Patient Information Preparing for your initial appointment

Waiting times for a new appointment vary but can be longer for routine cases.

There is always room to fit in urgent cases sooner with one of our Doctors.

Please let us know if you need to be seen urgently such as if you have a positive faecal occult blood tests (FOBT), rectal bleeding, severe anaemia or another reason.

We will ask you to send us your referral for triage and we are always happy to speak with your GP directly to help facilitate an urgent review.

Item numbers:

Gastroscopy - 30473, 30475 or 30478

Colonoscopy - 32222, 32223-32228, 32229, 32230

Sigmoidoscopy - 32084 or 32087

Balloon Enteroscopy - 30680, 30682, 30684, 30686

Capsule endoscopy - 11820

You need a new referral from your GP:

• Every 12 months
• Or if you are coming to see us about a new problem.

If you are booked in for a repeat procedure you will also need a new referral if it has been over 12 months.

The equipment and care you will receive is the same whether you are in the public or private.

All procedure locations use the latest Olympus 190 series endoscopes with Carbon dioxide insufflation (to cause less bloating) and HD imaging technology.

There are some differences:

Private:

If you have your procedure privately it will be performed by your own specialist (A/Prof van der Poorten, Dr Vongsuvanh, Dr Siow, Dr Rishi Sud or Dr Ma), with the assistance of a specialised anaesthetist.

Tests can be performed with minimal waiting time and at the location of your choosing. Procedures are billed no-gap.

Public:

If you have your test in the Public (Westmead, Auburn or Blacktown) your name will be put on a waiting list and the date allocated according to the clinical urgency.

Waiting time is anywhere between 1-18 months.

There is much less flexibility with the dates, meaning that if you change your mind you will likely go back to the end of the waiting list.

The procedure in most cases will be performed by a training registrar with your specialist in attendance.

If you have private health insurance with hospital cover then you should be covered for gastroscopy, colonoscopy or other endoscopic procedures. If you think your insurance is only for dental, physio and outpatient treatments then you are probably not covered. Call your health fund to check and quote item number 30473 for gastroscopy or 32222 for colonoscopy.

Your excess can be anything between $0 to $1000 based on the level of cover you have elected to have with your health fund. Usually it is only payable once per year, but some contracts vary. Please call your fund or check your insurance paperwork to find out.

The hospital will call you on the day before your procedure usually by 3pm. If you have not heard from them by this time please give them a call.