Women with a low-risk pregnancy should be referred to the Women's if it is the closest maternity hospital to their home address. Women with complex care needs should be referred to the Women's if it is the closest tertiary hospital to their home address.
Links to information about patient care before the first maternity appointment and Fast Fax Templates can be found at the end of this page.
If faxing is not an option for your clinic, or you have problems with fax referrals not being received, please seek an alternative method by emailing: gp.liaison@thewomens.org.au
Your referral must contain:
The information listed below is required for us to appropriately triage your referral, to allocate women to a clinic and to contact them about their appointment.
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Phone (preferably mobile)
- Medicare number (Health insurance details if no Medicare number provided)
- GP details – practice address and provider number
- Country of Birth
- Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status
- Interpreter and language required
- Special needs (e.g. mobility)
Mandatory clinical content
Please note: We will not schedule an appointment for your patient without this mandatory clinical information:
- EDC
- BMI
- Mandatory investigation results:
- Blood group and antibodies
- Full blood examination
- Ferritin
- Hepatitis B serology
- Hepatitis C serology
- Syphilis serology
- Rubella antibodies
- HIV antibodies
- MSU M&C or urinalysis
- Relevant history, symptoms, signs, management, medications and any reasons that identify your patient as high risk or in need of early hospital assessment.
Please note
In addition to including results with the referral, please also copy investigations to the Women’s (as this sometimes enables automatic upload to a woman’s electronic record). In the cc section please add the following codes:
- Australian Clinical Labs: RWH
- Melbourne Pathology: RWH
- Dorevitch: #RWH
Note: any results received AFTER the initial referral has been triaged will not be reviewed by clinicians until the woman’s appointment at the hospital. Therefore, if any investigations or clinical findings may necessitate a more urgent hospital appointment, a NEW referral must be submitted that includes the updated information.
Related information
- Patient care before first maternity appointment Please continue to see your patient and arrange the relevant tests while they are waiting for their first appointment at the Women's.
- Percept: Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (VCGS) Down Syndrome test
- Panorama: Melbourne IVF Down Syndrome test