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This page contains information for general practitioners on how to refer patients aged 16 years and over to Oncology and Heamatology services at Mater Hospital Brisbane. Consultation and treatment is delivered at the Mater Cancer Care Centres at South Brisbane and Springfield. The clinical condition and address for each patient will be considered when determining the consultation/treatment location.
The Mater Cancer Care Centre (MCCC) provides treatment for a wide range of cancers in a multi-disciplinary environment consisting of medical specialists, clinical nurse consultants and specialised nurses with access to allied health services including physiotherapy, psychology, social work, occupational therapy and dietetics. Patients also have access to a range of supportive therapy programs.
Providing patients with access to care and treatment that is specifically designed for individual needs is an essential focus for the Mater Cancer Care Centre team. Patients receive their cancer treatment onsite at the centre and to ensure there are no unnecessary delays with dispensing medicines, pharmacy services are available on-site. The South Brisbane campus also offers access to radiation therapy, an intensive care unit, CT scanner, MRI imaging and pathology.
In addition to providing treatment for a number of Haematological conditions, the autologous stem cell transplantation unit at South Brisbane includes a NATA accredited cryopreservation laboratory for the collection, storage, and re-infusion of peripheral blood haematopoietic stem cells.
The Mater Cancer Care Centre has strong links with clinical trials ranging from early phase studies to multinational phase III studies.
How to send a referral
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)
Categorisation
Available appointments are provided to our patients based on clinical priority. A process of categorisation ensures safety and equity of access.
Emergency Treatment
Needs discussion with on-call specialist and / or Emergency Department
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
Inflammatory breast cancer and patients requiring neoadjuvant chemotherapy (biopsy confirmed) For optimum care, patient should be seen within 2 weeks.
Breast cancer for adjuvant chemotherapy
Metastatic breast cancer (biopsy confirmed)
Patient on adjuvant hormone treatment for breast cancer and has problem with tolerance
Previously treated breast cancer patient from another center requiring routine follow-up
No category 3 criteria
Metastatic colon cancer with rapid progress or organ dysfunction. For optimum care, patient should be seen within 2 weeks.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with radiation prior to surgery (usually referred by Surgeon after MDT). For optimum care, patient should be seen within 2 weeks.
Adjuvant treatment after surgery (usually referred after MDT by surgeon)
Metastatic colon cancer (De novo or following treatment for early-stage cancer) and has tissue confirmation
No category 2 criteria
** Please note Mater does not accept referrals for head and neck cancer. Please refer to local HHS**
GP Essential Referral Information
Specialist Essential Referral Information
All small cell lung cancer that does not need emergency treatment (see emergency). For optimum care, patient should be seen within 2 weeks.
Biopsy proven non-small cell lung cancer
Locally advanced disease for concurrent chemotherapy and radiation
Metastatic disease
Adjuvant treatment following curative surgery
Recurrence following previous treatment
(Patients on surveillance after previous treatment for lung malignancy may be referred directly to medical oncology)
Patients with previously treated lung cancer
Abnormal lymph node (LN) detected clinically or via imaging – and not biopsied (or inconclusive biopsy).
If ANY of the following are present the patients should be seen within 2 weeks:
If ALL the following are present an appointment within 4-6 weeks is acceptable:
Some patients who are clinically well with stable minor enlargement of lymph nodes and normal blood counts may be triaged as a category 2
Aggressive lymphoma
For optimum care, patient should be seen within 2 weeks.
Low Grade lymphoma
*Some CLL behaves very indolently and an appointment time within 90 days may be acceptable – this decision will be made by the triaging clinician.
PRESENCE OF ONE IS REQUIRED
AND if ANY of the following present
AND if ALL of the following present
Categorisation depends on subtype and amount of monoclonal protein
Metastatic germ cell tumour (GCT)-confirmed (biopsy, orchidectomy) not requiring emergency treatment (see emergency) For optimum care, patient should be seen within 2 weeks.
Resected GCT (after orchidectomy) for consideration of adjuvant chemotherapy or surveillance
Dr Naadir Gutta
Director of Haematology
Dr Mohamed Shanavas
Haematologist
Dr Cath Shannon
Specialist Medical Oncologist
Dr Vikram Jain
Director of Medical Oncology
Dr Kathryn Middleton
Dr Felicity Murphy
Dr Niara Oliveria
Dr Natasha Woodward
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
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 updated: 31/03/2023
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