Admissions
General practitioners and
psychiatrists can arrange the admission of patients to St John of
God Hospital Richmond.
The hospital has a Triage Admission Nurse - an
experienced psychiatric nurse who helps doctors access information
and streamline the admission of their patients as inpatients or day
patients.
Upon admission, the Patients' Admissions
Officer explains the hospital's facilities and insurance benefits
with patients. A nursing caregiver then acquaints patients with the
hospital's facilities, their room and their caregivers.
What to bring
All patients should bring:
- Private health fund details, Medicare and any
pension cards
- Your doctor's information and letters
- Pharmaceutical entitlement or concession
cards
- All currently prescribed medication and
tablets and any repeat prescriptions
- Everyday, comfortable clothing (including
warm jackets or coats in winter and a waterproof jacket and
umbrella) and, if an inpatient, night attire
- Footware, including socks, joggers and
non-slip sandals or thongs. Footwear must be worn at all times
- Personal toiletries
- Reading materials
Valuables, personal belongings and vehicles
St John of God Hospital Richmond
is not responsible for the loss or damage of personal
belongings or vehicles. Please bring only the personal belongings
you will need during your stay. As we do not provide facilities for
safekeeping, you should not bring jewellery, large amounts of
money, or other valuables with you. In exceptional circumstances,
temporary storage of valuables may be arranged by the nurse in
charge, but you will be requested to make alternative arrangements
for the removal and safe keeping of these items off-site at the
earliest opportunity.
Driving policy
It is a condition of admission to St John of
God Hospital Richmond that you hand in your car or motorbike
keys to staff, and that you agree not to drive whilst a
patient at the hospital.
Primary caregivers
During your hospital stay, your doctor is
known as your primary therapist and is in charge of your
treatment.
Shortly after admission, you will be
introduced to a member of your Unit's nursing caregivers who will
become your primary caregiver. Your primary caregiver's role is to
liaise with you, your doctor and other hospital caregivers. He or
she will also help you set and work towards achieving important
goals during your treatment. Other caregivers are available to
assist you.
Patient assessments and care plans
To ensure your individual needs are addressed,
Care Plans and Discharge Plans will be completed, to assist with
your transition home. Your primary carer will collaborate with you
to set goals and develop a plan of care to work towards recovery.
In order to assist caregivers in developing your care plan,
you will be asked to work with them in completing
questionnaires on admission. If you have any difficulty with these
questionnaires please speak to caregivers on your Unit.
Going home
On the day you are discharged, we ask
that you vacate your room by 10.00am. If you need to remain in
the hospital due to transport issues after this time, please speak
to the Nursing Unit Manager who will assist you with the temporary
storage of your luggage.
Before you leave, you will need to:
- Complete your final questionnaires
- Pay your account and collect your medication
from caregivers
- Check with caregivers as to whether you
need to organise a follow-up appointment with your psychiatrist or
arrange a referral to our Counselling and Therapy Centre for
ongoing therapy