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Services & Clinics

Gastroenterology and Hepatology

We care for patients with diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

What we do

Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital provides a specialist service for the diagnosis and management of diseases and conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

Gastroenterology cares for patients with disorders of the gastrointestinal system including:

  • bowel cancer screening
  • inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  • gastroesophageal reflux disease
  • GI motility
  • Coeliac disease
  • pancreatic and hepatobiliary diseases.

Hepatology cares for patients with any symptom or disease associated with the liver including:

  • hepatitis C
  • hepatitis B
  • abnormal liver function
  • non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
  • alcoholic liver disease
  • Cirrhosis (including scarring of the liver) and complications
  • hepatocellular Carcinoma
  • immune and hereditary liver diseases
  • autoimmune liver disease
  • hemochromatosis
  • iron deficiency anaemia.

Specialised clinics and procedures within the department include:

Where to find us

Outpatient Department, Level 3 (ground floor), Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Check appointment information and screens on arrival at the RAH, for the specific location of your appointment or procedure.

Who we are

Consultants

  • A/Prof. William Tam - Head of Unit
  • A/Prof Edmund Tse - Head of Hepatology
  • Dr Kate Lynch - Head of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) service
  • Dr Nam Nguyen - Endoscopy and Colonoscopy service
  • Dr Paul Kuo - Head of GI motility and laboratory services

Once your referral has been received it will be triaged according to clinical urgency.

If your referral is accepted, you will either:

  • receive a letter, phone call or text message confirming your appointment or procedure time, date and location
  • receive a letter confirming you have been waitlisted for an appointment.

If the referral is declined, your GP or referring medical practitioner will be notified.

Outpatient services

Find out information about specialist outpatient appointments, how to be referred, plus information when attending an outpatient clinic.

Your outpatient appointment

Contact us to:

  • change your appointment time
  • cancel your appointment
  • find out triage status
  • general outpatient enquiries.

If you need to cancel or change your appointment time, let us know as soon as possible.

What to know when having a procedure

Get information, learn about your appointment and know what to expect before attending an endoscopy, colonoscopy or Fibroscan procedure at the RAH.

A fibroscan, or elastography, is a liver scan that tests for stiffness or scarring. It is used to assess liver health, function and guide treatment options. 

ADD SPECIFIC PATIENT INFO HERE

Preparing for surgery

The healthier you are going into surgery, the stronger you will be coming out. Find tips and resources to help you get ready for surgery.

Resources

eReferrals are preferred. 

Use the Clinical Prioritisation Criteria (CPC) as a referral guide. 

To ensure timely triage, include all demographic and clinical details. 

The service triages referrals according to clinical urgency. 

Urgent and serious referrals

If you are concerned about the appointment being delayed or if the patient's condition is deteriorating, contact the registrar to discuss. 

Registrars are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Patients requiring immediate assessment should be sent directly to the Emergency Department.

Discharge guidelines

Patients whose medical condition has stabilised or resolved, and where no further appointment has been made, will be formally discharged.

If medical assessment is required again, a new referral should be made explaining the reason.

Resources

Coordinators within the Gastroenterology and Hepatology unit recruit and manage clinical trials over the various sub-specialities. 

For more information on clinical trials that are currently running, please contact us. 

ADD CONTACT INFO

LIST OF CLINICAL TRIALS IF YOU WANT

(With view of linking to Research / Clinical trials information when launched)

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