About our services
Your care and wellbeing very important to us. If you have any questions about how your local hospital or health centre operates, or are worried about your care, please ask to talk to the nurse manager or service manager in charge.
There is further information on this page to guide you.
Help emergency staff
Remember, care in an emergency department (ED) is prioritised.
If you are not seriously ill, you can help our ED staff by using alternative services, including:
seeing your local GP
using the Healthdirect symptom checker
talking to a registered nurse by calling the Healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222.
The Healthdirect symptom checker can help you find out:
how to better understand the symptoms you might have.
when and how to safely take care of yourself at home, or until you can visit your GP.
what to keep watch for and when to call 000 (triple zero) or go to the emergency department.
Hospital admissions and discharge
A good way to ensure your stay in hospital is comfortable is by asking questions and telling us how you feel about what is happening to you.
When you arrive, your nurse will collect some information from you and/or your family/carer to help plan the care you will need in hospital and for when you go home.
You will also be given an estimate of when you'll be ready to go home. This will help you and your family/carer prepare for your return home.
Refer to the NSW Health website for general information on going to hospital, planning your hospital stay and going home from hospital.
Refer to our guide on preparing for your hospital stay and discharge (PDF 571 KB) (PDF 571.11KB).
You can also learn more about your hospital and contact them directly for local information or any questions.
If you or someone you know is going to hospital, it's very important to be aware of the risks of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) and how to prevent them, as they are an ever-present factor in every health system.
Prepare for your hospital stay and discharge
Heading into hospital? Plan for your discharge and keep yourself safe and supported. Here are some quick tips to help you prepare for your stay and discharge.
- Clothing and toiletries:
- If you are staying overnight bring comfortable clothes/sleepwear and your toiletries.
- Shoes/slippers should be comfortable, closed at the toe and with a firm gripping sole.
- Medications:
- Bring a list of all medicines you take and any recent changes that have been made. This includes all prescription medications and any purchased in a pharmacy, supermarket or health food stores.
- These medicines will be reviewed by your treatment team and then given to us for safe keeping during your hospital stay.
- Do not take any medicine from your own supply or from visitors while in hospital as this may interfere with your treatment.
- Please let us know if you have had any unexpected or allergic reactions to any medicine in the past.
- Luggage:
- For safety and storage reasons, only bring essential items into hospital with you.
- Please limit your items to a small bag about the size of a school bag or to a maximum of 10kg.
- No valuables:
- Do not bring valuables or large amounts of money to the hospital.
- The hospital cannot take responsibility for the loss or damage to your money or property.
Every hospital ward and health facility has a nurse or midwife-in-charge who can answer any questions you or your family/carer may have. Just ask any of our staff if you'd like to speak to a manager about your care.
During your stay, you will have regular meetings during your care involving doctors, nurses and allied health staff (physiotherapists, social workers, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, dieticians and pharmacists).
You will be involved in discussing your treatment with us. We encourage you to speak up and ask questions - remember, you are an important member of the team.
There are several things to consider in the lead up to a surgical procedure. We have developed two guides to help you discuss your options with your doctor and prepare for the journey ahead.
- What you need to know about your surgery journey (PDF 1.45MB) - to help prepare for surgery, what to expect during and after the procedure.
- Elective Surgery Guide for Southern NSW Hospitals (PDF 4.18MB) - a listing of the procedures undertaken within Southern NSW hospitals. This will help inform your conversation with your doctor or specialist as to the right location to have your surgery undertaken.
Visit NSW Health to learn more about your choices and the benefits for private patients. This information is available in a range of community languages.
Travelling long distance for treatment
Patients who need to travel long distances to access treatment not available locally, may be eligible for financial assistance to cover their travel and accommodation costs.
The Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS) helps with travel and accommodation costs when you need to travel 100km one way or at least 200km in a week for appointments to the same medical practitioner or health service.
You can claim financial assistance towards:
accommodation
private vehicle travel
air travel (in special circumstances)
taxis (includes ride sharing like Uber)
public transport (trains, buses, ferries).
Visit the IPTAAS website for more information or to make a claim. You can also call IPTAAS on 1800 IPTAAS (1800 478 227) or email IPTAAS@health.nsw.gov.au
You can also ask your social worker or healthcare team for information about IPTAAS.
Visiting people in hospital
We know that visits from friends and family can be important for the health and wellbeing of our patients.
Visitors are welcome to visit our health facilities, but please remain sensitive to the needs of other patients and staff.
You can do this by:
staying away if you are feeling unwell.
showing respect to other patients, visitors, and staff.
taking note of visitor requirements for your local facility on arrival (you’ll see posters and other information at entry points).
For more information about visiting hospitals and health facilities, go to NSW Health guide to healthcare visitation.
Visiting hours
Our visiting hours vary for each hospital and health facility. Find your hospital to view information about visiting hours and site contact details.
During your visit, please follow the directions from staff and let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Your rights and responsibilities
View the NSW Health patient care, treatment and concerns for details about your rights and responsibilities when using public health services in NSW.
See the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights for more information on your healthcare rights, including resources in other languages, Braille, audio and video.
This guide can also help you better understand your healthcare rights.
Patient experience and feedback
Your experience matters and we welcome your feedback so we can better understand what is working well and how we can improve our services.
Our patient experience survey takes 3 minutes to complete. It is designed to collect short statements about your experience during your time as a patient with us at our hospitals, clinics and/or community services.
You can also contact us to provide feedback about your experience with any of our staff or services.
Service quality and performance
The Bureau of Health Information (BHI) publishes regular independent reports about how NSW public hospital and ambulance services are performing. Visit BHI and see how Southern NSW LHD is performing.
The Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation Series provides detailed information about variation in the rates of specific clinical conditions and the care provided in the Australian Healthcare system.