Coming into hospital is called being admitted. You can be admitted in two ways: through an emergency admission or a booked admission.
When you are seriously sick or injured, you may go to hospital through an emergency department. For more information about emergency admission, see Emergency departments.
When your doctor sends you to a specialist, that specialist might suggest you go to a hospital. This is a booked or planned admission and will not happen straight away.
To arrange this, your specialist will fill out a recommendation for admission (RFA). An RFA form tells us the urgency of your admission. Sometimes the specialist sends the form to the hospital. Other times, you may need to take it yourself.
Hospital staff will assess how urgent your case is. They will set a waiting period for your care. The waiting period is based on what is in your RFA. Staff enter these details into a waiting time register. This process helps the hospital ensure that the sickest patients receive treatment first.
Hospital staff will contact you to let you know how long you might have to wait for admission. Sometimes, you will be admitted within days. In other cases, it might be months. The hospital staff will try to give you at least two weeks’ notice of your admission date.
You need to give your consent before any procedure. To find out about consent, see the Consent to Medical and Healthcare Treatment Manual. For some suggested questions you could ask, see Questions to ask your doctor or specialist.
Before going to the hospital for surgery, you may be asked to attend a pre-admission clinic. Staff will give you information about the surgery and help you to make plans for afterwards. You are welcome to bring your carer, family member or kin to the appointment.
There are two types of surgical admissions: day only and day of surgery. Your doctor will let you know the arrangements for your admission to the hospital.
You might be admitted the day before your planned surgery for extra tests or to help you get ready for surgery. This will be decided with your doctor. The hospital will contact you to discuss the details of your admission.
This is where you are admitted to the hospital, have surgery, and go home on the same day. Day-only admission causes less disruption to your normal activities. It also reduces the chance of post-operative infections and blood clots.
This means that you will be admitted to the hospital and have surgery on the same day. You will stay in the hospital after the operation, at least overnight.
In NSW public hospitals, if you have a Medicare card, you can choose to be a public or private patient when you are admitted. This is called your financial election. Your choice will not affect the care you receive during your hospital stay.
You can make your financial election before, at the time of, or as soon as practical after your admission. To help make an informed admission choice, see My Admission, My Choice, My Election.
Public patient admission means:
Private patient admission means:
For more information about the benefits of being a private patient in a public hospital, see What it means to be a private patient.
Staff will ask you whether you have an advanced care directive when you come into the hospital. It is important to talk with your loved ones about your values and the healthcare you want. This way, they know what treatments you do or do not want in the future.
An advanced care directive is a legal document made by a person with the ability to make decisions for themselves. It describes your wishes if you become seriously ill or injured and cannot speak for yourself. For more information, see Advance care planning.