Visiting a patient at ONJ
Our visiting hours are between 10am to 1pm and 4pm to 7pm.
Visitors are permitted to Austin Health sites with some restrictions.
Patients staying in hospital
Patients staying in hospital can have two people visit per time slot:
- with a maximum of four visitors per day
- between 10am to 1pm or 4pm to 7pm.
Patients receiving palliative care
Visitors are welcome at any time.
Check with the Nurse in Charge about the number of visitors.
COVID positive patient receiving palliative care
COVID positive patients can have up to four visitors between 10am and 7pm.
Visitors will need to wear appropriate personal protective equipment. Check with the Nurse in Charge.
Masks
All visitors must at a minimum wear a hospital-provided N95 mask. You must maintain a physical distance of 1.5 meters from others when inside our hospitals.
All visitors must at a minimum wear a hospital-provided mask. We strongly recommend the use of N95 masks which will be provided on entry.
If visiting a COVID positive or quarantined patient, then the use of an N95 mask is mandatory.
Visitors with valid mask exemption are required to test negative on a Rapid Antigen Test.
Exemptions
Exemptions remain in place for patients who:
- are children under the age of 18
- who have disability where their carer is supporting clinical care
- are non-English speaking and require assistance with translation
- are living with mental health or dementia and have a nominated medical treatment decision maker.
Please discuss with your Nurse in Charge or care team to confirm if you are eligible.
Contact a ward
To speak to a ward, call our Switchboard on 03 9496 5000.
Specialist clinics (outpatient) appointments
Where possible, Specialist Clinics (outpatient) appointments are being held by phone or Telehealth, rather than in person.
You will be contacted before your appointment to let you know if it will be conducted by phone or Telehealth. Please attend as normal unless told otherwise.
Patients who are required to attend face to face appointments are requested to come alone where possible.
One fully vaccinated carer may remain if a patient:
- is a child under 18 years old
- has a disability
- has a behavioural need
- is non-English speaking and requires assistance with translation.
- is physically frail
- requires psychological support.
Find out more about attending your Specialist Clinics appointment.
Screening
We are screening all visitors and outpatients entering Austin Health buildings, and have limited the number of entrances that people can use.
Find out more about screening points for visitors and patients.
Screening questions
You will be asked the following three questions on arrival:
- Do you have any symptoms of COVID-19 today?
- Have you been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 2 weeks?
- Are you currently living with or have you been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last week?
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you may not be able to visit the hospital. Before your visit, please call the local area that you are visiting to discuss your situation and determine if it is safe you to visit.