Important
Patient
Information

Please note the following that may help assist you in preparing for your procedure. Once you have visited your surgeon’s rooms, they will allocate and notify you of your admission time. This is the time you will need to arrive at the Townsville Day Surgery.

What you need to do:

• “Fasting” instructions will be given to you during your appointment with your surgeon or when you pick up your paperwork for your Endoscopy procedure. Fasting means you will not be able to have any food to eat, fluid to drink, chewing gum or lollies.
• Take all your usual medications with a sip of water (unless instructed otherwise).
• You are not allowed to drive home if you have had a General Anaesthetic or Sedation. You must have someone to pick you up and stay with you on the first post-operative night.
• To assist in your post-operative care, you will need to ensure you have organised someone who is able to stay with you. This should be organised prior to your admission date. If you cannot provide adequate information regarding a nominated carer, the Townsville Day Surgery may cancel your procedure.
• Due to the possibility of unpredictable delays, your time with us may be longer than anticipated, however our staff will be happy to offer an approximate departure time for you and your carer.

Medical Problems that might affect your Day Surgery

We need to know if you have any significant Medical problems, Medications and Allergies that might affect your surgery. It is important that you return your patient registration form to us as soon as possible, at least 7 days prior to your admission. We need to review this prior to your procedure and discuss this with you at the time of your admission.

To help this process, we have created an online Registration Form to help make submitting your form easier. The link below will take you to Townsville Day Surgery PreAdmit.

www.preadmit.com.au/Patient/townsvilledaysurgery

Alternately, below is a PDF copy of our Registration Form if you prefer to complete it manually.

Download PDF Form Here

You may wish to submit this either in person or via fax or email. See contact information below:

Fax: (07) 4725 4566 | Email: reception@townsvilledaysurgery.com.au

 

If you become unwell before the day of your surgery and do not think you can attend your procedure, please contact your Surgeon’s rooms to reschedule your appointment.

My ‘peace of mind’ checklist:

To make sure that you are adequately covered for treatment in a private hospital, we suggest you:

• Check your policy statement from your health insurer and make sure that you understand any restrictions or exclusions that apply to your policy.
• Make sure you review the Standard Information Statement for the policy you have selected.
• Regularly review your policy to ensure it is relevant to your current circumstances. A policy that you took out some time ago may not be appropriate for your needs now.
• Contact your health insurer with any questions you may have and review or upgrade your policy if you think it necessary.
• Discuss with your doctor if you are unsure which services you may need cover for.
• If your doctor has recommended a particular treatment or hospital admission, check prior to admission, with your doctor, hospital and your health fund, the cover provided and any out of pocket charges that will apply.
• If you find that your policy does not meet your needs, you are entitled to switch to another policy or health fund and have the waiting periods you have already served recognised.

The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman recommends considering taking a higher level of excess, rather than a restriction or exclusion, to save money on premiums. For more information about private health insurance, visit www.privatehealth.gov.au

Australian Private Hospitals Association

ABN 82 008 623809

PO Box 7426, Canberra BC 2610

www.apha.org.au

Ph: 02 6273 9000

Am I adequately covered for private hospital care?

Will my private health insurance cover me for private hospital care when I need it?

Some patients are surprised to find that they are not fully covered for the care they need in private hospitals. They may not be covered for things like cardiac surgery, joint replacement or dialysis. If your private health insurance policy contains exclusions or restrictions then you may not be able to access some services in private hospitals.

This brochure, brought to you by the Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA), explains what is meant by exclusions and restrictions in health insurance policies and how this may affect you. We encourage you to check your policy regularly to ensure that it is current and relevant for your circumstances and that you and your family can access private hospital care when you most need it.

What are exclusions & restrictions?

Exclusions are specific treatments or services not covered by your health insurance policy. Exclusions will be specifically stated on your policy and can include services like eye surgery or major joint surgery. Insurers can exclude any medical service except for psychiatric, rehabilitation services and palliative care. There is no limit to how many different services an insurer can exclude.

Restrictions apply to specific treatments or services that are only partially covered. There are several types of restrictions that can appear on a policy:

• Check your policy statement from your health insurer and make sure that you understand any restrictions or exclusions that apply to your policy.
• Make sure you review the Standard Information Statement for the policy you have selected.
• Regularly review your policy to ensure it is relevant to your current circumstances. A policy that you took out some time ago may not be appropriate for your needs now.
• Contact your health insurer with any questions you may have and review or upgrade your policy if you think it necessary.
• Discuss with your doctor if you are unsure which services you may need cover for.

Insurers generally impose the following waiting periods for a policy to be a complying health insurance policy:

• 12 months for all pre-existing conditions(except psychiatric care, rehabilitation or palliative care)
• 12 months for obstetric treatment.
• 2 months for psychiatric care, rehabilitation or palliative care (whether or not for a pre-existing condition)
• 2 months for any benefit for treatment provided in a hospital.

If you are unsure about waiting times contact your insurer.

Rights and Responsibilities

As a patient visiting any hospital, you are entitled to multiple rights in regards to your health and the care provided to you. Some of these include: 

• The right to privacy. This is in place to ensure all personal and medical information regarding your visit remains private and confidential.
• The right to participate. All patients are entitled to be included in decisions being made about their health care.
• The right to comment. This allows patients to be able to address an issue or situation that may arise and to have any concerns dealt with.

For more information on your rights, please see the below link.

Rights and Responsibilities 

You also have some responsibilities yourself as a patient, including:

• The responsibility to provide accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalisations, medications and other matters relating to your health.
• The responsibility to report unexpected changes in your condition to the responsible carer.
• The responsibility for reporting if you do not comprehend a contemplated course of action or what is expected of you.
• The responsibility for following the treatment plan recommended by the practitioner primarily responsible for your care.
• The responsibility for providing information concerning your ability to pay for services.
• The responsibility for accepting the consequences of your actions if you refuse treatment or do not follow the practitioner’s instructions.
• The responsibility for being considerate of the rights of other patients and health care facility personnel.
• The responsibility for being respectful of the property of other persons and of the health care facility.

On the day of your procedure, you will be placed under an anaesthetic. This means that you cannot drive a motor vehicle for 24 hours after, as you will not be insured. It is a requirement that someone is with you for the first night after discharge in case you become unwell. 

If you are unable to provide information regarding your nominated carer on the day of admission, we may need to cancel your procedure and reschedule for a later date.

Privacy Information

Townsville Day Surgery is committed to providing quality health care. A fundamental part of this is to ensure that patients are fully informed and involved in their health care. We are committed to complying with all applicable privacy laws which govern how Townsville Day Surgery collects, uses, discloses and stores your personal information.

Townsville Day Surgery will collect your personal information for the purpose of providing you with health care and for directly related purposes. For example, Townsville Day Surgery may collect, use or disclose personal information :

Townsville Day Surgery will usually collect your personal information directly from you, but sometimes may need to collect it from someone else (for example, a relative or another health service provider). We will only do this if you have consented or where your life is at risk and we need to provide emergency treatment.

We will not use or disclose your personal information to any other persons or organisations for any other purpose unless :

Confidentiality

Your medical records are treated with the utmost professionalism and respect for your privacy. Our staff are bound by strict confidentiality requirements as a condition of employment.

Releasing your information

You have the right to access your personal information in your health record. If you want to request a copy of your medical records, please click Access Your Medical Record and download a consent form.

Accessing your medical record

The following procedure has been developed to ensure that all requests for access are dealt with fairly and as efficiently as possible:

Medical records are not usually released to third party without your consent, however there are occasions where we are required by law to release information about you without obtaining your consent.

Privacy Legislation

Townsville Day Surgery is bound by the National Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 and other relevant laws about how private health service providers handle personal information.

 Should you, at any time, have a query or complaint in relation to the privacy policies in place at the Townsville Day Surgery please contact our Facility Co-Ordinator who will be able to address any concerns you may have. We advise that it is the Townsville Day Surgery’s policy that any complaint is required to be made in writing and addressed to the Facility Co-Ordinator and marked private and confidential.

 We advise that we will endeavour to address complaints within 14 days.

On arrival at Townsville Day Surgery please check in with the reception staff. They will process your paperwork and applicable procedure fees. You will then be requested to take a seat in our waiting room until a staff member takes you through for your admission. 

What to bring

Wear comfortable clothing and footwear and leave all jewellery and valuables at home. You will change into a gown before your surgery. Do not wear make-up or nail polish.

You will need to provide a contact telephone number of the person who will drive you home.

About Your Anaesthetic

To most people, an Anaesthetic means that you are “asleep”. But there are several alternatives to a “General” anaesthetic that can be used. Each anaesthetic is individually tailored to the type of procedure you will be having and to your specific needs.

What does Anaesthetic do?

1. Takes care of you while you are unconscious and unable to do so for yourself
2. Minimises pain, discomfort and any psychological stress related to your procedure
3. Provides your surgeon with the very best operating conditions so that we can try to ensure the best possible result with your surgery.

Meeting Your Anaesthetists

You will meet your Anaesthetist prior to you procedure. You will have completed a Medical History questionnaire prior to your admission. This will be reviewed. The Anaesthetist may ask about previous medical problems and tablets or medications you are taking, including allergies and previous adverse reactions. They will also ask if you or a member of your family have had problems with previous anaesthetic.

After the procedure

When the procedure has finished you will be taken to the first stage Recovery Room where specially trained Recovery Nurses will take over your care.

Identification

You will wear an identification band which will state your name, date of birth, unique hospital identification number and other relevant information. At various times staff will check the details on this band and ask you to tell them information such as your name and date of birth.

This is not because they don’t know who you are – they are taking precautions to ensure you are the correct patient to receive the medication or treatment.

The staff are taking these steps to ensure that everything goes as planned for your procedure.

Ensure Correct Surgery

Before you are transferred to the operating theatre, your nurse or doctor may need to make a mark with a pen, on the part of your body which requires surgery.

It is important that this mark does not rub off. It is essential for the doctor and nursing staff to see the mark before your surgery commences. If for any reason the mark is removed, please advise the staff as soon as possible.

When you arrive in the operating theatre, the nurse will ask you to state your name, date of birth and the type of operation you are having. This is done to ensure that your surgery is performed correctly.

Stop the clot

As a result of your admission to hospital, you may be at increased risk of developing a blood clot in your legs or lungs. As part of your care, your doctor will assess you on admission to determine your level of risk and if necessary to implement treatment options to reduce the risk of developing a clot.

These treatment options may include:

• Wearing compression stockings
• Using a compression pump on your lower legs
• Taking tablets or injections to help prevent blood clots
• Gently exercising your feet or legs in bed
• Getting out of bed and walking as soon as possible

Some of these treatments are not suitable for all patients. Your doctor will decide the correct treatment option for you.

Falls Prevention

For a number of reasons, people of all ages are at increased risk of falling whilst in hospital. These reasons include unfamiliar surroundings, poor balance, poor eyesight, unsafe footwear, their medical/surgical condition and some medications.

While only a small number of these falls cause serious injury, they often result in a loss of confidence which can interfere with independence and prolong the time spent in hospital.

Everyone has a role to play in helping reduce the risk of falls, while at the Day Surgery.

On your admission, you may have Falls Risk Assessment completed which staff will discuss with you and put in place a plan that suits your needs.

Preventing Pressure Ulcers

To reduce the risk of developing a pressure ulcer –

• Ensure good posture when sitting in a chair and try to move yourself every 15 minutes to 1 hour. Change your body position frequently, at least every 1-2 hours, if lying in bed for a prolonged period of time. If you cannot move easily yourself, ask for assistance.
• Staff may use special equipment whilst you have your procedure to help relieve the pressure.
• Inspect your skin for early warnings of redness that does not go away, broken or blistered skin, or numbness. If you cannot see all of your body ask a nurse, family member or a friend to check regularly for you.
• Use moisturising lotion to prevent your skin drying out. Avoid vigorous massage or rubbing of the skin, as this can damage the underlying tissue.
• Keep your skin clean and dry at all times. Eat a balanced diet and keep hydrated.

After your procedure it may take you some time to wake up. We will monitor you in Recovery until you are awake and alert enough to be able to get home safely.

You are not allowed to drive home if you have had a General Anaesthetic or Sedation. You will need to have someone to pick you up and stay with you on the first post-operative night.

Post-operative Instructions

We will give you written post-operative instructions to tell you what to expect after your procedure at Townsville Day Surgery. This will include information about pain relief, resuming your usual medications and activity, and follow-up arrangements with your doctors.

Post-operative Phone Call

You have the option for a Nurse to call you the day after your surgery to ensure that you are okay after your first night, and have adequate pain relief and dressings.

Who should you call if there are problems?

If you have problems and need help (or just advice) try to contact your treating Doctor first. If you can’t reach them, call your General Practitioner or the Emergency Department at your nearest Public Hospital.

In an Emergency RING 000 and ask for an Ambulance.