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How do I become a new patient?

​How to refer
  • our address: Pain Management & Research Centre, level 2, Douglas Building, Reserve Road, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards. NSW 2065
    our fax: (02) 9463 1050
    our email: NSLHD-PainManagement@health.nsw.gov.au
    our phone:  (02) 9463 1500 
  • Referrals may be made either by the patient’s general practitioner (GP) or medical specialist.
  • It is vital that referrals include as much information as possible about the history of your pain, including current and previous investigations and treatments. Wherever possible the referral should include copies of any prior specialist reports, imaging reports such as x-rays, scans, or other relevant information.
  • Rehabilitation co-ordinators or workers compensation insurers or other agencies wishing to refer patients should discuss it with the patient’s doctor who should make the referral.
  • Referral guide / form is available here.

Who to address the referral to

Referrals should be addressed specifically to one of the pain medicine specialists of the centre:

  • A/Prof Charles Brooker
  • Professor Paul Glare
  • Dr Rebecca Martin
  • Dr Allan Molloy
  • Dr Supriya Chowdhury​
  • Professor Chris Peck - orofacial pain
  • Dr Sally Preston
  • Dr Jane Standen
  • Dr Nathan Taylor
  • Dr Andrew Weiss
  • A/Prof Paul Wrigley​

What happens once the referral is received
Referrals will be prioritised by our triage team and you will be notified of when to expect on appointment.

One of our bookings secretaries will contact you to arrange your appointment. At this time you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire about your pain – please use the link provided, which will be sent via email, to return this questionnaire so that we can finalise your appointment.

The ePPOC questionnaires are the standard questionnaire set used by specialist pain clinics all over Australia and New Zealand. They are used to measure outcomes for patients as a result of the treatments received for their pain. More information can be found on the ePPOC (electronic Persistent Pain Outcomes Collaboration) website External Link.
 
Usually we cannot allocate you with an appointment time until we have received the completed questionnaires. 

Compensable patients

  • We see many patients who have pain that relates to an injury or accident and who have an insurance claim under icare, workcover or third party. In this scenario we will need to arrange prior approval for our appointments and our booking staff will discuss this with you and liaise with your insurer as required.
  • Early treatment of pain for injured workers improves their chances of recovery and return to work. Our clinic is a leader in research to demonstrate this and has a long history of working closely with work insurer schemes.

Patient testimonials

'I am very pleased to let you know that after this program, I have followed the exercises Jessica provided, as well as what I have learned from the program. My pain condition has improved gradually and significantly too. Everybody at work or in my family have asked me how I could get such a big improvement on my chronic neck pain, and they can see I have changed to a new and healthy woman!
Thank you to all people who involved the program!'

- Jan, Canberra

 

'You need to find out what makes you happy, be challenged, it is really hard work for us in Africa though we are determined to have a happy life even if it is with pain.

It is working, I am learning to manage my pain and I am committed to reducing the pain with the goal to eliminating it one day'.

- Wendy, Post- Cancer Pain Survivor

 

After being convinced by Brad Wood, Clinical Psychologist at RNSH to participate in the ADAPT PAIN CLINIC my life changed yet again for the better as it meant I had a chance to get off the opioid drugs and manage my pain by essentially retraining the brain.

The ADAPT program equipped me with the skills to first acknowledge that the current pain I was feeling would no longer harmful to me and through learnt techniques such pacing, goal setting, desensitisation practice, meditation and effective communication with family and friends I was able to successfully transition away from all drugs within a within the 3 week ADAPT program.

Although I still suffer from neuropathic pain today I have been able to return to fulltime work after nearly 2.5 years in rehab thanks to the techniques I have learnt at the ADAPT program.

- John