Knee injury

​Emergency

If any of the following are present or suspected, please refer the patient to the emergency department (via ambulance if necessary) or seek emergency medical advice via phone to on-call consultant/registrar:

  • acute patella dislocation or unreduced subluxation
  • fracture
  • haemarthrosis
  • lacerations or penetrating wound into the knee requiring acute management
  • locked knee
  • neurovascular injury
  • suspected patella or quadriceps tendon rupture
  • systemically unwell

When public outpatient services are not routinely provided

  • Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (also known as non-bacterial osteitis)
    Note: consider referral to rheumatology
  • Jumper's knee
    Note: consider referral to sports medicine or physiotherapy
  • Non-traumatic knee pain with no diagnosis in the presence of normal hip and knee imaging
    Note: consider referral to sports medicine or physiotherapy. Consider referred pain from the hip and hip X-rays
  • Non-traumatic monoarticular swelling with no structural damage on MRI
    Note: consider referral to rheumatology
  • Osgood-Schlatter disease
    Note: consider referral to sports medicine or physiotherapy
  • Suspected inflammatory diagnosis (for example juvenile idiopathic arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis)
    Note: consider referral to rheumatology

Criteria to access public outpatient services

CategoryCriteria
Category 1
Recommended to be seen within 30 calendar days.
  • Meniscal tear (including bucket handle)
  • Acute osteochondral fracture
  • Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury
  • Other ligamentous injury (including posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and lateral collateral ligament)

Category 2
Recommended to be seen within 90 calendar days.

  • Degenerative or traumatic cartilage pathology (for example osteochondritis dissecans)
  • Post-traumatic limb deformity
  • Loose body in knee
  • Recurrent patella instability
  • Intermittent locking episodes
    Note: consider MRI prior to referral

Information to include within a referral

Required

  • Reason for referral
  • Details of the presenting condition, including nature of symptoms (for example pain, swelling, instability, locking, deformity) and date of injury
  • Provisional diagnosis
  • Patient health summary (such as relevant medical history, relevant investigations, current medications and dosages, immunisations, allergies and/or adverse reactions), including specifically:
    • response to other treatments (for example physiotherapy)
    • x-ray: knee – anterior to posterior (AP), lateral and skyline views of the affected knee

If available

  • MRI result: knee​

Important information for referring health professionals

If there is a change to a patient’s condition while waiting for their appointment, referring health professionals may further investigate and manage the situation, or send an updated referral to the outpatient service. Where there are significant concerns about a patient's condition, referring health professionals may check HealthPathways for urgent/same day advice or contact the relevant clinical team.


 

Current as at: Monday 23 March 2026
Contact page owner: System Purchasing