If you need urgent assistance, call 000. For urgent care for an eye injury, or major issues with your sight or hearing, you may need to come to the Emergency Department at the Eye and Ear. We are open 24-hours a day.
How do you get to the emergency department?
If you are coming in an ambulance, they will bring you directly to the hospital.
Street parking is restricted. There is limited paid parking for short time periods. You can get to the hospital by public transport. We can provide assistance with transport if you need it.
What happens when you get to emergency?
When you arrive, you will be seen in order of urgency. Your visit will follow these steps:
1. Triage:
You will see a nurse who will assess your condition and how quickly you need to be seen.
2. Registration:
You will be asked for your name, date of birth, address, Medicare number and the reason you are at the Emergency Department.
3. Nurse assessment:
A nurse will take some tests to find out more about your condition. You can then wait for your consultation with the doctor. If your condition gets worse while you wait, please tell a nurse.
4. Consultation:
A doctor will examine you and advise on the best treatment plan. Depending on what you need you may then:
be discharged home and into the care of your primary doctor
stay in the hospital
be booked for surgery
be transferred to another hospital
5. Leaving our care:
If needed, we will book a follow-up appointment.
6. Pharmacy:
If the doctor has prescribed any medication, you will need to visit the pharmacy to get the script filled.
7. Home:
You can go home and follow the treatment plan given by the doctor.
If you are not sure whether you need urgent care, you can see your local doctor or local optometrist first. They can tell you if you need to be seen urgently or if you can be referred to one of our outpatient clinics.
We do our very best to see all patients in a timely manner. It is not possible to say how long the wait will be on any particular day. We assess and treat patients in order of medical urgency, not by time of arrival. Please be patient as we treat those with more severe, urgent injuries or illnesses first.
Please be aware that there are 2 streams of patients seen in our ED, eyes and ENT, and the waiting time may be different for each stream.
If you feel like your condition is worsening while you are waiting , please speak to the triage nurse and tell them your concerns.
