Hand unit

The Hand Unit

Services

The Sydney Hospital Hand Unit provides a comprehensive elective and emergency service for all hand, wrist and forearm disorders/injuries within South East Sydney and Illawarra. It is also a tertiary level centre for hand referrals from across New South Wales. Access to services through on-call Medical personnel is 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. The Hand Unit is located on the second floor of Sydney Hospital with a ward (2 West), Hand Clinic, and Hand Therapy Department.

Referrals

Emergency Referrals

For emergency enquiries, including after hours, the on-call Hand Registrar or Fellow must be contacted, by the referring Doctor, through the main hospital switchboard on 9382 7111.

For all other referrals to the Hand Service

All referrals are to be made using the referral form (click to open and print). Referrals must be completed by the referring Medical Practitioner and faxed to 9382 7571.
The Hand team will review these referrals and contact the patient with an appropriate appointment.

Hand Clinic (appointments)

A Hand Surgery out-patient clinic is run Monday to Friday from 9am - 12noon (every 2nd Wednesday til 4:30pm). Appointments for these clinics can be made by telephoning 9382 7201 between 11am and 4pm Monday to Friday.

Elective and Emergency surgery operating lists occur daily throughout the week (Mon-Fri). Additionally, Emergency Hand Surgery lists for critical hand injuries are provided 24 hours a day.

Staff

Medical

The Hand Unit is staffed by specialist Hand surgeons:

Dr Tim Heath (Director)
Dr Doug Wheen
Associate Professor W Bruce Conolly
Dr Peter Scougall
Dr Sean Nicklin
Dr Bryce Meads
Associate Professor Graham Gumley
Dr Mark Nabarro
Dr Chris Scott
Dr Damian Ryan
Associate Professor Anand Deva

The Junior Medical Staff consists of a Hand Fellow, Orthopaedic and Plastics Registrars and a Resident.

The Hand Unit Secretary, Janet Costello, is located in the Hand Unit office, adjacent to the Claffy Lecture Theatre, and can be contacted on 9382 7350.

Nursing

The Hand Surgery Ward, 2 West, is managed by Caroline Reilly, Nurse Unit Manager and a team of hand surgery experienced Registered Nurses. Visiting hours are 10am to 8pm.

Hand CNC: Kay Maddison 9382 7574 or 9382 7111 can be contacted during business hours for advice and information regarding education.

Hand Therapy

The Hand Therapy Unit is a multi-disciplinary team staffed with Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists with specialised training in the management of hand injuries and conditions.

Staffing: 6 therapists comprising

Hand Therapy Unit Manager: Judith Hunt
Senior Hand Physiotherapist: Lauren Miller
Senior Hand Occupational Therapist: Ben Bugden
3 Hand Occupational Therapists/Physiotherapists: Amy Ferguson, Louise Rutter, Melanie Forbes
1 Secondment/training position is offered each year

Services provided:

In-patient and out-patient hand therapy assessment and management
Statewide consultative service to Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists in NSW (phone, email and Telehealth).

Hours: Monday to Friday 8.00a.m.- 4.30 p.m.
Referrals: Tertiary referrals accepted from Hand Specialists, Hand Clinic, Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists.

Contacting the Hand Therapy Unit:

Hand Therapy Appointments: Phone 9382 7201 between 11a.m. and 4 p.m.
Hand Therapy Unit Enquiries: call Hand Unit Secretary 9382 7350 or Hand Therapy Unit Manager on 9382 7522