Medical Objects
For referring GPs
Working alongside your practice
CQ Hand + Upper Limb provides specialist hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder care for Central Queensland. The pages below cover how to refer, urgency triage, what to include in the letter, and how the practice communicates back to you.
How to refer
Three direct routes
Use whichever channel sits best with your practice software. Referrals are triaged daily and the practice will phone the patient to book within one to two business days.
Triage and urgency
Mark the letter if it is urgent
The practice triages on the day a referral is received. If a case is time-critical, please write Urgent clearly on the cover sheet and phone the practice on 07 4863 6556 so it is flagged for the surgeon's review the same day. Anything clinically uncertain is welcome by phone.
- Suspected septic arthritis or hand sepsis
- Acute open or significantly displaced hand or wrist injury
- Acute neurovascular compromise
- Suspected scaphoid fracture (clinical or radiographic)
- Post-operative concerns from a recent procedure
- Acute tendon laceration or rupture
- Acute peripheral nerve injury
- Recent fracture failing conservative management
- Suspected acute rotator cuff tear in an active patient
- Locked or unstable elbow / shoulder
- Suspected dynamic scapholunate or DRUJ instability
- Chronic shoulder, elbow, wrist or hand pain
- Osteoarthritis assessment for joint replacement
- Carpal or cubital tunnel syndrome
- Dupuytren's contracture
- Trigger finger, ganglion, de Quervain's
- Second opinion or post-trauma review
Where Dr Hirpara operates
A fully private practice
Dr Hirpara works exclusively in private practice at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton. There is no public appointment — the practice cannot admit patients to, or influence the elective waiting lists in any of the Public Hospitals.
Patients who need a public-system pathway are best referred through the existing public-outpatient channels. The practice accepts privately insured, self-funded, DVA Gold / White Card and WorkCover patients; mark Urgent on the cover sheet (and ring the practice) for any time-critical case so it is flagged for same-day triage.
In the referral
What is useful to include
A short focused referral is more helpful than a long one. Where possible, please cover:
- The clinical question What you would like the surgeon to address — diagnosis, consideration of surgery, second opinion, or chronic-pain workup.
- Presenting complaint Side, mechanism, duration, exacerbating and relieving factors. Hand-dominance and occupation matter for upper limb decisions.
- Examination findings Range of motion, instability, neurology, special tests performed. Photographs of skin lesions or contractures are welcome.
- Investigations to date Imaging provider and date so reports can be retrieved. Studies from CQ Radiology, I-MED Radiology and Bolsover Radiology can be viewed electronically — patients do not need to bring films.
- Past history and medications Anticoagulants, immunosuppression, diabetic control and smoking status are all relevant to surgical decision making.
- Funding pathway Privately insured, self-funded, DVA Gold / White Card or WorkCover claim number. The practice will discuss fees with the patient — fee structure is on the fees page. The patient-facing workplace-injury page explains the funding-stream and consult pathway for patients who ask.
Imaging
First-line imaging
Where the diagnosis is clear, please proceed with the relevant imaging before referral — it shortens the patient's pathway and lets the surgeon plan the consult around the findings. Where the diagnosis is unclear, refer without — the practice will arrange what is needed.
- Plain x-ray Standard for fractures, arthritis, bony deformity and instability — usually two-view, with stress or skyline views as the clinical picture suggests.
- Ultrasound Useful for ganglion, tendon and rotator-cuff pathology, and dynamic studies of the long head of biceps.
- MRI For soft-tissue questions — rotator cuff, labrum, ligament, TFCC, scaphoid fracture occult on x-ray. CT can substitute where MRI is contraindicated.
- Nerve conduction studies Helpful when carpal or cubital tunnel diagnosis is uncertain, when there is a previous decompression, or for diabetic and bilateral cases.
Back to your practice
You will hear back
Consultation letters are typically dictated and sent to the referring GP within a few days of the appointment, and by the following weekend at the latest — via secure messaging where configured or by email. Operative reports and discharge summaries are sent the next business day after surgery, with copies of relevant imaging reports.
Clinical questions
A direct line for colleagues
Anything clinically uncertain — a fracture pattern, an unusual presentation, a question about whether to refer — is welcome by phone. Ring the practice on 07 4863 6556 and ask to speak with Dr Hirpara about a clinical query; the admin team will arrange a callback the same day where possible.
Scope of practice: shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand surgery, including arthroplasty, arthroscopy, fracture fixation and peripheral-nerve work. Detail by region is on the surgery overview page.
Practice contact
Send us your referral
Drop a scanned referral through the form, or use any of the channels below.
