Bookings of Surgery

When making a booking, it is essential that the following patient information is received:

• admission date and time
• admitting Doctor name
• anaesthetist name (for options of an on call anesthetist please contact the floor coordinator for contact details)
• bed requirement (ie overnight / day case / ICU)
• coming by ambulance/transfer from another hospital
• contact telephone numbers
• date of birth
• date of scheduled procedure
• equipment requirements (ie. Image Intensifier, Tools, Cell Saver, Prosthesis etc).
• full name
• insurance details and member No./ Workcover details/LOL
• medicare No.
• procedure/s and CMBS code/s

Please note that theatre bookings cannot be accepted without the above information.

In order to provide an efficient service to submit patient bookings, Epworth is able to offer an online Doctor Booking Form (MR2) which allows the Specialist to submit relevant information.  

Hard copies of the MR2 Doctor Booking form are also available and you can obtain these by calling the Patient Service Centre.

Please note that each site has its own age specification of what comprises a paediatric patient and that paediatric bookings need to be approved by the Medical Director to ensure all risks are assessed to prevent the potential for adverse outcomes. Please liaise with the Patient Service Centres at each site to obtain the site specific age definition and requirements for all patients under 18 years of ages.

Scheduling a theatre list

When organising your theatre schedule please consider:

• A draft list to be sent at least 6 days prior to the schedule theatre session. A final copy must be submitted at a minimum 3-4 days prior to the session
• Consideration should be given to patients with medical conditions to be scheduled first on the list (eg. Type 1 Diabetic)
• Ensure all pre-operative tests are completed prior to admission to prevent delays to patient flow
• Preferably schedule day cases first on the list
• Staggering of the admission times to ensure patients are not waiting for extended periods of time prior to their scheduled procedure. We generally recommend allowing 90 minutes for each patient to be admitted and ready for theatre

Surgical assistants

Surgical assistants are required to be accredited at Epworth in order to be able to assist you and approval can take up to two weeks after application for accreditation by new assistants.

Current rosters of available accredited surgical assistants are available from the On Call Roster Coordinator:

Phone: 03 9426 8809
Fax: 03 9914 8760
Email: [email protected]

Epworth Patient Services Centres

Epworth Eastern

Patient Service Centre email: [email protected]
Patient Service Centre phone: 03 8807 7772
Fax: 03 8807 7676
Theatre reception: 8807 7300
Floor Coordinator: 03 8807 7724

Epworth Freemasons Albert Street

Patient Service Centre Email: [email protected]
Patient Service Centre Phone: 1800 337 453
Fax: 03 9483 3318
Theatre reception: 03 9483 3401
Floor Coordinator: 03 9483 3412

Epworth Freemasons Victoria Parade

Patient Service Centre Email: [email protected]
Patient Service Centre Phone: 1800 337 453
Fax: 03 9483 3318
Theatre reception: 03 9418 8177
Floor coordinator: 03 9418 8287

Epworth Hawthorn

Patient Service Centre Email: e[email protected]
Patient Service Centre Phone: 03 9415 5720
Fax: 03 9415 5604
Theatre reception: 03 9415 5711
Floor Coordinator: 03 9415 5680

Epworth Richmond

Patient Service Centre email: [email protected]
Patient Service Centre phone: 03 9426 6155
Fax: 03 9426 7692
Theatre reception: 03 9426 6271
Floor Coordinator: 03 9426 6887

Consent

Epworth requires written consent to treatment to be completed for all surgical operations or invasive medical treatment.

For consent to be valid, it must be:

• Freely given
• Given after discussion of proposed benefits and material risks as well as alternatives to the treatment proposed in a language understood by the patient
• Given by a person legally able to consent by a competent adult (or parent in the case of a child, or mature minor in the case of a young person under the age of 18 years, or by the agent/guardian responsible for an incompetent adult)
• Specific to the proposed medical treatment and/or procedure

Patient medical records should showcase evidence dialogue about risks and benefits of upcoming procedures has taken place and that the appropriate consent has been obtained.

Responsibilities

Patient Responsibilities

• A competent adult patient has the right to refuse medical treatment at which point a Refusal of Treatment form should be completed
• The staff member attending the patient is responsible for ensuring the completion of the Consent to Treatment form after the patient has discussed the proposed medical treatment with the admitting/treating doctor

Doctor Responsibilities

The admitting/treating doctor is responsible for ensuring:

• Each patient is adequately informed of their proposed treatment or procedure including the material risks, benefits and alternatives, including their right to refuse treatment
• Each patient has completed a Consent to Treatment form giving specific written consent to the proposed medical treatment or procedure (where applicable)
• It is the legal responsibility of the treating doctor to ensure informed consent to treatment is obtained and documented
• Trainees - Consent Form (MR3) has been designed to include an additional (Part C) that specified consent for trainee participation in operations or invasive procedures. If a trainee is operating with you, please ensure this section is filled in

'Part C' explains that specialist trainees are fully qualified medical practitioners undergoing further training to become a specialist in their chosen field. They may participate in operations or procedures, but only under the direct supervision of the treating specialist. The Consent Form requires the patient to sign that they do or do not agree to the involvement of a trainee and thus, patients will be required to 'opt in' for trainee involvement in operations or procedures.

• An exception to consent is that it is not necessary if emergency treatment is required to save the patient's life, to prevent serious damage to their health, or to prevent the patient from suffering or continuing to suffer significant pain or distress
• Patients under the age of 18 generally require parental/guardian consent. However, if a teenager has by reason of maturity, the intelligence and understanding to comprehend the nature of the medical treatment/procedure proposed they may give informed valid legal consent for that treatment/procedure without reference to the parents. Generally a teenager of between 14-16 years has attained the necessary level of maturity, but every teenager must be assessed and medical practitioners at Epworth are encouraged to involve the parents of the child or legal guardian in the decision making process unless this would amount to a breach of the young person's confidentiality
• Informed Consent to Treatment Policy
• Informed Financial Consent Policy

Please note that you will need to be logged into the Staff Intranet to access policies.

For further information regarding bookings of elective and emergency patients, please refer to the Business Principles appendix.

Perioperative verification

All patients undergoing invasive procedures within Epworth HealthCare will have the following 5-step perioperative verification process:

1. Pre procedure verification (including consent)
2. Surgical site marking
3. Sign in
4. Time out
5. Sign out

Details of each of these steps are available in the Perioperative Services - Correct Patient, Correct Side and Correct Site Surgery Protocol.