Telephones
At present there are no telephones by patients beds. Pay phones are located on upper and lower floors of the hospital. For patients who are unable to get to pay phone, cordless phones are available on some wards but are not for routine use by patients.
Television & Radio
Local television and radio stations are available to all acute wards.
Mail is delivered daily.
Meals
| 7.30am | Breakfast |
| 10am | Morning Tea |
| 12.30pm | Lunch |
| 3pm | Afternoon Tea |
| 5.30pm | Dinner |
Menus are completed a day in advance and you are able to select your choice of meal, depending on medical orders. The food service staff are able to assist you with your food preferences. Dietitians are available if you need to discuss dietary needs.
Pharmacy
Hospital pharmacists visit the wards on a daily basis. The role of pharmacists in hospital is to review and dispense your medications and also teach you about your medications. Feel free to ask the ward pharmacist about anything you may not understand about your medications.
Pharmacy opening hours are:
Weekdays: 8.30am - 5.15pm
Weekends: 10am - 12noon
 Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Brochure | type: pdf | size: 302 kB |
Pressure Ulcers
A pressure ulcer is defined as an injury caused by unrelieved pressure resulting in damage of the skin and underlying tissue. They are commonly known as pressure sores or bed sores. Pressure ulcers are an internationally recognised patient safety problem and are largely preventable.
For more information about pressure ulcers and how you can help to prevent them, click on the link below for a flyer which has been compiled by the Victorian Quality Council.
http://www.health.vic.gov.au/qualitycouncil/downloads/move/english.pdf
Falls Prevention
The key to preventing patient falls lies with awareness that falls are a problem. Many falls can be prevented by understanding the risk factors in relation to why people fall. It is through a team effort and shared responsibility by staff, patients and their families that early identification of falls risks can occur. To identify a patient's risk of falling, all patients (with the exception of paediatrics and midwifery) are assessed by staff on admission using a falls risk assessment tool. Strategies are then implemented according to the patient's level of risk.
If you are coming in to hospital, be sure to bring any aids and equipment you normally use at home, such as glasses, hearing aid, walking stick or frame, pick-up stick and shoe horn. Bring comfortable, low or flat heeled footwear with backs on them. Make sure they have a good fastening, such as velcro straps or laces and have a good grip on the sole. Avoid slippers as these do not provide adequate support for your feet and will be unsuitable for many activities whilst in hospital. Bring comfortable clothing that is not too long or loose, and that you can easily walk about in and exercise.
Please talk to our staff if you have any concerns about falls prevention and management.
Interpreter Service
Interpreters can be arranged at your request to help relay information and aid in your understanding of hospital procedures if your understanding of English is limited.
Infection Prevention and Control
Infection control is an essential part of quality health care. Patients, health care workers and visitors can be at risk of getting infections while they are in the hospital. All hospitals must have a infection prevention and control program to reduce risk. Infection control is all about protecting patients, health care workers, volunteers and visitors to the hospital by stopping the movement of bugs and reducing the risk of infection.
How is this achieved?
Hand washing, staff immunisation, sterility, protective clothing or equipment, and maintenance of a clean, safe hospital is the basis for the prevention and control of infection in the hospital.
We protect people in the hospital setting by removing and controlling any sources of infection and reducing the risk of transmission. The hospital complies with cleaning standards and conducts audits to measure this compliance. Reusable instruments and equipment are cleaned and sterilized according to Australian Standards and compliance with this standard is monitored.
Standard and Additional Precautions
Infections like HIV, hepatitis B and C are caused by viruses and can be passed through contact with blood and other potentially infectious materials. We may not know if someone has one of these viruses and use standard precautions for all patients and clients regardless of their known or presumed infectious status. Standard precautions protect both patients and health care workers.
Sometimes extra measures called 'additional precautions' are required to prevent the spread of infection and the patient may need to be placed in isolation. The hospital has purpose designed isolation rooms for use when precautions are required to prevent the spread of infection. People may need to be accommodated in isolation to protect others. Patients requiring isolation may have a single room, special air conditioning requirements, and restricted movement within the hospital; staff and visitors may need to use protective equipment or clothing like gloves, masks and gowns.
NHW has measure in place to prevent and control the spread of infection. This provides a high level of protection for patients, health care workers, volunteers and visitors to the hospital.
Customer Feedback
At NHW we continually aim to provide our community with an excellent standard of care and service. We value any feedback we receive (positive or negative) regarding services we provide. If you have any concerns or wish to make a complaint about any aspect of your stay with us, please:
- Firstly speak to the manager of the ward, unit or department as soon as the concern arises so the problem may be resolved as quickly as possible.
- If you would rather speak with someone independent, you may discuss your problems with the Quality Manager. The staff will arrange a meeting for you.
- Written formal complaints can be sent to:
The Chief Executive Officer
Northeast Health Wangaratta
PO BOX 386
Wangaratta Vic 3677 - Written formal complaints can also be sent to the Health Services Commissioner if they cannot be satisfactorily resolved by Northeast Health Wangaratta. The address:
Level 30
570 Bourke Street
Melbourne Vic 3000
Suggestion boxes for your comments are located in foyer areas of the hospital - please use them! We treat every complaint as an opportunity for improvement.