Infectious Diseases
As infectious diseases physicians, we diagnose, care and provide support for people with infectious diseases.
What we do
The Infectious Diseases clinic at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) sees patients with infections admitted under other units within the hospital (i.e., general medicine, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, intensive care unit) who require our expertise regarding their diagnosis and treatment. This includes arranging administration of intravenous antibiotics and device management to facilitate discharge from acute care.
We provide a specialist service for Immune Compromised Hosts (i.e., haematology, oncology or transplantation).
We also have a smaller inpatient service for patients with complex infections who are admitted under the care of our own unit.
Our outpatient services include:
- outpatient clinical consultations for diagnosis and management
- ambulatory outpatient intravenous antibiotic management.
Our services (inpatient and outpatient) extends to:
- returned travellers and migrants
- HIV, viral hepatitis and sexual health
- tropical infectious diseases
- multidisciplinary clinics and liaison services (endocarditis, orthopaedics, intensive care, transplant, vascular surgery etc.)
- ambulatory outpatient intravenous antibiotic management
- extra-pulmonary mycobacterial diseases including Hansen’s disease
- multi-drug resistant infections
- infections in the immunocompromised host
- infection control
- antimicrobial stewardship
- CALHN staff occupational health and safety including blood-borne virus occupational exposure
- management of Highly Pathogenic Emerging Infections
- management of infectious diseases outbreaks and pandemics (the RAH is the state’s designated pandemic hospital)
- Fibroscan.
Services are also provided to patients referred from rural and remote areas.
Where to find us
Outpatient clinic, Level 3 Area 2.1 (ground floor), Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Check appointment information and screens on arrival at the RAH, for the specific location.
Who we are
Our specialised team include:
- infectious diseases physicians
- trainee doctors
- specialist nurses.
Consultants
- Dr Renjy Nelson – Head of Unit
- Dr Anushia Ashokan
- Dr Narin Bak
- Dr Jennifer Catford
- Dr Brendan Kennedy
- Dr Thomas McNeil
- Dr Matthew Roberts
- Dr Emily Rowe
- Dr Emily Tucker (has QEH OPD clinics).
Other specialists within Infectious Diseases Clinics
- Dr Andrew Beckwith – Psychiatry
- Dr Charlotte Bell – Sexual Health Physician
- Dr Mahesh Ratnayake – Sexual Health Physician
- Dr Lucy Crawford – Microbiology
- Dr Morgyn Warner – Microbiology.
You need a referral from a GP or medical practitioner to access this service.
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 or text message confirming your appointment time, date and location
- if deemed more urgent, you may receive a phone call (from a private number) or text message.
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.
We accept GP and specialist referrals to this service.
To ensure timely triage, include all demographic and clinical details.
The service triages referrals according to clinical urgency.
Urgent and same day referrals
Patients who are having an medical emergency and require immediate assessment should be sent directly to the emergency department.
Emergency conditions include:
- returned travellers with fever
- newly diagnosed HIV requiring admission
- malaria.
Same day referrals
Where consultation is 'same day' urgent, phone the infectious diseases registrar via the RAH switchboard to discuss the patient. A follow up referral marked urgent should then be faxed.
The RAH has a rapid assessment (RASS) clinic for relevant clinically urgent matters. IDC staff coordinate this style of rapid appointment with the patient or referrer if required.
Referral information
Include in the referral as much information as possible including:
- history of onset of condition
- duration of symptoms
- past medical and surgical history
- current medication list, and recent treatment or changes
- records of vaccination /immune status where relevant such as pneumovax, influenza, hepatitis A, hepatitis B
- travellers – destination travelled, duration, vaccinations prior to travel and malaria prophylaxis where relevant
- risk factors – IV drug use, sexual orientation and behavioural risk, type of occupational exposure
- reports of relevant recent investigations, such as blood tests, imaging studies.
Non-urgent referrals will be allocated to the next available appointment. The waiting time for an appointment will vary and is dependent on the demand for this service and medical urgency.
Should changes occur to a patient’s medical condition during the waiting time for an appointment, referrers should send updated clinical information.