Posted at 5:42pm on 1 September 2025
in Health professional updates
Our Back and Neck Clinic, operating under Monash Health’s Neurosurgery Service, has experienced a significant increase in patient referrals over the past 12 months. Despite recent auditing reducing the number of people waiting for an appointment, there are still a large number of people waiting for an initial assessment.
The Back and Neck Clinic is a neurosurgical screening clinic for patients with spinal conditions staffed by senior Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists and a Neurosurgeon. Referrals into the clinic must meet the statewide guidelines for referral to neurosurgery.
Has your referral been rejected?
We are finding that up to 70% of referrals are not accepted because they are incomplete or do not meet the referral criteria.
How to refer appropriately
- Referral guidelines state: Patients with neck/back pain without neurological symptoms or signs are not generally accepted, even in the presence of degenerative changes on imaging, as surgery is not indicated in such cases.
- For patients with radicular pain without significant motor deficit (3/5 power or less), physiotherapy assessment and management is the first-line treatment. Monash Health requires evidence that this treatment has been explored.
- When referring, please provide detail on the patient’s symptom distribution and functional limitations. This will enable the clinician to complete an appropriate triage, rather than rejecting the referral for lack of sufficient information.
- A referral containing a diagnostic imaging report without adequate clinical detail is not sufficient for a referral to be accepted.
Refer to the full Neurosurgery Referral Guidelines.
How GPs can help
- Ensure your referral meets the criteria in the Neurosurgery Referral Guidelines.
- Please refer only when your patient meets the referral criteria and when supporting material accompanies the referral, e.g. imaging, evidence of physiotherapy pathway undertaken.
We appreciate your support to ensure that referrals are appropriate and complete, which helps us provide the best care for our patients.