29/06/2026
If you've had a serious injury - a bad fall, a sporting accident, a fracture...chances are you'll head to the nearest Emergency Department (ED).
That's exactly the right call. EDs on the Sunshine Coast are excellent: stabilising you, imaging the injury, managing pain, and ruling out anything life-threatening.
But here's something a lot of people don't realise: once you're stable, you have a choice about where your ongoing orthopaedic care happens.
Here's how the pathway typically works. 👇
1️⃣ At the ED
You're assessed, imaged (X-ray, sometimes CT), and your fracture or injury is reduced and splinted/casted as needed. If surgery isn't required that same day, you're usually discharged with a referral to a fracture clinic for follow-up.
2️⃣ The decision point
Your referral can go to:
* the public hospital fracture clinic, or
* a private orthopaedic surgeon of your choice.
If you have private health insurance, DVA, or are willing to self-fund, you're entitled to be treated privately and you can request this at the ED before you leave.
Just ask: ""Can my follow-up referral be sent to a private orthopaedic surgeon?" They will have some local suggestions!
3️⃣ Coming to us
Once we receive your referral and imaging, we can usually see you within a few days, often sooner for fractures that need timely decision-making. Dr Bali reviews your scans before you arrive so the consultation is focused on your injury and your options.
4️⃣ Your care, your surgeon
With private care you get continuity: the surgeon who reviews you in clinic is the surgeon who operates (if surgery is needed) and the surgeon who follows you through recovery. No rotating registrars, no repeated re-explaining your story.
Trauma is stressful enough without feeling like decisions are being made for you.
