine preventers without improvement (List 3 treatments trialled)
Chronic/complicated headache/migraine unresponsive to medical management
Severe symptoms or abrupt onset/deterioration of movement disorder
Known or suspected:
Non-progressive movement disorder i.e. essential tremor
Progressive motor neuropathy with impact on gait and balance
Progressive neuropathy of uncertain cause
Suspected or diagnosed peripheral neuropathy without severe complications
Mild to moderate neuropathy likely due to known and treated underlying cause (e.g. diabetic neuropathy)
Rapidly progressive neurological or visual field deficit including weakness, ataxia or cranial nerve deficits (e.g. MS, MND, myasthenia gravis, myositis)
Progressive neurological or visual field deficit including weakness, ataxia or cranial nerve deficits (e.g. MS, MND, myasthenia gravis, myositis)
Chronic or slowly deterioating neurodegenerative illness
New diagnosis of epilepsy (confirmed or highly likely) without a review by neurologist
First epileptic seizure (as convulsive syncope is a common mimic, may be seen by general medicine prior to neurology, depending on local pathways)
Frequent epileptic seizure activity without current use of antiseizure medications
Documented increased frequency of Generalised tonic-clonic or bilateral tonic clonic seizures in patient with good adherence to medical treatment
Pregnancy in a patient with known epilepsy
Poorly controlled epilepsy (e.g. increased frequency of seizures, change in seizure activity) in patient with good adherence to medical treatment. (This may be categorised as Cat 1 depending on severity)
Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) /Suspected dissociative attacks* seeking clarification of diagnosis
*Suspected dissociative seizures should be triaged according to the social and medical impact of their epileptic-seizure counterparts rather than based on the (suspected) cause
Chronic epilepsy without concerning features
Epilepsy advice and management plan including driving recommendations and decreasing anti-epileptic medication
If the question relates to resumption of pre-stroke activities e.g. driving or working, please also refer to and include the Rehabilitation discharge summary.
Consider driving advice
Stroke/TIA known or suspected with last change in symptoms less than 2 weeks prior to referral
Stroke/TIA known or suspected with last change in symptoms more than 2 weeks prior to referral
Medication history, including non-prescription medications, herbs and supplements
Suspected IIH with visual symptoms or severe headaches
Headache or pulsatile tinnitus with MRI reported soft signs of IIH without papilloedema
Suspected IIH without symptoms or MRI findings suggestive of IIH
Mater Health offers patients the opportunity to attend bulk billed clinics. To provide your patient with the opportunity to attend a bulk billed clinic, please provide a named referral to one of the specialists listed above.
If you would like to discuss a referral, including clinical criteria, or update the status of a current patient please contact our priority GP phone line on 07 3163 2200
We provide up to date data on how long patients are waiting for their first appointment by specialty here.
These Mater Referral Guidelines align with standardised best practice tools for referral to publicly funded specialist outpatient services developed in Queensland through the Clinical Prioritisation Criteria project.
Content last reviewed: 26 August 2024
Essential information (Referral will be declined without this) General Referral Information Relevant condition information Presence and duration of neurological signs and symptoms Relevant pathology and imaging reports Categorisation Available appointments are provided to our patients based on clinical priority. A process of categorisation ensures safety and equity of access.
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