During your stayWhen you arrive
Please attend Reception where you will be admitted by Patient Services staff.
- Bed allocations are made on the day of admission. The allocation of a single room is subject to availability and priority is based on clinical needs. Every effort will be made to ensure that your desired accommodation request is met, however no guarantee can be given
- On admission, please inform the nursing staff if you have any special needs or questions.
During your stay, nursing staff will advise you of the services available and the care and treatment you may require after you leave hospital.
Day Procedure Centre patients
Malvern patients only: On the day of your procedure, please bring your Day Procedure Centre brochure with you.
All patients: Please follow your doctor’s instructions regarding special preparation prior to your procedure and do not drink alcohol the day before your admission.
As certain types of anaesthetics may cause drowsiness and impair your mental awareness, please arrange for someone to collect you after your procedure and remain with you for the following 24 hours. On admission, ask the nurse for an estimated length of stay.
Do not wear make-up, jewellery or nail varnish and wear loose, comfortable clothing on the day of your procedure.
You will be provided with a personal discharge plan and staff are available to assist with arranging services you may need following your procedure.
Children’s Centre
Sleep-over facilities are available for one parent. Parents are welcome to visit at any time and be involved in their child’s care.
During your stay
Patient Bedside Guide
A patient guide is available at every bedside with information about the range of services available to you, as well general information about how to access our amenities.
Welcome Video
A short video plays on all patient TV screens, outlining useful and important information during your stay at Cabrini.
Call and Respond Early
Call and Respond Early is a patient safety system that can be used by patients, families and carers when they are concerned about a patient’s wellbeing.
Cardiac Surgery Guide - About your procedure
This brochure is intended to help you understand your cardiac surgical experience, as well as provide you with information about what you can expect during your stay with us.
Download a copy of the Cardiac Surgery Procedure Guide
Patient identification
During your hospital stay you will be asked to provide your name, date and address prior to any procedure. This is to ensure the quality and safety of your care.
Discharge Lounge
Patient collection has never been easier – simply drive up to the waiting bay to collect your friend or family member, no need to park the car.
Learn more about our Discharge Lounge
Patient Transport
It is important to consider your transport to other facilites or returning home when you come into hospital.
Read our Ambulance and Patient Shuttle Transport brochure
Checking the health of Cabrini
How do patients help Cabrini to improve its care and service?
In line with our mission to provide excellence in all our services, we are committed to achieving 100 per cent patient satisfaction and 100 per cent safe care. For these reasons, we are monitoring our services through a series of audits (or checks) designed to help us identify risks to our patients and thereby ensure the safest possible care. Our patients are an invaluable source of information about our services.
Preventing infections while in hospital
At Cabrini, our main consideration is the safety of our patients. We are committed to minimising the risk of you acquiring an infection during your treatment. Hospitals can be risky places. If you are elderly or otherwise debilitated, if you require an intravenous drip for a prolonged period of time, if you have an open wound – then you may be at increased risk of developing an infection.
Safe and appropriate use of antibiotics
Antimicrobials include antibiotics active against bacteria, as well as anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-parasitic medicines. Inappropriate use of antimicrobials can lead to increases in drug resistance, side effects and treatment costs. An effective approach in hospitals is an organised antimicrobial management program, known as antimicrobial stewardship (AMS).
Cabrini’s approach to end-of-life care
At Cabrini, we believe doctors and other healthcare practitioners should not intentionally cause the death of a person in their care and should not assist a person in taking their own life. Cabrini will therefore not be participating in voluntary assisted dying for patients receiving care with us at our facilities or in their homes while under our care.
Learn more by selecting the headings below.
Cabrini – A teaching hospital
Cabrini is a teaching hospital. It has academic departments in partnership with Monash University in surgery, medicine, medical oncology and clinical epidemiology and Deakin University in nursing and dietetics. Cabrini participates in training nurses, doctors and other health professionals. If you do not wish to have involvement with students, please speak with your doctor or the nurse in charge of your ward. We also have doctors in advanced training (registrars and fellows), who work with our physicians and surgeons.
Cabrini Institute
Cabrini is committed to clinical research and education and the Cabrini Institute is responsible for the supervision of all research conducted at Cabrini. During your stay, you may be invited to participate in a research project, however you are free to choose whether or not to participate.
Discharge planning
Before coming to hospital, be sure to make plans for returning home – talk to your family, doctor, case manager or pre-admission nurse. Matters to consider include shopping, domestic help, personal care, meals, home safety aids and equipment. When you arrive at hospital, talk to your admission nurse about any needs you may have on leaving hospital. Your length of stay at Cabrini will be determined by your admitting doctor and your medical needs. The pre-admission nurse will discuss discharge with you and arrange a plan. Staff will assist you and your family to plan and arrange care after you leave hospital. If needed, community based health and support services will be arranged. A care co-ordination service is available to facilitate complex discharge planning and can be accessed through the nurse manager of your ward. The Brighton Case Co-ordinator is available to assist with discharge planning, call 0409 154 319.
Acknowledgement of Consent
If you are having a procedure, certain treatments or investigations including a blood transfusion, you are required to complete an Acknowledgement of Consent. Your doctor is responsible for ensuring you are adequately informed of the proposed treatment or procedure before completing the form. A brochure outlining the significant risks, benefits and alternatives to blood transfusion is available from the Nursing Pre-Admission Service or your ward nurse after admission. If a staff member is exposed to your blood or other body fluids through a sharps/needlestick injury or by other means, your permission will be sought to test your blood for infective agents that could have been transmitted.
Medical Treatment Act
If you have appointed an Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment Act) and/or completed a Refusal of Treatment Certificate and want them applied to your hospital admission, please bring the forms with you and inform the nurse on your admission.
Privacy and medical information
Cabrini is committed to protecting the privacy of its patients and has policies and procedures to govern the collection, use and disclosure, access to, and correction of, health information, as well as the security and retention of medical records. A brochure, Privacy: What happens to information about you? is available and explains our processes in more detail. If you would like further information, speak to the nurse manager of your ward, or call the Privacy Officer, Health Information Services at Malvern: 9508 1222 Brighton: 9508 5758
Veterans’ Services
Cabrini has a Tier 1 rating with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. A Veterans’ Liaison Co-ordinator can offer assistance to veterans and their families and may be contacted at Malvern on 9508 1591 or at Brighton on 0409 154 319.