General information
We have private and shared facilities with an ensuite in each room.
All our private and shared rooms have telephones and nurse call facilities.
Our newly refurbished facilities include:
- Air conditioning
- Communal televisions
- Direct dial telephones
- Interpreters (on request)
- Outdoor visitors’ area
- Private and shared rooms
- Private bathrooms
- Public phones
- Pastoral care (on request)
- Visitor and disabled parking.
Alcohol and non-prescribed drugs are not permitted on the clinic premises under any circumstances.
Substance misuse may result in a review of your admission status.
Incoming mail is distributed each day and stamped letters can be left at reception for posting.
Communal newspapers are available each day on your unit but you are welcome to organise your own newspaper subscription during your stay with us.
Discharge time from The Melbourne Clinic is 10am daily. Please arrange for your family, friend, or carer to collect you from the hospital by 9.30am.
Alternatively, reception staff can arrange a taxi for you if required.
It is very likely that your bed has been booked for another patient so adherence to discharge times is critical.
Before you go:
Before you leave hospital, make sure that you or your carer:
- Know what further care you require at home
- Collect medication that will be required
- Know when and where your follow-up appointments are
- Where relevant, outpatient or outreach appointment is made
- Finalise your account.
It is important that you report to reception before leaving the hospital to ensure that you are discharged from our system and to finalise your account.
In the majority of cases the hospital will claim directly to your health fund. You will be required to pay any amounts not covered by your health insurance fund and for claims that are rejected by health funds, at the time of discharge.
Feedback and Patient Satisfaction:
The Melbourne Clinic is committed to delivering the highest quality of health care in an environment that is constantly striving to exceed your expectations. Feedback systems are part of our quality improvement program and enhance our service by:
- Identifying areas that need improvement
- Providing opportunity to individually meet our patients needs
- Giving our patients an opportunity to have their legitimate complaints considered within a clearly defined process.
Feedback can be made by discussing issues in person with the Nurse Unit Manager of the ward, your Program Manager or by completing a Consumer Feedback Form.
The Melbourne Clinic is recognised by all major health funds that will reimburse treatment costs depending on your level of coverage.
We can provide you with an estimate of hospital charges and outline the level of cover by your fund and any out-of-pocket expenses you may incur.
Prior approval is sought for compensable patients (i.e. Workcover, TAC or DVA).
Services not covered by private health insurance:
Most programs will be covered under your private health insurance however there are some therapies on offer which may not be included in your policy.
In these instances our friendly staff can provide you with an estimate of the costs involved for these services.
What if I don't have private health insurance?
To be covered as a private patient for psychiatric treatment or drug and alcohol rehabilitation in hospital, you can purchase a private hospital policy.
Unlike other pre-existing conditions, which normally require you to complete twelve months of membership before you can be covered for a hospital admission, psychiatric services and rehabilitation only require a two month waiting period, even if the condition is pre-existing.
This means you can be covered two months after commencing or upgrading your policy.
If you do not have private health insurance please contact us prior to your admission to obtain an estimate of the cost of your stay. Your account must be paid in full on admission.
As a Department of Veterans' Affairs' (DVA) partnering hospital, we provide help and support through our Veteran Liaison Officer. DVA patients will require prior approval before their admission.
Your General Practitioner or Psychiatrist arranges admission to The Melbourne Clinic via our Intake Department.
Our Intake Coordinator will then contact you to obtain general information, including Health Fund details, once your Health Fund has been checked they will contact you again informing you of any out of pocket expenses.
Our Intake Coordinator will let you know what time to arrive and what items to bring with you.
They will be able to answer any questions or address any concerns that you may have about your stay with us.
On arrival, please visit our main reception staff.
For further information please contact:
Phone: (03) 9420 9340
Fax: (03) 9420 9351
If you need an outpatient appointment with a psychiatrist then we can easily facilitate this for you.
Please fax or email a detailed GP referral to 03 9420 9351 addressed to Outpatient Referral Co-ordinator.
Note: Whilst we will do our best to place bulk billing referral requests we are very limited with the number of psychiatrists who will accept these during their private practice consulting times. If a bulk billing referral is urgent please contact the public mental health system.
For further information please contact:
Phone: (03) 9487 4631
Fax: (03) 9420 9351
Email
What to pack
Medications
A current list of the medications you are taking is very useful to bring with you to ensure they are prescribed correctly for you.
Devices
You are welcome to bring devices that will make your stay more comfortable, such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, etc. To meet safety requirements, all electrical devices, including chargers, will be checked, tested and tagged by our maintenance team before they can be used. We suggest you bring in a short corded recharging device and Bluetooth earphones.
Paperwork to bring with you
Please bring in the following documents/paperwork (if applicable) for your admission:
- Medicare Card
- Private Health Insurance Membership Card
- Department of Veteran’s Affairs Cards,WorkCover or Transport Accident Commission insurance details
- Safety Net Card
- Pharmacy Entitlement Card
- Driver’s license or accepted identification
- Any letters or referrals from your local/community doctor
- GP and referring doctor details.
Personal items to pack
- Comfortable clothes including night attire
- Comfortable non-slip shoes and/or slippers
- Notebook and pen
- Toiletries stored in plastic containers
Providing a safe environment
We aim to provide a safe environment for everybody; therefore certain items - things that might be harmful to either you or other patients - are seen as items of risk and either restricted, controlled or prohibited.
Read more about the items that are restricted, controlled or prohibited in the below downloads.
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