The Viral Hepatitis Service (VHS; formerly Liver Clinic) at Barwon Health provides specialised care for individuals living with hepatitis B and C. The VHS offers comprehensive services including assessment, treatment, education, and support to patients across the Barwon South West region. The team consists of infectious diseases physicians, gastroenterologists and clinical nurse consultants, including an outreach nurse, working together to ensure holistic care. In addition to clinical care, the team are actively involved in viral hepatitis research, with a particular focus on improving models of care in regional and rural areas.
Conditions seen
Barwon Health offers a Viral Hepatitis Service for the following conditions:
- Hepatitis B Infection
- Immunosuppressed people with resolved Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C Infection
Conditions not seen
Barwon Health VHS does not accept referrals for the following conditions:
- Deranged LFTs in the absence of viral hepatitis
- Chronic Liver Disease in the absence of viral hepatitis
- Liver cancer, in the absence of viral hepatitis
How do I access this service
To be seen in by the Viral Hepatitis Service you need to be referred by your GP, another specialist doctor, or your Barwon Health doctor. We are unable to see you in our clinics without a referral.
Individuals living with hepatitis C can self-refer to our Integrated Viral Hepatitis Outreach Nurse, by calling the contact number on the right.
Wait time
All requests for specialist clinic appointments are scheduled according to the patient’s clinical need. Clinicians assess whether an appointment is urgent or routine, based on information provided in the referral.
Barwon Health aims to see all ‘urgent’ referrals within 30 days. Our wait times for patients who are categorised as ‘routine’ are more variable, depending on the demand for our services.
The Victorian Agency for Health Information also publishes information about the waiting time for routine first appointments.
Routine first appointments | Victorian Agency for Health Information
No Wait times to show
Resources for patients
Hepatitis B resources produced by St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, including:
- Me, my baby and hepatitis B
- The Hepatitis B Story – written information in multiple languages
- The Hepatitis B Story – videos in multiple languages
Hepatitis B treatments
Entecavir
- Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) summary
- Mayo Clinic; Entecavir (oral route)
- Healthdirect Entecavir (Apo)
Tenofovir
Hepatitis C resources produced by St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, including:
- The Hepatitis C Story – written information in multiple languages
For Health Professionals
State-referral criteria may apply for conditions under this specialty requiring further assessment and management. Referring clinicians are encouraged to utilise Western Victoria Community HealthPathways for referral guidelines and requirements for all conditions.
For urgent referral advice, please contact the specialty on-call registrar via Barwon Health switchboard on 03 4215 0000.
Alternatively, the VHS nurse is available on 03 4215 1502 for enquiries or advice.
Complete the specialist clinics referral template and send via:
- ReferralNet
- Fax: 03 4215 1366
Self-referral direct to Integrated Hepatitis Outreach Nurse (for persons living with HCV only): 03 4215 1501 or 0468 971 519.
Referral templates for Barwon Health services are available for importing into Best Practice, Medical Director or ZedMed. Please see the Referral templates page for the most up-to-date forms.
If you do not use the above clinical software, please complete a referral letter on your practice/health service letterhead, ensuring all required referral information is included.
For remote consultations, please use the Barwon Health Hepatitis C Remote Consultation Request form.
If you need to contact us regarding the templates, please contact the GP Liaison Unit on 03 4215 8845 or [email protected].
For patients who require reassessment, a new referral should be sent through. To facilitate earlier access, the new referral must contain the following information:
- State the referral is an update for a current patient
- Date of original referral
- Reason for requesting a review of referral (e.g. deterioration in clinical condition, pathology)
The referrer will be notified of the outcome of the re-triage process.
GPs or referring doctors wishing to discuss the triage of their patient’s referral, or who require additional information, please ring the GP hotline on 03 4215 1398.
Page last updated: September 8, 2025