Referral Centre is an access and referral management service which provides referrers, consumers and service providers with a single point of entry to community services.

What we do

Referral Centre provides consultancy and advice to health professionals regarding mandatory service criteria, eligibility and regional boundaries. Referral Centre is also a resource for community members.

Referral Centre acts as an initial point of triage for community services to prioritise referrals, filter duplicate and ineligible referrals, acknowledge receipt of referral to referrers and inform services of other Bendigo Health service involvement.

How to refer your patient

Referrals to Referral Centre can be generated via: encrypted pathway or client self-referral.  

A comprehensive referral requires: past medical history and medications list (if available), current functional ability, impact on activities of daily living, reason for referral and designated service requested.

The Department of Health & Human Services’ Service Coordination Tool Template (SCTT) is attached for use – see Resource link below. This template aims to facilitate and support service coordination.

What we do

Referral Centre provides consultancy and advice to health professionals regarding mandatory service/eligibility criteria and regional boundaries for Bendigo Health community services. It is also a resource for community members.

Referral Centre acts as an initial point of triage, screening for comprehensive information and clarity of service request. Referrals are prioritised, a cover sheet containing a snap shot of Bendigo Health involvement is added, an acknowledgement receipt is sent to the referrer and finally the completed referral is forwarded to the most appropriate service.

Ineligible referrals/documents are also filtered and forwarded to the correct destination.

Services that Referral Centre processes for:

  • Aged Care Assessment Service (ACAS) – Inpatient only
  • Acute Allied Health Physiotherapy
  • Acute Allied Health Dietetics
  • Audiology
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Carer Support Services (CSS)
  • Community Allied Health Team (CAHS)
  • Community Care Services (CCS)
  • Community Nursing Service (CNS)
  • Community Palliative Care
  • Community Speech Pathology
  • Continence Clinic
  • Diabetes Service
  • Gericonnect
  • Hospital Admission Risk Program (HARP)
  • Hospice
  • Loddon Mallee Residential InReach Consultancy Service (LMRIRCS)
  • Loddon Mallee Regional Specialist Palliative Care Consultancy Service (LMRPCCS)
  • Outpatient Rehabilitation Service (OPRS)
  • Post-Acute Care (PAC)
  • Rehabilitation and Geriatric Medicine
  • Regional Continence Service
  • Renal Home Therapies Unit
  • Swallowing Disorders Clinic
  • Transition Care Program (TCP)