Gastroenterology
Our gastroenterology team provides expert care in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of digestive and liver diseases.
Who we care for
We care for people needing specialist care for their digestive health. This may be in hospital or as an outpatient through our specialist clinics.
If you have multiple medical conditions, we may provide advice relating to gastroenterology issues to general physicians, surgeons or your GP.
What you can expect
Our multidisciplinary team provides evidence-based clinical care in assessing, diagnosing and managing the following areas:
- liver disease and cirrhosis from various causes, including alcohol and hepatitis B/C
- inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis
- irritable bowel syndrome and chronic abdominal pain
- coeliac disease
- bowel bleeding requiring investigation
We offer:
- state-of-the-art endoscopy and colonoscopy suites
- collaboration with regional and metropolitan hospitals
- Telehealth services for regional patients
Our team cares for adult patients admitted as inpatients with gastroenterology conditions. This means conditions that do not require surgery and involve the bowel and the liver.
We work closely with surgical and medical teams involved in your care. We also provide endoscopy services in partnership with surgical teams.
Our services include:
Gastroenterology
- Inflammatory bowel disease and related complications
- Pre- and post-endoscopic optimisation admission
Hepatology
- Non-obstructive jaundice
- Acute hepatitis
- Decompensated cirrhosis and complications
Support services
- Dietitian and nutrition support
- IBD nurse coordination
- Medical day units
- Clinical trials and research participation
Our outpatient clinics run weekly at Ballarat. Clinics include:
- Specialist Gastroenterology consultations – Tuesday and Thursday
- Hepatology (Liver Disease) clinic – Wednesday
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) clinics – Tuesday and Thursday
- IBS and chronic abdominal pain – Tuesday and Thursday
- Coeliac and nutrition-related gastrointestinal conditions – Thursday
- Gastrointestinal tract bleeding disorders
You will be placed in the clinic that best caters to your condition, based on your GP referral.
Coeliac disease patient information
Tests required follow statewide triage guidelines. They include coeliac genetics and coeliac serology. All tests for coeliac disease can be normal when a patient is gluten-free. Our clinic provides resources from the Coeliac Australia website, and tailors advice to your situation.
Endoscopy sessions are held Monday to Friday at Ballarat. Procedures include:
- Diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy
- Colonoscopy and polypectomy
- Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR)
- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
- Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and fine-needle biopsy (FNB)
- EUS guided drainage procedures
- Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) tube insertion and outpatient management
Referrals and access
In hospital:
- Admission is via the Emergency Department or one of our specialist clinics.
Outpatient clinics:
- A GP referral is required to access our outpatient clinics (please see ‘For Health Professionals’ information).
- Referrals should be submitted via Ballarat Central Intake or HealthLink.
- Referrals are triaged by clinical urgency, which determines how long you will wait for an appointment.