Your admission

Please review your admission documentation – which includes information about any dietary, fasting or medication requirements – and follow the instructions carefully.

We’ll also send you information detailing the time and location of your admission appointment.

If you have any concerns before your appointment, or any issues on the day, please contact Calvary St Vincent’s Hospital using the telephone number on your admission documentation.

**Admission packages must be returned at least 14 days prior to your admission so that we can ensure your files are updated prior to your arrival.**

On the day of your admission please be sure to bring your:

• Medicare card (if you have one)
• Health care, pension or concession card (if you have one)
• Health fund details (if you have private insurance)
• An up-to-date list of all of the medications you’re currently taking
• All your medications in their original, labelled containers
• Any relevant doctors’ letters, reports or consent forms
• Any x-rays or other medical images
• General Practitioner’s (GP) contact details including name, address and contact number
• Physical and mobility aids
• Nightwear, dressing gown, non-slip slippers, comfortable clothes and toiletries
• A letter of work cover approval, third party or public liability claims (if applicable)

Please note: During your stay at Calvary St Vincent’s Hospital your property is your own responsibility and we do not recommend bringing any personal valuables.

Patient admission appointments take place at various locations. Please check your admission documentation for details.

Parking and transport

What happens after your admission will depend on the reason for your visit, but we’ll keep you informed every step of the way.

When your admission is complete you’ll be fitted with an identification band to be worn at all times during your stay. The band is used to check your identity to ensure you receive the correct medications, tests and procedures.

During your stay you may move between ward areas on one or more occasions. Each time you pass from one clinical area to another a formal handover of your care will occur.

Your family can accompany you through your admission and be ready for you when your procedure is completed or you are admitted to your ward accommodation.

Depending on your situation, your family may also be able to stay beyond visiting hours. But this should be discussed with a member of your care team.

Visiting hours

Calvary St Vincent’s Hospital is a smoke free zone.

Patients, families and visitors cannot smoke anywhere within the hospital grounds.

We can help

If you smoke, please inform your care team and also consider whether this is a good time to quit smoking.

If you would like to quit smoking, we can help

A hospital stay provides you with different routines and extensive peer support that can help you break your smoking habits and start to cope without cigarettes.

Whilst you are a patient at Calvary, nicotine replacement therapy and other forms of support can be provided to help you stop smoking.

We also offer ongoing support and assistance after you leave Calvary.

Find out more from the Tasmanian Public Health website.

If you have private health insurance

Please contact your health fund before admission to check your level of cover, and to clarify any excess or co-payments you may have.

If you don’t have private health insurance

We welcome patients without insurance at Calvary St Vincent’s Hospital, simply call us on 03 6332 4999 for an estimate of costs. You’ll need to pay all fees in full prior to your admission.

Regardless of whether you have private health insurance or don’t have private health insurance, the hospital will provide you with an estimate of expected hospital charges. Knowing how much your treatment will cost is called Informed Financial Consent. For more information visit the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman website:

• Informed financial consent
• What does Medicare cover?
• What does private health insurance cover?
• Private health insurance facts and advice

You have a right to receive safe and high-quality health services. Our Clinical Safety and Quality is benchmarked against National Clinical Safety and Quality Standards.

View the results for Calvary St Vincent’s Hospital.

2015 St Vincent’s Clinical Safety and Quality (240 kB)

Did you know falls are the second leading cause of accidental injury and death worldwide?

Stay Safe – Important Information about Falls (2MB)

Calvary protects and promotes the rights of each person receiving care.

We take any suspected breach of privacy very seriously. If you believe your personal information has been used in a manner inconsistent with the Calvary Privacy Policy, you can make a complaint.

PRIVACY RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

You have a right to access your personal information, subject to some exceptions allowed by law, and to request a change to your information if you consider it inaccurate.

If you’d like to access your personal information or medical records please contact the Calvary St Vincent’s Hospital Health Information Services Manager on 03 6332 4999

If your information has been archived, we may charge a fee for searching for and providing access to your information.

You won’t be discharged from Calvary St Vincent’s Hospital until it’s safe for you to leave. Your safety will be assessed against:

• Your condition
• The availability of personal and social support
• Your residential situation
• Your mobility
• Access to communications if an emergency arises

Planning your discharge

Before your planned admission, or as soon as possible after an emergency admission, your care team will talk to you about a planned discharge date.

When you’re discharged you will be provided with a Formal Discharge Summary, and your care team will give you information about follow-up appointments with your General Practitioner or Specialist.

We’ll give you a short-term supply of any new medications prescribed by Calvary.

If you have a serious illness or major surgery, you’ll receive a call from the Discharge Planning Team within two weeks of returning home. We’ll check on your recovery and discuss any concerns you have about your health.

1. Who is picking you up from hospital?

On your discharge day you’ll need to arrange to be picked up by a family member or friend before 10am.
Please let us know so we can discuss alternative options, including Calvary Home Care’s Hospital to Home.

2. Have you made a follow-up appointment with your doctor?

You need to make a follow up appointment with your doctor as advised by your care team.

3. Have you discussed your medication?

Please make sure you have discussed your discharge medication with your care team. A medication review will be arranged if necessary.

After coming home from hospital you may have new medications to take. Please follow the instructions carefully to avoid making any mistakes with your medication. Visit NPS Medicinewise for more information, or call your GP to discuss your medications.

4. Do you need care when you get home?

Calvary Home Care can help discharged patients with transport home, cooking, grocery shopping, dressing, showering and household tasks.

Home Care can also provide 24 hour personal care, respite care, home maintenance and modification and safety products linked to 24/7 monitoring.

There may be a charge for Calvary Home Care services, or they may be provided partially or completely under a government assistance package.

HOSPITAL TO HOME

If you have any compliments, complaints or suggestions, please let us know so we can improve our service.

You can do this by:

• Talking to any of our staff
• Providing feedback online
• Completing a feedback form available in all wards and in public areas at Calvary St Vincent’s Hospital
• Writing to the CEO or Director of Clinical Services
• Contacting the Tasmanian Health Complaints Commissioner

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