Suspected or confirmed airway lesions

PAEDIATRIC

  • If any of the following are present or suspected, please refer the patient to the emergency department (via ambulance if necessary) or follow local emergency care protocols or seek emergent medical advice if in a remote region.

    • Moderate to severe increased work of breathing
    • Hypoxia or hypercarbia
    • Severe life-threatening events
    • Refer to HealthPathways for assessment and management recommendations.
    • In the majority of cases it is thought inappropriate for children to wait more than 6 months for an outpatient initial appointment
    • Vulnerable Child: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, Under Guardianship of the Minister, culturally or linguistically diverse, recently arrived immigrant, other relevant psychosocial issues
    • Next of kin or person(s) who is legally responsible for patient consent, with the exception of children under guardianship orders with the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety, should be present at the first outpatient appointment.
    • If you have a reason to suspect a child in Queensland is experiencing harm, or is at risk of experiencing harm, you need to contact Child Safety Services
    • Statement of intent – the prioritisation of health services for children and young people in the child protection system.
Minimum Referral Criteria
Category 1
(appointment within 30 calendar days)
  • Infant   with a respiratory noise (stridor or wheeze) and mild respiratory distress (more severe distress should be sent to emergency) that has not only appeared during an acute illness (e.g. croup or bronchiolitis)
  • If the infant/child has stridor and haemangioma
  • Early onset stridor (<2 weeks age)
  • Persistent inspiratory and expiratory stridor
  • Stridor associated with failure to thrive or poor weight gain
  • Episodic central cyanosis
  • A child currently in out of home care (OOHC) or at risk of entering or leaving OOHC, where they have previously been on a waiting list for this problem and were removed without receiving a service
Category 2
(appointment within 90 calendar days)
  • Stridor with minimal work of breathing and acceptable weight gain  , could also be seen by general paediatrics
  • Persistent respiratory noise without an explaining diagnosis
Category 3
(appointment within 365 calendar days)
  • Tracheostomy or nasopharyngeal tube for ongoing management
  • Known vascular ring with associated persistent or recurrent respiratory symptoms

Please insert the below information and minimum referral criteria into referral

1. Reason for request Indicate on the referral

  • To establish a diagnosis
  • For treatment or intervention
  • For advice and management
  • For specialist to take over management
  • Reassurance for GP/second opinion
  • For a specified test/investigation the GP can't order, or the patient can't afford or access
  • Reassurance for the patient/family
  • For other reason (e.g. rapidly accelerating disease progression)
  • Clinical judgement indicates a referral for specialist review is necessary

2. Essential referral information Referral will be returned without this

  • Relevant medical history including growth trajectory
  • Relevant investigations or treatments employed
  • Previous treatments and their outcomes
  • Detailed description of current symptoms
  • Identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
  • Confirmation of OOHC (where relevant)

3. Additional referral information Useful for processing the referral

  • Physical examination findings including examination for birth marks
  • Allergies

4. Request

  • Patient's demographic details

    • Full name (including aliases)
    • Date of birth
    • Residential and postal address
    • Telephone contact number/s – home, mobile and alternative
    • Medicare number (where eligible)
    • Name of the parent or caregiver (if appropriate)
    • Preferred language and interpreter requirements
    • Identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

    Referring practitioner details

    • Full name
    • Full address
    • Contact details – telephone, fax, email
    • Provider number
    • Date of referral
    • Signature

    Relevant clinical information about the condition

    • Presenting symptoms (evolution and duration)
    • Physical findings
    • Details of previous treatment (including systemic and topical medications prescribed) including the course and outcome of the treatment
    • Body mass index (BMI)
    • Details of any associated medical conditions which may affect the condition or its treatment (e.g. diabetes), noting these must be stable and controlled prior to referral
    • Current medications and dosages
    • Drug allergies
    • Alcohol, tobacco and other drugs use

    Reason for request

    • To establish a diagnosis
    • For treatment or intervention
    • For advice and management
    • For specialist to take over management
    • Reassurance for GP/second opinion
    • For a specified test/investigation the GP can't order, or the patient can't afford or access
    • Reassurance for the patient/family
    • For other reason (e.g. rapidly accelerating disease progression)
    • Clinical judgement indicates a referral for specialist review is necessary

    Clinical modifiers

    • Impact on employment
    • Impact on education
    • Impact on home
    • Impact on activities of daily living
    • Impact on ability to care for others
    • Impact on personal frailty or safety
    • Identifies as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

    Other relevant information

    • Willingness to have surgery (where surgery is a likely intervention)
    • Choice to be treated as a public or private patient
    • Compensable status (e.g. DVA, Work Cover, Motor Vehicle Insurance, etc.)

  • If any of the following are present or suspected, please refer the patient to the emergency department (via ambulance if necessary) or follow local emergency care protocols or seek emergent medical advice if in a remote region.

    • Please note that where appropriate and where available, the referral may be streamed to an associated public allied health and/or nursing service. Access to some specific services may include initial assessment and management by associated public allied health and/or nursing, which may either facilitate or negate the need to see the public medical specialist.
    • A change in patient circumstance (such as condition deteriorating, or becoming pregnant) may affect the urgency categorisation and should be communicated as soon as possible.
    • Please indicate in the referral if the patient is unable to access mandatory tests or investigations as they incur a cost or are unavailable locally.

Last updated: 5 May 2026

© State of Queensland (Queensland Health) 2023

Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced, communicated or adapted without permission from Queensland Health. To request permission email ip_officer@health.qld.gov.au1.