WELCOME TO OUR URGENT CARE CENTRE (UCC) What to expect during your visit

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1 WELCOME TO OUR URGENT CARE CENTRE (UCC) What to expect during your visit

2 Introduction to our Patients On behalf of our doctors and nurses here at the Kilmore and District Hospital Urgent Care Centre (UCC), we welcome you to our department. At Kilmore and District Hospital, we have a long tradition of caring for our patients with both expertise and compassion. While any visit to the UCC involves stress, we make every effort to put our patients, and their families at ease. The UCC is manned 24 hours a day by experienced registered nurses and we provide on call medical coverage by visiting medical officers from the local area clinics. Doctors are on call for the UCC: Mon-Thurs Fridays Saturday Sunday 8:00am 10:00pm 8:00am 11:00pm 10:00am 11:00pm 10:00am 10:00pm During office hours the on call doctor is available for telephone consultations and will only present to the UCC for emergency situations Our team of very experienced nurses and doctors care for several patients at the same time. On occasion, there may be more patients requiring treatment than we have cubicles which may lead to longer waiting times. Whilst we work hard to avoid such delays it is often beyond our control. Your time and convenience are important to us, and we apologise if you experience such delays. Please inform us if you are experiencing pain, as your comfort is one of our main concerns. If you have any questions or are confused about what is happening during your visit, please do not hesitate to ask your nurse or doctor for more information.

3 We hope you are satisfied with the care we provide you with today. We are constantly working to improve our processes, and we value the feedback you can give us. To help us get as much feedback as possible regarding your treatment today, you may receive a follow up telephone call within the next few weeks asking about your impression of our service. We would appreciate any feedback you give us so that we can continue to make improvements to benefit you and others accessing our service. Arriving in our UCC Upon arrival at triage, you will need to sign in with some basic information including name, date of birth, address, Medicare number, next of kin as well as local doctor. The triage nurse will discuss your condition and decide what treatment is required. It is very important that you share all medical information, including the symptoms you are experiencing with our triage nurse. Also, please ask the nurse before eating or drinking anything, as this may interfere with your treatment. Waiting times Please understand that some people, who arrive after you, may be seen before you. This is because the Urgent Care Centre employs the Australasian Triage Scale when attending to our patients and upon arrival you will be prioritised according to the seriousness of your condition. Urgent Care Centre visits are not like doctor s office visits. There are no scheduled appointments. Instead, patients are seen based on the type of illness or injury they have. Whilst out in the waiting room, if you feel your condition has changed, please return to the triage window and press the nurse call button to be reviewed again by the triage nurse.

4 Visitor Information In order to protect the privacy and safety of you and all our patients, the number of family members and visitors for each patient must be limited. Once you are taken into the department, you may have two family members/ visitors with you at one time. Please be considerate of others by keeping conversations appropriate and children supervised. Where possible, children should remain in the waiting room with a responsible adult. Treatment Areas The Urgent Care Centre consists of four bays in which we see a wide variety of patients. Three of the bays are for general patients with the fourth bay being a resuscitation bay. Payment and financial arrangements As our medical staff are visiting medical officers, you will be required to present your Medicare card or number in order to be bulk billed for your treatment. Should you require ambulance transfer to a more appropriate facility, ambulance charges are the responsibility of the patient, as the Urgent Care Centre is considered an outpatient facility and therefore the Kilmore and District Hospital is not responsible for any bills incurred. It is strongly recommended that all our patients attain Ambulance Victoria membership. Advanced diagnostic testing Kilmore and District Hospital are able to provide x-ray facilities through Capitol radiology for services such as general x-rays, CT and ultrasound. Capitol radiology is open: Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm

5 Should you require MRI the closest facility is Capitol radiology in High Street Epping. Blood tests can be taken 24 hours a day and the service is provided by Healthscope pathology. The Kilmore and District Hospital is not responsible for any bills incurred with other parties (i.e. Ambulance services or Healthscope pathology). These accounts are the responsibility of the patient. Managing your pain Our goal is to provide you with very good care. This includes helping patients control their pain safely. For some types of pain, such as stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, chest pain or stroke symptoms, you may need to be seen by a doctor before being given any pain medication. The triage nurse will help make this decision when he or she speaks with you. During your visit, your nurse will continue to monitor your pain. Our goal in treating your pain is to make you feel as comfortable as possible, however, your pain may not go away completely. Students Please be advised that Kilmore and District Hospital is a teaching hospital and as such, you may at times be cared for by both student nurses and doctors under the direct supervision of their fully trained preceptors. Your discharge If you are being sent home after your examination, the doctor will provide discharge instructions for you. All follow up, further testing and routine care should be done in a doctor s office or clinic.

6 UCC Hours The UCC is manned 24 hours a day by registered nurses. Doctors are on call for UCC as follows: Mon-Thurs 8:00am 10:00pm Fridays 8:00am 11:00pm Saturday 10:00am 11:00pm Sunday 10:00am 10:00pm Contact Details The Kilmore & District Hospital P.O. Box 185, Kilmore, 3764 Rutledge Street, Kilmore Main Hospital: (03) Fax: (03) Nurse on call Emergency / Ambulance: 000 Revised November 2014