You will likely have a written referral from your referring doctor / GP. You will need this when you book your appointment so you can be eligible for the Medicare rebate associated with the consult as well as any subsequent appointments. Your referral will remain valid for up to 12 months from the date your doctor gave it to you. We can accept a referral in the name of one of our doctors specifically or Sydney Gut Clinic. We will also accept a referral in the name of another Gastroenterologist – or Colorectal Surgeon.
To book an appointment, please contact us – you can do this via our online appointment form or contact us on 02 9131 2111.
On the day of the appointment:
- Please bring your referral with you – if you haven’t already sent it to us via email or the online form
- Medicare Card
- Health Fund Card
- Pension Card
- Veterans Affairs Card (DVA)
- Bring any test results that are relevant to the consult (i.e. Blood test results, Stool test results, ultrasound report and film, x-ray report and film, CT report and film, MRI report and film)
Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time as we will need to gather your information prior to you seeing our specialists.
What to expect at your first appointment
This appointment is for our specialists to understand your symptoms and begin gathering information to diagnose you. One of our skilled Gastroenterologists will read the referral from your doctor and will then ask questions on what symptoms you have, please also advise any other information you feel is relevant. If you have brought test results, he will review them and work towards a diagnosis. Further investigations may be required and this will be organised as required during the consultation.
After your first appointment
Appointments do have different outcomes, so there is no single “next step”, however our in-house specialists will clearly explain what comes next. This may entail blood tests, stool tests, endoscopic evaluation and scans. At SGC, our specialists perform all endoscopic investigations and you have a choice of hospitals to have this done. You will then have a follow up appointment to review these results and ensure you are improving as expected.
Diagnosis can be achieved at any stage during this process, based on the information and results available. This varies from patient to patient.
You may also be required to have follow up appointments to ensure treatment has been effective and your recovery is on track.