Scope of practice
Referrals are welcome for knee and hip osteoarthritis, primary and revision joint replacement, and acute or complex orthopaedic trauma. ACC and privately insured patients are accommodated.
Specifically, Dr Hoskins accepts referrals for:
- Knee and hip osteoarthritis, for assessment and management
- Primary total knee and total hip replacement
- Revision knee and hip replacement, including instability, loosening, wear, stiffness and periprosthetic joint infection
- Pelvic ring and acetabular fractures, acute and late presentations
- Orthopaedic trauma and fracture surgery across the body
- Delayed union, non-union, mal-union and post-traumatic deformity
- Periprosthetic fracture around an existing hip or knee replacement
- Bone and joint infection following injury or surgery
Second opinions and referrals from other surgeons on complex arthroplasty and trauma reconstruction problems are welcome.
What to refer elsewhere
So referrals are not redirected, Dr Hoskins does not routinely accept the following. Acute fractures anywhere in the body are still welcome, including in these regions.
- Spine
- Shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand, elective
- Foot and ankle, elective
- Paediatric orthopaedics
- Elective arthroscopy and sports soft-tissue reconstruction, knee or hip
- Hip preservation and hip arthroscopy
- Partial, or unicompartmental, knee replacement
Background and subspecialty training
Dr Hoskins is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) and holds a PhD. He has been an orthopaedic surgeon staff specialist in Northland since 2024, and has completed four post-fellowship subspecialty fellowships:
- Pelvic, acetabular and complex trauma Royal Adelaide Hospital
- AO Trauma R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland
- Orthopaedic trauma and advanced reconstruction University of Missouri
- Complex arthroplasty Northland
He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Deputy Editor for Adult Reconstruction and Trauma at the European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne, and the New Zealand AO Trauma Asia Pacific NextGen Local Lead. His publication record is largely in arthroplasty registry analysis and pelvic and acetabular trauma.
What is useful in a referral
A referral that arrives with the right information saves the patient an appointment and often saves weeks. Where you have it, please include:
- The clinical question you want answered, and the working diagnosis
- Duration and trajectory of symptoms, and functional impact
- What has already been tried: physiotherapy, injections, analgesia, activity modification
- Imaging already performed and where it is held. For arthritis, weight-bearing views. For pelvic or acetabular injury, CT
- Relevant comorbidities, BMI, smoking status and anticoagulation
- Current medication list
- For a failing arthroplasty: the original operation note and implant details, current radiographs of the whole implant, and inflammatory markers
- ACC claim number where applicable, and insurer details if known
- Whether the referral is urgent, and why
Urgent and acute referrals
Trauma referrals are handled differently from elective ones.
How to refer
The make a referral page has the referral address, phone number and what to send.