NEW 24-HOUR EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
EMERGENCY CARE 24/7
ST JOHN of God Geelong Hospital has opened its emergency department 24/7, the first private hospital in the region do so.
The emergency department moved to around-theclock care yesterday, extending its previous hours of 8am to 10pm.
Hospital chief executive officer Stephen Roberts said extending the opening hours would enable the hospital to provide more care to the region.
“The extended opening hours will offer the community more choice and access to urgent healthcare when they need it — and help reduce the pressure on the busy public emergency department.”
Mr Roberts said the emergency department offered a premium service for those looking for urgent care with rapid access to high quality onsite diagnostics and, if needed, admission to hospital.
“We provide expert, experienced care from senior doctors for emergencies, including chest pain, sports and orthopaedic injuries, pregnancy complications and paediatric conditions,” he said.
The hospital’s emergency department, which is located in the CBD off Myers St, has been providing emergency care since it opened in 2014. Patients do not need to have private health insurance to access its emergency services.
It costs $210 to be seen and extra fees may apply for pathology and radiology tests.
The emergency department provides care for all medical emergencies, excluding major trauma, mental health care and acute strokes, which can be seen at Barwon Health.
Patients do not need a referral and can ask to be taken to St John of God by ambulance.
Emergency department presentations at Barwon Health’s Geelong hospital have soared, with 78,126 people attending in 2018-19, up from 73,373 the previous year.
Meanwhile, a new urgent care centre which should ease pressure on Geelong hospital’s emergency department opened in Norlane last week.
The urgent care centre at Barwon Health North is open daily between 2pm and 10pm.
Barwon Health’s director of clinical support, David Meade, said the urgent care centre had seen a small but steady increase in the number of people attending.
“As the community becomes more aware of the services at the urgent care centre, we anticipate the demand will increase,” Mr Meade said.
He said that any additional services that bring more options for community healthcare needs were welcome.