EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

The Emergency Department is for people requiring emergency care.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, dial 000.

The BRHS Emergency Department is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The Emergency Department can become quite busy and we appreciate your understanding and patience during these times.

The Emergency Department is for patients requiring emergency care for serious and life-threatening conditions.

Please use the service carefully so it can best support those who need it most.

Alternatives to Emergency Department care

Think carefully about your health care needs.

We want to encourage anyone who needs urgent emergency care to come to our Emergency Department (ED) immediately.

Because the ED always treats the most urgent cases first, you may face a long wait.

You can avoid a potentially long and uncomfortable wait in the ED by considering medical alternatives available in East Gippsland to help you.

We thank you for your patience and understanding. These options may help you:

  • The Victorian Virtual Emergency Department is a free. 24/7 public health service for residents of Victoria to treat non-life-threatening emergencies that connects you direct to an experienced ED doctor or nurse (requires a device with a camera) – vved.org.au/patients or use the QR code:
  • Gippsland Primary Healthcare Network’s free after-hours telehealth service, which connects you to a GP who specialises in rural and remote Open 6pm to 10pm weeknights, 12pm to 8pm Saturdays and 8am to 4pm Sundays on 1800 272 767.
  • After-hours TeleHealth consultations (costs may apply) – myemergencydoctor.com.au or use the QR code:
  • Seek an appointment with a local GP. Many GP clinics have daily emergency appointments, nurse appointments, and a walk-in service.
  • Ask for an after-hours doctor to visit you at home
  • Ask for an after-hours doctor to visit you at home
  • Phone Nurse-On-Call for advice from a registered nurse – 1300 60 6024
  • Phone a mental health counselling service such as Beyond Blue (1300 224 636), Lifeline (13 11 14) or Mental Health Triage (1300 363 322)

If you visit our ED but later decide to seek alternative medical care outside the ED, please tell our staff before you go.

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Why Am I Waiting?

If you come to the Emergency Department, the urgency and severity of your symptoms will determine how quickly you will be seen.

If the medical staff at the hospital do not consider you to require urgent medical attention, other people requiring urgent medical attention will be seen before you.

We are often asked “Why are they being seen before me?

I was here first, why do I have to wait?”

There are many reasons why someone is seen in front of you or your relative/friend.

The person seen first may:

  • have a condition potentially more serious than yours
  • not need to be seen by a doctor and can have treatment attended by a nurse
  • have been referred by a local doctor and can have treatment commenced prior to seeing the hospital doctor, or
  • need to lie down, so will be taken into a treatment room, they will not necessarily be seen before you.

Delays may occur:

  • if a critically ill patient arrives as they may require large amounts of resources for extended lengths of time
  • the doctor is called away to another area of the hospital
  • if a large number of patients are present in the department, or
  • the nursing staff will endeavour to keep you or the person accompanying you up-to-date with delays and an estimated waiting time.
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Some features of BRHS include:

  • 52 Acute Beds
  • 19 Sub-Acute Beds
  • Modern Theatre Suite
  • High Dependency Unit
  • Day Procedure Unit
  • Oncology/Medical Ambulatory Day Unit
  • Dialysis Unit
  • Emergency Department + Short Stay Unit
  • Palliative Care
  • Maternity Services
  • Aged Care Facility
  • Allied Health Services
  • Medical Outpatient Services
  • Home-Based Services  including Hospital in the Home, Community Health and a CBD campus.

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