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Treatment & Care

Consent to Procedures

By coming to hospital, you have given implied agreement to general treatment which may be required for your condition. For some procedures, such as anaesthetics and surgery, the hospital will ask for your written consent. You are entitled to have an explanation of your illness, results of tests, the proposed treatment, the alternatives and the likely outcomes of treatments, including “no treatment” . We encourage you to discuss these with your doctor and ask questions.

You have the right to refuse surgery or any other procedure or investigation, but before doing so you should understand the implications.

Confidentiality

Details of your care and treatment are recorded in a medical record specific to you and kept in the strictest confidence. The record remains the property of the hospital, and access to it is carefully controlled. The hospital is bound by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

In general, you have some right to see your medical record and to decide who should be informed by your doctor of your condition.

Teaching and Research

Your treatment and care are our primary concern. However, this hospital also has an important role in teaching and research, and is involved in the training of health professionals.This is why students and recent graduates are taught at the bedside by specialist staff. You may be asked to discuss details of your illness and undergo examination by students.

Your co-operation is appreciated, but if you prefer not to take part we will respect your wishes.

Hospital Staff

During your stay in hospital, you will be cared for by doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. All hospital staff are required to wear identification badges.

Doctors

Doctors work in teams, or “units”. You will be under the principal care of one unit, the name of which will be written above your bed. These are the different types of doctors who comprise each unit:

One or more specialists. One specialist will be responsible for your overall management (diagnosis and treatment). However, many units have several specialists and, particularly in surgery, more than one specialist may be involved in your care and visit you. In most specialties at least 15 years’ training is required and many examinations must be passed. All medical specialists at SCGH are obliged to participate in teaching and research, as well as providing care for individual patients.

One or more registrars. Registrars have between three and fifteen years’ experience, depending on their specialty. Most are either training to be a specialist, or working in the field in order to decide whether to pursue that specialty. Many will already have passed some examinations set and held by specialist groups.

One or more:

Resident Medical Officers (RMOs). An RMO generally has completed between one and five years’ work as a hospital doctor. Those trained overseas may have considerably more than that.

and/or

Interns. An Intern is a doctor who has completed university training (five or six years) and is in their first year of work as a doctor.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is a major teaching hospital for the medical school of the University of Western Australia. The University’s medical course takes at least six years full-time to complete. Some of the teaching is’“clinical”, i.e. based on patients. For that reason you may encounter medical students. You may decline to see students, but we hope you won’t.

You might be transferred from the care of one clinical unit to another (in which case your medical staff will change). However, if you remain under the same clinical unit and are merely transferred from one ward to another, the same doctors will continue to see you. Most teams of doctors have patients in many wards.

Outside normal hours, when the main medical teams are off duty, medical staff from various units are rostered to provide care to patients.

Nurses

Most nurses are assigned to wards (geographical areas) rather than clinical units. Some senior nurses are assigned to specific clinical issues, rather than geographical areas. They are generally known as Clinical Nurse Consultants.

The majority of your contact will be with nurses on the wards. Nurses who work on the wards will have a title which is related to their level of training, including Registered Nurses and Enrolled Nurses.

On each shift one nurse will function as the Shift Co-ordinator. This nurse can assist in resolving any aspect of your care, in addition to the nurse providing your direct bedside care.

The nursing team is led by a Senior Registered Nurse. This nurse has responsibility for the overall management of the ward and the standard of care provided by its nurses.

If you are moved from one ward to another, your nursing staff will change.

Allied Health Professionals

In some cases, Allied Health staff (for example physiotherapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists) will visit you automatically, in other areas they will come only if requested by a doctor or a nurse.

Outpatient Department

To receive an appointment to the Outpatient Department a referral is required from a doctor. The referral can be sent by doctors within the hospital or from a G.P. or Consultant outside the hospital.

After the referral is received, a letter is sent in acknowledgement to the patient and the referring doctor, giving details of the appointment or of waiting times.

If unable to attend an appointment, please cancel as soon as possible. If you have any queries, need to cancel or change your appointment, please telephone the hospital on 61 8 9346 3333 and ask for the specialty or phone the number written on your appointment card. By notifying us it enables another patient the opportunity to see the doctor.

Please allow at least 2 hours for your appointment. We recommend that you do not make any other appointment in this time. Every effort will be made to see you on time, however SGCH is a busy teaching hospital, and unplanned demands on medical staff can occur causing possible delays.

Special Needs

Interpreter

If you have difficulty speaking English we can arrange for a professional interpreter for you.

Wheelchair

Can be obtained on request from front of E block reception desk.

What to Bring

Car parking

A car park is accessible from Hospital Avenue and Gairdner Drive. A small fee is charged. Please pay at ticket machines located within the car park.

For bus routes contact Transperth Infoline: 136213

Courtesy Bus

A courtesy bus called Bankwest Buggy is provided for travel within the hospital grounds. The buggy can be accessed from the car park, or can be reached by any phone within the hospital, phone 96914.

Hours of operation are between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Thursday & Friday 9-3.30pm.

Teaching

Your appointment does not guarantee that you see a consultant. An important function of this hospital is the teaching of doctors, medical students and nurses. During your visit you may be attended by a Resident (a doctor 1-2 years post graduation), a Registrar (a doctor undertaking specialist training), or a consultant.

A consultant supervises the doctors and is a specialist in a chosen field of medicine.

Social Workers

If you have practical or personal difficulties associated with your hospitalisation, Social Work staff are available to assist you.

Our Social Workers can provide:

Interpreters

An interpreter service for all internationally recognised languages is available and can be arranged through your nurse or the Social Work Department. All information of a medical or welfare nature is treated with confidentiality.

Pastoral Care

Chaplains are available to offer support and can be contacted through the ward staff. Pastoral care is available for all patients and their families, whether or not they have any religious affiliation. Holy Communion and other sacraments can be administered in the wards on request.

If, at any time, you would like to be visited by one of the hospital’s Chaplains, please ask the ward staff to arrange this for you.

Within the hospital there are places dedicated to reflection and prayer. There is a Christian Chapel on Ground Floor of E Block, and a Muslim Prayer Hall on the 1st Floor of E Block, next to the library.

Communication Aids

If you have a hearing or visual disability, please ask if any special communication aids are available for use. It may be possible for you to obtain a copy of information in larger print or other formats.

If you need to be lifted

Your condition may require the use of lifting aids such as hoists to reposition or transfer you. This is to ensure you are moved in the safest way for both you and the staff. This will be assessed by our staff who are trained in the safest methods for patient handling and you will be asked to assist as much as possible.