Preparing for hospital

To confirm your booking with us, your doctor will provide a completed booking via the hospitals e-referral portal.

A consent form will also be provided signed by yourself and the doctor. Before you sign the consent form, ensure that your doctor has explained the nature of the procedure, its effects and risks, your expected recovery and follow-up care requirements.

Please complete your patient questionnaire and pre-admission information via our secure online portal. Complete this as soon as your surgery is confirmed as your health history will be reviewed by our nurses and you may need to attend the Pre-admission Clinic prior to surgery.

You will receive an email two days prior to your admission with information you will need regarding your stay. One of our friendly admission officers will send an SMS the afternoon before surgery to let you know your fasting instructions and scheduled admission time. Please reply with your full name for us to confirm you on our list of admissions.

Understanding health insurance and paying for hospital care can be complicated. In general, private health insurance covers your hospital stay but you will have to pay an excess on admission. Find out more about fees and charges here.

Different health funds and different policies vary in what components of your hospital stay will be covered.

We recommend that you ask your health fund to help you work out what is or isn’t covered and how much you will have to pay.

Additional fees

Your private health insurance covers your hospital stay, but extra services such as specialist fees, radiology and pathology are additional.

Fees charged by anaesthetists, other medical, allied health, radiology and pathology practitioners will be billed separately by the relevant provider after your stay.

Also ask your doctor, anaesthetists and surgical assistants to explain their charges, and to give you an indication of how much you will get back from Medicare.

Some medications are not covered by private health insurance. These include any medications you are taking prior to your admission to hospital and additional medications that may be required at discharge. You will need to make arrangements for payment of medications not covered by your health fund.

Find out more about out of pocket costs.

WorkCover and third-party liability

If you are admitted as a result of WorkCover and third-party liability, you require written acceptance of admission from the relevant insurance company prior to admission. If your claim has not been accepted by the insurance company, you will need to pay the hospital’s estimated fee on or prior to admission.

Patients without private health insurance

If you do not have private health cover, you may choose to be admitted as a self-insured patient. Self-insured patients registered with Medicare can claim the rebate if the procedure is eligible. On admission or prior to admission, you will be asked to pay the full estimated cost for your hospital stay.

Overseas and international patients

If you are an overseas visitor with travel insurance, you will need to pay the hospital estimate on admission. Reimbursement may then be claimed from your travel insurer. Non-residents cannot claim a Medicare rebate and are not eligible to receive subsidies from the Australian Government for their medications through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

Find out more about your options as an international patient.

Please use the following checklist to ensure that you remember to bring everything you need.

We recommend that all belongings brought to hospital are labeled with your name.

Please bring:

• additional information from your GP
• any additional tests from your doctor
• health insurance fund and/or Veterans’s Affairs card
• Medicare card
• pension and/or health care card
• any forms, notes, reports or letters from your doctor
• all relevant X-rays, MRIs, scans
• all medication you are currently taking
• night attire, if staying overnight, and comfortable clothes to go home in
• dressing gown and slippers or comfortable walking shoes
• personal toiletries
• reading material
• glasses and physical aids (walking sticks, hearing aids, etc)
• small amount of cash for incidentals
• suitable arrangements to pay your account.

If you are attending the hospital for day surgery, please shower or take a bed bath (if you are in hospital) prior to being admitted.

In the interest of your safety, we ask that you please do not:

• eat or drink anything in accordance with fasting instructions including chewing gum and sucking mints
• wear jewellery
• bring any items of value
• wear makeup or nail polish.

Before you arrive, we will contact you to let you know what part of the hospital you should come to on the day of your procedure.

If you are unsure of where to go, make use of one of our friendly kiosks or ask for assistance at the main reception.

Surgical patients

If you are having a surgical procedure, please arrive at the Day Surgery Unit on level 1.

Our staff will meet with you to finalise any outstanding paperwork and pre-payment of your accounts.

Once this is complete, you will be accommodated in the Day Surgery Unit in preparation for your surgery.

Angiography patients

Angiography patients should come to ground floor reception, where they will be directed to the Angiography Department.

Our friendly hospital admission staff are always happy to help. If you have any questions about preparing for hospital, please phone us on +61 (2) 9812 3000.