Urgent Care
GREAT URGENT CARE
Urgent Care is available at Great Ocean Road Health 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, with a team of medical and nursing professionals able to provide first line treatment and care.
The urgent care service commences with nurse triage (the process of determining the priority of patients’ treatments based on the severity of their condition), comprehensive assessment and advanced life support. The Lorne and Apollo Bay Medical Centre’s provides 24 hour on call medical care to support the service.
What is a clinician?
A clinician can be a health professional such as a doctor, nurse, physiotherapist, psychologist, etc. Your treatment in the Emergency Department begins when you are seen by a clinician.
What is triage?
When you present to the Emergency Department you will be seen by a triage nurse. Triage nurses are specially trained and highly-skilled to make the first assessment of patients arriving to emergency. The triage nurse will perform your initial consultation, ask for your symptoms and perform routine checks to determine your triage category. Triage categories are used by staff to identify the sickest and most urgent patients.
Triage categories
- Category 1 – Resuscitation
- Category 2 – Emergency
- Category 3 – Urgent
- Category 4 – Semi-urgent
- Category 5 – Non-urgent
Significant advances in rural and remote urgent care
Great Ocean Road Health has pioneered many significant advances in rural and remote urgent care including;
- Onsite X-ray service which relays directly to relevant senior consultants in Geelong.
- Telehealth facilities which provide a direct link to specialist doctors, particularly in an emergency.
Rural and Isolated Practice Endorsed Registered Nurses (RIPERNS) with advanced clinical skills able to initiate clinical management when a doctor is unavailable on-site.
Transfers are arranged if specialised medical or surgical management is required. Fees for medical care and ambulance transport may be charged by the provider.
Emergency Department Factsheets
Emergency department factsheets provide condition-specific health and medical information for people attending the emergency department. They are designed to assist communication between emergency department clinicians and patients and/or carers.
Visit: http://www.health.vic.gov.au/edfactsheets for more information.
Managing your health should an emergency arise
Tips for Managing your health should an emergency arise.
- Always call triple zero (000) in the event of an emergency
- Keep up-to-date ambulance cover for you and/or your family
Fees
If you are not a holder of an Australian Medicare Card, a Student Visa, or from a country which has Reciprocal Rights in Australia, the following fees will apply:
- $480.00 for an Urgent Care Presentation
- $1,400.00 for an Acute Admission and Overnight Stay
You will be asked for payment in advance prior to treatment and you will be provided with a receipt and a letter for your insurance company with details of treatment provided.
Patients transferred by ambulance for further medical treatment are responsible for all ambulance fees.
Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED)
AVAILABILITY
24 hours per day
7 days per week
How to Present
Present to the Urgent Care Unit where you will be triaged by experienced medical staff.