Tweed Day Surgery's facilities include:
- Visitor and disabled parking
- Café
- Easy access to lift in main foyer
- Interpreters can be arranged upon request
Preadmission is an important part of your hospital care. To confirm your admission, finance and other arrangements, please complete the online admission form here.
Alternatively, a paper admission form can be obtained from your doctor.
Please complete your admission form as soon as possible to prevent any delays for your surgery. Have the following ready when you fill in your admission form:
- Admitting doctor details
- Procedure being undertaken
- Surgery admission and procedure date
- Emergency contact details
- Funding details (e.g. Private health insurance, DVA, WorkCover etc)
- Medicare card, concession card(s), Ambulance Membership card
- List of medications and dosage.
If you require assistance with completing your admission form please call (07) 5506 6066.
If you have private health cover, please contact your health fund prior to admission for details on any excess costs or waiting periods. We know that health and billing charges can be difficult to understand and we are happy to assist in any way we can, however we also advise that you seek clarification from your doctor and health fund.
Before arriving at Tweed Day Surgery, please shower and dress in clean, comfortable garments that are easy to remove.
Your doctor will inform you of the scheduled time for your surgery and if you need to fast beforehand. Fasting means nothing to eat or drink, including water, prior to your operation.
On arrival at Tweed Day Surgery, present to the admission desk and complete any paperwork required.
From the waiting room you will be called and escorted to the change room by a preadmissions nurse. The nurse will give you a theatre gown to wear and direct you to the pre-operative waiting room.
Here you will see a pre-operative nurse, your anaesthetic nurse, your anaesthetist and sometimes your surgeon. When your theatre ready for your procedure you will be escorted through. We have 3 theatres operating with different surgeons in each so don’t be alarmed if there are several people called before you
We suggest that patients bring along the following on the day of their surgery:
- Doctor's admission letter and/or consent forms (if you have completed admission forms on-line)
- A warm jacket
- Current medications
- Glasses, hearing and other aids
- Relevant x-rays and test results
- Medicare card
- Private health insurance details
- Any pension/concession and pharmaceutical entitlement cards
- Full payment if required
- Contact details for Carer Escort
DO NOT (unless your doctor gives you special instructions):
- Smoke cigarettes or chew gum
- Wear jewellery other than a wedding ring and watch
- Bring valuables i.e. large amounts of cash
- Wear make-up or nail polish
Following
General Anaesthesia you must be accompanied home by a responsible adult and
must have a suitable adult person with you for the remainder of the day as well
as overnight if possible. You must travel home in a private car or taxi. You
must not use public transport for your journey home.
Anaesthesia
will impair your co-ordination, reflexes and mental processes. For up to the
next 24 hours a small amount of anaesthetic may still be circulating in the
body. During this time you must not:
- Drive a car
- Operate
machinery
- Drink any
alcohol
- Sign important
documents or make important decisions
- Engage in
sports, heavy work or heavy lifting
You
may suffer some pain or discomfort post-operatively. You may take paracetamol
(if you are not allergic to it) every 4 to 6 hours, or other medication that
your doctor has prescribed for you.
You
may experience nausea and/or vomiting as a result of medications that are given
intra-operatively. This usually settles quickly of its own accord. You should
take only clear fluids until it has settled. Contact your doctor if it
persists.
Smoking is banned at all New South Wales public and private hospitals and health facilities, and for five metres beyond their boundaries.
The legislation, which was introduced on January 1, 2015, is the Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 to Part 8 of the Amendment of Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998.
These no smoking laws apply at all times, and to all staff and patient residential areas on healthcare facility land, and include the use of all smoking products, including regular cigarettes and devices commonly known as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). The laws cover:
- •Land on which any New South Wales Health Hospital and Health Service provides health services, including hospitals, community health centres, health clinics, rehabilitation centres and residential aged care facilities
- •Land on which a private health facility (private hospitals and day hospitals) provides services.
Enforcement
The laws are enforced by New South Wales Health environmental health officers and public facility authorised officers.
Patients, staff or visitors smoking in smoke-free areas may be given a warning to stop smoking, or be asked to move beyond the five metre smoke-free buffer if they wish to continue smoking.
On-the-spot fines apply for breaches of the tobacco laws.
Our complimentary Healthscope Wi-Fi network is available to all patients and visitors. Please follow the prompt and agree to our terms and conditions in order to connect to the network.
Patients with Private Health Cover
Tweed Day Surgery is recognised by all major health funds that will reimburse treatment costs depending on your level of coverage. We can provide you with an estimate of hospital charges and outline the level of cover by your fund and any out-of-pocket expenses you may incur.
If you have private health cover, please contact your health fund prior to admission for details on any excess costs or waiting periods. We know that health and billing charges can be difficult to understand and we are happy to assist in any way we can, however we also advise that you seek clarification from your doctor and health fund.
Compensable patients
Prior approval is sought for compensable patients (i.e. Workcover. MAIB or DVA).
Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
As a Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) partnering hospital, DVA patients have immediate access to our care, without the need for prior approval in most cases. We also provide help and support through our Veteran Liaison Officer.
Uninsured Patients
If you do not have private health insurance please contact us prior to your admission to obtain an estimate of the cost of your stay. Your account must be paid in full, before or on admission.