News

Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) information for patients and visitors

What to do if you have an upcoming admission or want to visit a loved one in hospital.

25 Mar 2020

Updated 10 July 2020

For patients

Elective surgeries are being reintroduced in line with State guidelines, in addition to our continued focus on providing urgent care.

If your previously postponed surgery can now be scheduled, or there are any changes to your upcoming surgery, your specialist will be in touch to discuss this with you.

If you have:

flu-like symptoms;
temperature greater than 37.5 degrees
travelled overseas or interstate in the last 14 days; or
been in close contact* with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19

contact the hospital for further advice.

If you are concerned that you may have been exposed to the virus please call ahead.

Visitor restrictions

A maximum of two visitors per patient per day (visitors must visit together) This applies for all patients
Visit limited to two hours per day
Visiting hours between 5.00pm and 7.00pm (please speak to the relevant nurse unit manager to discuss any other arrangements)
Exceptions may apply for patients who are children or those receiving end of life care at the discretion of the nurse unit manager
Maternity patients may welcome one to two visitors per day. These visitors are in addition to the new parents and includes children
Visitors can expect to be screened on entry
Visitors can change from day to day

Get the most up to date information and guidelines relating to visitors from Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.

All visitors can expect to be screened on entry and cannot visit if they:

have travelled within 14 days of the planned visit;
have recently come into contact with a person who has a confirmed case of coronavirus;
are feeling unwell.

While some COVID-19 restrictions are being gradually eased, we are maintaining our precautionary measures to help keep our patients safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Thank you in advance for your support of this.

More information

Call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080.

You can also access the Department of Health website for your state for the latest information:

WA Health website

FAQs

Read our frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and our hospital care.

We are taking a range of measures and precautions to protect our patients. This includes:

additional cleaning and sanitation measures
limiting visitors
screening patients and visitors in order to provide safe care
prohibiting those arriving from overseas into our buildings
equipping wards with appropriate protective equipment
preparing our negative pressure rooms for suspected cases
cashless transactions.

Planned elective surgeries may change depending on the latest State guidelines and restrictions. If your surgery is affected your specialist will be in contact to discuss this with you.

We have a comprehensive range of coronavirus (COVID-19) precaution measures in place to ensure we are mitigating the risk of infection and ask that you support us in this.

For your safety and that of our caregivers, many St John of God Health Care services are now offering online appointments. If your appointment can be done online (via telehealth) and this is your preferred option, you will receive an email before your appointment so you can connect with us.

We understand you want to ensure you and your family to have the best care in the safest possible environment.

We have cancelled all maternity ward tours and antenatal classes until further notice to reduce foot traffic in our maternity ward.

If required parent education classes and information online will be offered instead of our traditional face-to-face sessions. The online classes cover a range of topics from what to expect at hospital, preparing for childbirth, early parenting and breastfeeding. Women who are booked in to give birth with us will be contacted via email with the details to attend.

Our birthing suite and patient rooms have and will continue to undergo a rigorous cleaning and sanitation schedule.

Our midwives, ward and support caregivers are under strict screening processes. We also encourage you to limit visitors both in hospital and on your return home to protect your family and our other patients.

Children are counted as individual visitors. COVID-19 visitor restrictions may apply depending on hospital location.

We are continuing to restrict the number of visitors in our hospitals in line with state guidelines for safety. Select the hospital you are attending to see more details about visitor restrictions currently in place:

NSW

VIC

WA

You can get the most up-to-date information and guidelines relating to visitors at your state's department of health website:

If you are seeking assistance, or testing for coronavirus (COVID-19), please visit your nearest COVID-19 clinic; or contact your GP via phone.

COVID-19 clinic details are available here:

There is a hotline available 24/7 on 1800 020 080.

Our emergency departments are open 24/7 for a range of emergency conditions.

If you need to present with flu-like symptoms, please consider going to a COVID-19 clinic where the fastest testing, precautions and treatment can be applied.

COVID-19 clinic details are available here:

There is a hotline available 24/7 on 1800 020 080.

You can use cash to pay for your parking in our machines. For all face-to-face payment transactions, including our cafes, we ask that cards are used at this time.