Patients wanting to have a consultation or endoscopy procedure with one of our doctors will need to have a referral from their general practitioner. Appointments can then be made by telephoning or e-mailing our centre.
If you are attending a consultation or pre-anaesthetic assessment please bring the following:
• Referral letter from your GP
• List of medications including dosage
• Medicare card and health care card/pension card
If you are attending for an endoscopy examination please bring the following:
• Referral letter
• List of medications
• Medicare card, pension/health care card
• Private health insurance details (if you have private health insurance)
For patients having colonoscopy, capsule endoscopy or hydrogen breath testing you will receive written instructions to allow you to prepare for the procedure. These instructions are also available for download on our website.
Post Discharge You will be advised to have a light meal only on the day following discharge from the endoscopy center. You will be able to resume normal diet the following day.
You will usually be able to return to work the day following your procedure. However if you are involved in heavy machinery or dangerous work let us know as we will advise you to have another day off work until you are fully recovered from the anaesthetic and procedure. You are not permitted to drive for 24 hours following anaesthetic.
Risks and Complications: Gastroscopy and colonoscopy are safe procedures however there is a small risk associated with each procedure as there is with any medical procedure. Your Doctor will discuss this with you before the procedure.
With colonoscopy the two main complications are:
• Injury to the bowel including a perforation. The risk is about 1:1000 and is slightly higher if a polyp is removed during the procedure.
• Bleeding. The risk of significant bleeding is about 1:1000 if a polyp is removed during procedure.
Both these complications may require admission to hospital and sometimes surgery is also required. The same risks apply to gastroscopy though the risks are significantly less for both perforation and bleeding.