Appointments with Dr John Limbers

Dr Limbers consults at Wahroonga in Northern Sydney, and at North Gosford and Kanwal on the Central Coast.

On the day of your appointment, please arrive approximately 10 minutes early so any outstanding registration or administrative requirements can be completed.

The practice is mindful that your time is valuable and aims to keep appointments running to schedule. Occasionally a patient requires additional time because of the complexity or urgency of their condition. Where possible, reception will advise you of a significant delay.

Sydney	0498 260 549
Central Coast	0424 992 259
Fax	(02) 4393 3819
Email	[email protected]
Hours	Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm

Dr Limbers consults and operates exclusively in private practice. The practice welcomes:

• Private patients — those with private health insurance
• Self-funded patients — uninsured patients who choose to pay directly for their consultation and private hospital treatment
• Eligible Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) patients

Dr Limbers does not currently accept Workers Compensation or Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance patients.

Dr Limbers’ practice is focused on hip and knee arthritis and primary and revision joint replacement:

• Assessment of hip and knee osteoarthritis, including non-surgical management
• Mako anterior total hip replacement
• Mako partial knee replacement
• Mako total knee replacement
• Mako revision total hip replacement
• Mako revision total knee replacement
• Investigation of a painful, stiff, unstable or failed hip or knee replacement

Patients with conditions outside this scope may be directed to a more appropriate orthopaedic or medical specialist.

The practice requests a current referral from your GP or another specialist before your appointment. A valid referral also allows eligible Medicare patients to claim the relevant rebate. Ask your local doctor to send the referral to the rooms by email or fax, and we will contact you to arrange a time. Recent (within the last 6 months) weight bearing X-rays of the affected hip or knee joint are also required. Ask your local doctor to refer you for these when they write your referral to see Dr Limbers.

During your first appointment, Dr Limbers will take a detailed history, review your symptoms and examine the affected joint. Existing imaging and previous treatment will be considered. Further X-rays, CT scans, blood tests or other investigations may be recommended before a final treatment plan is made.

Please arrange for relevant imaging and reports to be available before your appointment. Actual images (either hard copy or online) are more necessary than the written report.

It also helps to think beforehand about what you can no longer do that you would like to be able to do — often more useful in the discussion than a description of the pain itself.

• A current referral from your GP or specialist
• Your Medicare, DVA and pension cards where applicable
• Private health insurance details
• Relevant X-rays, CT scans, MRIs and other test results — the images themselves (either hard copies or digital access), not only the reports. Dr Limbers’ staff will guide you with this.
• Details of any previous hip or knee replacement, including implant information if available
• A current list of medications, vitamins and supplements
• Relevant letters from other specialists or allied health professionals
• A list of allergies
• A written list of questions you would like to discuss

You are welcome to bring a family member, friend or support person.

Dr Limbers does not offer Telehealth appointments.

Telehealth may rarely be offered in follow up appointments, in specific circumstances. It attracts the standard consultation fee.

The practice is privately billed, and consultation fees apply. The fees for initial and follow up consultations, as well as Medicare rebates, will be outlined by Dr Limbers’ staff at the time of booking the consultation. Dr Limbers’ practice does not bulk bill.

A valid referral is necessary and allows eligible Medicare card holders to claim the relevant Medicare rebate. Private health insurance does not ordinarily cover outpatient specialist consultations.

Surgical fees and out-of-pocket costs are provided to the patient before an operation is scheduled. A detailed written quote will be provided. Hospital, anaesthetist and surgical assistant costs are billed separately. Written contact details for the anaesthetist and surgical assistant are provided as part of the quote, to allow these costs to be ascertained.

Please give as much notice as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule, so the appointment can be offered to another patient.

Required post-operative appointments are arranged as part of your surgical pathway. These visits allow Dr Limbers to review the wound, mobility, imaging and overall progress, and to identify any issues requiring further care.

Joint replacements are reviewed with a repeat X-ray 6 weeks after surgery. Dr Limbers’ staff will arrange this for you. Any further follow up will be arranged at this time.

For appointment enquiries, contact the Sydney or Central Coast rooms using the details on the Contact page.