Visiting a patient at Austin Health

Visitors are permitted to Austin Health sites with some restrictions.

Patients staying in hospital

Patients staying in hospital can have two people visit per day:

• for a maximum of two hours
• between 11am and 1pm or 5pm and 7pm.

Patients in Emergency

Patients may have one visitor per patient into the cubicle area dependent on capacity and distancing requirements.

No visitors are permitted in the waiting room unless covered by an exemption listed below. 

COVID-19, Suspected COVID-19 or Quarantined patients

Patients can have two visitors per day (one visitor per visiting period):

• for a maximum 2 hours
• between the visiting hours of 11am to 1pm or 5pm to 7pm.

Visitors will need to wear full personal protective equipment and visits will only be possible if staffing allows for adequate supervision. Check with the Nurse in Charge. 

Patients receiving palliative care

Patients receiving palliative or end of life care (excluding COVID positive patients) are allowed four visitors at a time with extended visiting hours.

Patients receiving palliative or end of life care who are COVID-19 positive are allowed two visitors at a time with maximum of four visitors per day.

Please speak with the Nurse in Charge to discuss further.

Masks

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. You must maintain a physical distance of 1.5 meters from others when inside our hospitals.

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
• have disability 
• have a behavioural need
• 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 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.