Persistent pelvic pain

​​​​​​​​Emergency

If any of the following are suspected, seek emergency medical advice or refer the patient to the emergency department (via ambulance if necessary)

  • Acute abdominal pain secondary to trauma
  • Acute pelvic pain​

When public outpatient services are not routinely provided

Criteria to access public outpatient services

CategoryCriteria
Category 1
Recommended to be seen within 30 calendar days.
  • Nil
​
Category 2
Recommended to be seen within 90 calendar days.

  • Pelvic pain where non-gynaecological causes (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac disease) have been excluded and any of the following features are present:
    • Impacting quality of life and mental health
    • Recurrent emergency department presentations with acute on chronic pain
    • Resulting in school or work absences
    • Significantly disruption to daily activities​

Category 3
Recommended to be seen within 365 calendar days.

  • Aged > 35 years with pelvic pain due to suspected endometriosis and concurrent primary or secondary infertility
  • Pelvic pain unresponsive to first-line treatments (e.g. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and hormonal menstrual suppression therapy (e.g., combined oral contraceptive pill, levonorgestrel-releasing IUD)
  • Pelvic pain requiring escalating doses of analgesic medications (e.g. opioids, anti-inflammatories, antidepressants)
  • Pelvic pain with only short-term response to analgesic treatment

Note: patients are recommended to undertake a trial of pelvic floor physiotherapy concurrent to gynaecology referral

Information to include within a referral

Required

  • Reason for referral
  • Details of the presenting condition, including symptoms and their duration, and impact on activities of daily living
  • Provisional diagnosis
  • Patient health summary (such as relevant medical history, relevant investigations, current medications and dosages, immunisations, allergies and/or adverse reactions), including specifically:
    • Pelvic ultrasound report
    • Cervical screening test within the last 5 years or recent test if abnormal symptoms​

If available

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