Useful numbers
There are several ways you can contact us. Choose the option that works best for you.
| Service | Phone |
|---|---|
| John Hunter Hospital (JHH) | (02) 4921 3000 |
| JHH Outpatient Services Contact Centre Monday to Friday 8.30am - 4pm | (02) 4922 3912 |
| Mental Health Line (24-hour / 7 days) | 1800 011 511 |
| Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS) | 1800 478 227 |
| Oral Health Contact Centre Dental appointments and information about oral health services | 1800 679 336 |
| Population Health - Newcastle | (02) 4924 6499 |
| Population Health - Tamworth | (02) 6764 8000 |
| Population Health - Taree | (02) 6515 1853 |
| Hunter New England LHD Accounts Payable department | 1300 883 965 |
| Healthdirect Australia (24-hour / 7 days health advice line) | 1800 022 222 |
Our hospitals and health services
Find the address and phone numbers for hospitals and health services across Hunter New England LHD.
Feedback
At Hunter New England LHD, we aim to provide the best health care possible to our communities.
Your feedback helps us understand what is working well and what isn't, so we can improve.
There are several ways to share your experience and feedback.
You may wish to tell us why you’re happy or not so happy with your care, compliment a staff member or simply share your appreciation with us. You can:
- speak to the staff member involved in your care or the manager of the ward or unit
- write to or call the hospital or health facility directly
- call our feedback line at 1800 605 172 (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm)
- write a letter and post it to:
Strategic Relations and Communications
Locked Bag 1
New Lambton, NSW 2305
Complaints
You have the right to make a complaint if you feel something was not right.
We want to ensure you have an efficient, fair and accessible complaints process.
Our district aims to manage all complaints in line with NSW Health’s Complaints Management policy guidelines (PDF 895KB).
Many complaints can be talked through and fixed quickly. We encourage you to raise your concerns directly with the staff or the manager of unit/ward.
This is usually the fastest and most direct way for your concerns to be heard and addressed.
If you are uncomfortable raising concerns directly with staff, there are other ways you can make a complaint.
Any person can make a complaint. This includes anyone:
- who has observed a problem.
- directly affected by the problem.
- concerned about the health services provided.
- acting for the person affected. This could be a family member, consumer advocate, medical practitioner, or health care staff.
Complaints can be made anonymously or in person with a staff member or manager.
The complaint can be about any function or service provided by the healthcare organisation.
This includes services, behaviour of health service staff or any general healthcare issues.
| In person | Raise your concern directly with any staff member. They could help resolve your concern quickly. If not, they will refer it to someone who can. |
| HNELHD-SRC@health.nsw.gov.au | |
| Phone | Call the Hunter New England feedback line on 1800 605 172 |
| Write | Write a letter and post it to:
|
| Use the feedback tool | Use the thumbs up or thumbs down button at the bottom of every web page on our website. |
We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible.
We will fully investigate all complaints and inform the person who raised the complaint of the outcomes.
Complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days and should be resolved within 35 days. More complex complaints may take longer to resolve. We will advise you if this is the case.
If you're not satisfied with our response:
If you have concerns about the management of your complaint you can have your complaint reviewed by a higher level of the health service.
You can also contact the following independent organisations:
Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) The HCCC is independent of the NSW Health system and deals with all health services and providers in NSW. | 1800 043 159 | hccc@hccc.nsw.gov.au | Locked Mail Bag 18 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 |
The NSW Ombudsman Office is an independent and impartial integrity agency. | 1800 451 524 | nswombo@ombo.nsw.gov.au | Level 24 580 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 |
Information and Privacy Commission NSW (IPC) The IPC is an independent statutory authority that deals with privacy and access to government held information in NSW. | 1800 472 679 | ipcinfo@ipc.nsw.gov.au | GPO Box 7011 Sydney NSW 2001 |
You can also raise a complaint or other concerns:
- by filling out the NSW Health feedback form.
- directly with the NSW Minister for Health by calling (02) 9391 9000 or writing to:
The Hon. Ryan Park MP
GPO Box 5341
Sydney NSW 2011
- by contacting your local Member of Parliament
- by contacting the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC)
The HCCC is an independent organisation that investigates complaints about public or private health services or individual health practitioners. The HCCC can review a complaint if:- A person is not happy with how their complaint was handled by the health service.
- They do not agree with the outcome of the health service’s investigation.
Accessing your personal health information
You or your authorised representatives have the right to request access to all personal information including your health record held by Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD).
For more information, refer to the NSW Health Privacy leaflet for patients.
Personal information belongs to the individual. The file or record belongs to the Local Health District. When a person views their personal health information or records, it must be in an area that makes sure the file or record is secure.
Learn more about patient privacy in HNELHD.
How to access a copy of your medical records
You or your authorised representative can request access for a copy of your health record (PDF 303KB) (PDF 285.04KB) from the hospital or health facility that provided your medical care.
Please read the information provided to help you complete the request form.
You can ask for any kind of personal health information that:
- is related to you.
- is contained in your medical record.
- has been created by the health service agency you are making a request from.
The information may include:
- outpatient and inpatient notes
- health service agency correspondence
- medication sheets and discharge summaries
- pathology results and medical imaging reports.
Information that will not be made available
- documents referring to third parties
- other agency documents or correspondence
- any material classified as 'sensitive in nature'.
Information is classified as sensitive when the agency or service determines that disclosing the information will have a negative effect on your physical or mental health.
You will be notified and may be asked to view the record with a treating health professional.
An access request form is available at the health care site you want to request information from.
Complete the form with as much detail as possible. You will be asked to include:
- your full name, and any alias (assumed name) you may be known by.
- your address and date of birth.
- details of the information you require with dates wherever possible.
Verifying your identity
Generally, documents with a medical history are particularly sensitive and confidential. A health service agency takes great care to make sure the right identification procedures are followed.
You must provide at least 2 forms of identification (including photographic identification) where possible. Acceptable forms of identification include:
- Passport
- Medicare card
- Driver license
- Birth certificate
- Health care card.
How to verify your identity if sending an application by post
If you send us your access request form by post, you must include photocopies of the 2 forms of identification that have been witnessed by a Justice of the Peace as true copies of the originals.
Get support
You can contact the Clinical Information Department or specific Service or Unit Manager at the hospital or health service you want to request information from for assistance.
A parent requesting information about their child will need to show that they are the child’s parent.
An original birth certificate will need to be sighted or as an authenticated copy if sending by post.
If you are a separated parent
You will need to show the child’s birth certificate and evidence that you are the child’s parent.
Each parent has authority to request information from their child’s medical record, unless the Family Court has specifically removed that right from you.
If your child is over 14 years
It is necessary to have authority from the child as well as yourself.
If your child is over the age of 16 years
It is right for the child to make the request for release of information from their record.
A standard fee of $33 (including GST) applies for a maximum of 80 pages.
Requests with more than 80 pages will cost 40 cents per page plus GST.
Fees are payable using cheque or money order made out to ‘Hunter New England Local Health District’.
There is no discount on this service. We do not accept cash at our facilities.
After we have received your completed request and payment, we will process it within 21 days.
The health service will photocopy the information you requested and send it to you by post.
Please contact the Clinical Information Department or specific Service or Unit Manager at the hospital or health service you have requested information from.
If further action is needed, they will explain the process for an official complaint or review of the information request to you.
Learn more about how you can provide feedback or raise a complaint.
Accessing Hunter New England LHD information (GIPA Act)
Access to information held by all government agencies, including Hunter New England LHD, is governed by the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act).
The GIPA Act applies to personal and non-personal documents.
Personal documents are about a particular individual. Non-personal documents cover all other documents and publications.
The GIPA Act requires us to release information unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure.
Hunter New England LHD must keep a record of open access information that it does not make publicly available. This decision is based on an overriding public interest against disclosure.
The records must indicate only the general nature of the information concerned. As Hunter New England LHD makes decisions about such open access information, it will publish it on this website.
For more information visit the Information and Privacy Commission NSW (IPC) website or the NSW Health website.
There are 4 ways you can access information from Hunter New England LHD under the GIPA Act:
- Mandatory release – certain information must be published, free of charge, including our NSW Health policies, government contracts, and our GIPA disclosure log (PDF 137.69KB).
Much of the information we hold is publicly available online on our website. Any documents tabled in Parliament by or on behalf of Hunter New England LHD will be published on our website.
- Proactive release – we take the initiative to release as much government information as possible, free of charge (or at the lowest reasonable cost).
- Informal request – you can request certain information without the need for a formal application by contacting our Right to Information Officers on (02) 4985 5890 or by emailing HNELHD-AuditandLegal@health.nsw.gov.au.
- Formal application – in limited circumstances, access to information will require a GIPA application. You can contact our Right to Information Officers for assistance.
If you wish to make a personal or non-personal request under GIPA, you must submit a valid application.
Download a GIPA access application form
Download a GIPA internal review application form
Written applications and requests for access to non-personal documents should be submitted, in the first instance, to the Chief Executive, marked attention to:
Right to Information Officer
Hunter New England Local Health District
Locked mail bag 1
New Lambton NSW 2305
You can also email your application form to: HNELHD-AuditandLegal@health.nsw.gov.au
A valid formal application for access to government information must:
- be completed in writing, stating that it is made under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW).
- have an Australian postal address for return correspondence.
- provide enough details to help the agency identify the information want
- enclose the application fee of $30, payable by cheque or money order (payable to Hunter New England Local Health District) or credit card.
Please include as much information as possible in your access request.
For personal information requests, you must include a certified copy of your identification.
Application fees
| Request type | Fees | Processing charges |
|---|---|---|
| Personal request to access records | $30 | $30 per hour after the first 20 hours |
| Non-personal request to access records | $30 | $30 per hour |
| Non-personal request for an internal review | $40 |
|
| Non-personal request for amendment of records | No charge |
|
The Right to Information Officer will process your request on receipt of a valid application and the right application fee.
Contact our Right to Information Officers for help on (02) 4985 5890 or by email to HNELHD-AuditandLegal@health.nsw.gov.au.
Further processing charges
Depending on the nature of your request there may be further processing charges for your GIPA application.
If this is the case, you will be advised of the estimated costs before the process starts.
Discount of processing charges
In some circumstances, they can be a reduction in fees and charges.
You can check with our Right to Information Officers or visit the NSW Information and Privacy Commission website for more information.
Hunter New England LHD is required to proactively release the GIPA annual report every year under the GIPA Act.
The reports provide information on GIPA applications received each year.
You can download our GIPA reports from the past 3 years. Contact us to access earlier reports.
Street and postal addresses for Hunter New England LHD
Head office - Newcastle
Street address: Lookout Road, New Lambton NSW 2305
Postal address: Locked bag 1, New Lambton NSW 2305
Regional head office - Tamworth
Street address: 7 Bligh Street, Tamworth NSW 2348
Postal address: Locked mail bag 9783, Tamworth NSW 2348