Public Hospital - Your Hospital Stay

Your admission as a patient to Calvary Health Care ACT could be:

Following an emergency attendance to the Emergency Department
By your specialist doctor directly admitting you
As an elective surgery patient, following your name coming to the top of the waiting list for surgery.

Your GP can give you advice on admission to Calvary Health Care ACT and will refer you to the relevant specialist if admission is required.

Admission

You may be asked to come to the Pre-Admission Clinic before your treatment to confirm your fitness for the procedure, and to learn more about the procedure and any preparation required. Please follow the instructions provided in your appointment letter about confirming procedure dates and any preparation for your procedure.

If you are travelling from the country, the hospital has a list of places you can stay, where discount rates are offered. Click here for a copy of the accommodation guide. In addition, Rotary Cottage provides accommodation for the family of those people staying at the hospital for extended periods of time. The Rotary Club of Gininderra have sponsored and built this accommodation over recent years. For more information please call (02) 6201 6239.

Date of Admission
You will be sent a letter advising of the proposed date of your admission and treatment.

There may be times, however, when an admission needs to be postponed due to the heavy demands on services. This is usually due to a large number of unexpected emergency cases. If your planned procedure must be rescheduled, we will try to contact you the night before, or at least, on the morning of your admission.

What Should I Bring to Hospital
On the day of your admission, please bring:

The name and contact details of your own doctor in writing
The name and contact details of your next of kin in writing
Medicare Card
Pension/Concession/Repatriation/Safety Net/Health care cards
Private health insurance details
Any medications you are taking
Any x-rays relating to the reason for your admission
A small amount of money to pay for discharge prescriptions or make a deposit on any aids or equipment that you might have to take home.

If you bring a walking aid, hearing aid, dentures or spectacles please tell your admitting nurse so that they can be labelled and stored when you are not using them.

Overnight Admission
If you are required to stay for more than one night, in addition to the above, we recommend you also bring:

Dressing gown, pyjamas or nightdress, and slippers
Personal toiletries
A small amount of money for telephone calls, newspapers or incidentals and your discharge prescriptions
Perhaps a book or magazine, a personal battery operated radio or compact disc player with earplugs, or craftwork
Phone numbers of your family and friends

Please note that space is limited for the storage of clothing and personal effects.

We strongly recommend that you DO NOT BRING ANY VALUABLES, especially items such as jewelry, laptop computer, mobile phones or large amounts of money as the hospital cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to these items.

If you accidentally leave any personal property behind when you leave hospital it will be forwarded to the Security Department for your collection. You can contact the Security Department on telephone (02) 6201 6900 make arrangements to collect any property that you have left behind.

During your stay
During your stay, a team of doctors, nurses and allied health staff as well as clerical, ward support officers, catering and housekeeping staff will take care of your medical and personal needs. If you are uncomfortable with a person of another gender attending to your personal needs, please discuss this with your ward manager who will try to make other suitable arrangements.

Patient Identification
An identification band with your name and other important details will be provided, usually around your wrist on admission and must be worn during your stay so that you can be easily identified and given the appropriate treatment and care. If any of your personal information has changed, or is incorrect, please let your nurse know so that this important information about you can be updated.

Shared and Private Rooms
It is most likely you will share your room with other patients. Single rooms are used mainly for very sick patients.

The hospital tries to place patients of the same gender in the same room, but there may be occasions when you may be admitted to a mixed gender ward. Staff will ensure your privacy and dignity is maintained at all times and every attempt will be made to move you into a ward with patients of the same gender where possible.

Visitors, Gifts and Flowers
Visitors are most welcome but we ask all visitors to observe each ward's visiting hours, which are designed to ensure patient comfort and rest. In addition, each ward has its own requirements regarding patient gifts, food prepared by family members and other matters important to your treatment and care. Your ward will advise you and your carers of these requirements on your arrival.

Enquiries about your condition
Family and friends can call the hospital on (02) 6201 6111 and ask to speak with ward staff. The switchboard staff are not authorised to give out any information about patients. Specific personal information about your treatment and condition will not be given by ward staff over the phone unless you authorise it and the caller is known to staff. Otherwise, only general information can be given to callers.

Mobile Phones
The hospital asks mobile phones be used only in public spaces such as the lift foyers and the cafes in the interest of noise reduction and preservation of privacy. We ask that patients and visitors observe the mobile phone signs displayed around the hospital.

Cultural or Religious Dietary Needs
A range of menus is offered to cater for most cultural and dietary tastes or needs. You will be provided with a daily menu and can choose what you want to eat at each mealtime, unless your doctor recommends otherwise.

Medications you bring to hospital
Please give your medication to ward staff as these will then be reviewed by the Pharmacy.

Involving family members in your care
Family and friends are encouraged to be involved in your care. You can ask your nurse to arrange a meeting for you and/or your immediate family or a close friend to discuss your treatment with the doctor treating you or any other health professional involved in your care.

The hospital may refuse attendance of family members or carers in some areas of the hospital due to practical reasons, or to protect the privacy and safety of other patients.

Students
As Calvary Health Care ACT is a teaching hospital, you may be asked to participate in teaching or training activities for student doctors, nurses or other health professionals. You have the right to refuse, but we hope that you will agree, as your support is an important contribution towards students' education and an investment in everyone's future health care. In all cases your privacy and information will be handled according to the legal and privacy requirements.

Can I get religious and spiritual support during my stay
Yes. Calvary offers spiritual and emotional support to all patients, their families and staff daily. A range of religious and spiritual services including Sunday services, sacraments, ecumenical prayers, memorial services and liturgies for special occasions are offered throughout the year.The hospital chapel is located on Level 1 in the Xavier building, to the right of the foyer. You can telephone the Pastoral Care Department on (02) 6201 6665 to discuss your needs.

Pastoral Care workers regularly visit the wards during the week. Please ask your nurse to arrange a visit if you want to see a Pastoral Carer or a representative of your religion/faith-community.

For 24 hour on-call emergency and special needs Pastoral Care, please call Calvary Hospital on telephone number (02) 6201 6665.

Where can I get help if I receive bad news
Patients and immediate family can access spiritual and emotional support through the Pastoral Care Department, telephone (02) 6201 6665 or counseling support through the Social Work Department through the Allied Health Receptionist, telephone (02) 6201 6310 . You can also ask the ward manager to make contact with these services on your behalf.

More Information about an Illness
If you or your carer want more information and explanation about your illness or disease you can ask to meet with your doctor for another discussion. You can ask your nurse to make an appointment for you if this is easier.

Leaving hospital
We aim to involve you and your family or carers in planning for your discharge from the hospital. This planning may include arrangements for you to receive continued nursing, rehabilitation or other support services at another facility or at home.

What day will I Leave
As part of your admission and discharge planning process, most patients will be given an estimated discharge date. The final decision rests with your doctor but it is the aim of everybody at Calvary Health Care ACT to get you home as quickly as possible. To enable you to go home, there is often a lot of preparation that needs to occur. This preparation can commence even before you arrive at the hospital.

What Time Should I Leave
To enable preparation of the room for new patients, the hospital asks you to vacate room by 10.00 am. If your family/carers cannot pick you up until later in the day or if your bed is needed urgently, your nurse will transfer you to the Discharge Lounge on the ground floor where you will be able to wait in comfort until they arrive. Medications can be dispensed by Pharmacy to patients waiting in the Discharge lounge.

Transport home
You or your family or carers will need to organise your transport home. If you wish to use a patient transport service such as a road or air ambulance, you will need to pay for this service.

If the hospital has to transfer you to another facility, it will pay for all relevant costs. If you choose to be transferred to another health facility, you will be responsible for paying the transport costs.

Medications
If you need medication to take home, the doctor will prescribe a few days supply. Prescriptions provided by the hospital are charged at the same rate as your local chemist and everything you spend on medications in the hospital goes towards your "safety net" amount.

The Hospital pharmacists can advise you about the continuation of your medication supply, their availability and cost. The hospital pharmacy can only dispense prescriptions from hospital doctors. You still need to have prescriptions from your local doctor dispensed at your local pharmacy.

Please remember to collect and take home any medications that you brought to hospital with you when you leave. Medications can be dispensed by Pharmacy to patients waiting in the Discharge lounge.

Contacting Your GP
The ward staff will explain any care you need once you go home. They will arrange for information about your treatment and condition to be sent to your local doctor and other specialists or community health workers involved in your care, unless you tell us that you do not want them to be informed. Please be sure that the hospital has the correct contact details for your doctor.

Future Check-ups
It is preferred that patients return to their own local doctor for any follow-up care.

Concerns After Discharge
If an emergency arises and you cannot immediately see your own doctor, please contact your normal after hours GP service or ring or return to the hospital and speak to a doctor in the Emergency Department (02) 6201 6208. Please remember to take with you all information and all medications you use including those received while in hospital.

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