Hospital Admissions

All procedures are performed in the morning with admission approximately 1.5 hours before the procedure time.

You will be given a letter with instructions and a pathology form.  You will need to have a blood test done approximately two days before your admission, these results will get downloaded electronically to the doctor.  The letter will contain all fasting and medication instructions and you should take all your usual tablets unless instructed otherwise.   If you have any queries about your medication it is important to ask us.  In most cases you will be required to fast from midnight however you can have some clear fluids up until two hours before the procedure.    

If you are having a new pacemaker inserted you will be required to stay overnight with discharge being early the following morning.  For angiograms, pacemaker replacements, cardioversions and reveal insertions you will only be in hospital for the day, with discharge usually being around four hours later.  Some procedures require you to come back in approximately four weeks for a review and this appointment will usually be made by either the doctor's receptionist or the ward clerk.

You will need to make sure your health insurance is up to date and that you are covered for a private hospital stay and have no cardiac exclusions.  Sometimes the health insurer will want to know the item number of your procedure if so, please give the rooms a call.  The hospital will usually do a health fund check prior to your admission and will advise you of your hospital excess (if you have one) which is payable on admission.  Our doctors do not charge a gap so you will not be out of pocket for your operation. However some anaesthetists may charge a gap.

It is preferred that you do your admission on line using the following links:

Epworth Richmond

www.epworth.org.au/patientadmissions

Melbourne Private Hospital

www.melbourneprivatehospital.com.au