Your Experience at our clinic:
What to Expect
Your health is our number priority at all times. When it comes to serving you, we take pride in our experienced healthcare staff.
During consultation and treatment, you are entitled to a clear explanation of your diagnosis and treatment plan. Our doctors and healthcare professionals can provide you with any information you might require. Should there be anything that’s unclear to you, please don’t hesitate to speak with one of our staff.
On Arrival
Head straight to our own waiting room, which can be found on Level 5 of Gloucester House. Staff at the Information Desk can also assist you with directions.
Your First Consultation
Your consultation with the Interventional Neurology is covered by Medicare — there will be no out-of-pocket charges to you. Don’t forget to bring your referral or notice and your Medicare card.
COVID-19 screening. To ensure your safety and the safety of the other patients and the hospital staff, you will be answering a standard COVID-19 screening questionnaire prior to admission. Once you’re cleared, you will proceed to the doctor’s clinic.
Doctor’s clinic. You will be welcomed by our reception team who will collect a few basic details from you. Don’t forget to bring your referral or notice and your Medicare card. You will then be directed to the waiting room.
Consultation. Once inside the consultation room, Dr Stephen Winters or Dr Tim Ang will ask you a couple of questions to get to know you, your concerns, your goals, and your medical history. Essential initial tests will also be performed. You, your doctor, and our staff will work as a team to identify the problem and plan the best treatment options for you.
Post-consultation. Your doctor will then schedule your next appointment — whether that be a follow-up appointment, a procedure or test, or a phone call.
Day Surgery and Day Procedures
A day procedure is when you are admitted to the hospital for a planned procedure, returning home on the same day. Here’s what you can expect during a day procedure.
All of our day surgery and procedures are performed in the Department of Radiology. These are covered by Medicare, so there will be no out-of-pocket charges to you.
Prior to the procedure. Dr Tim or Dr Stephen will have discussed the procedure briefly with you. They will submit paperwork to our clerical staff in the Department of Radiology. Once a time and date has been set, this will be confirmed by the clerical staff. Specific instructions will be discussed with you.
On the day. On the day, you will be greeted by our clerical staff. A nurse will meet you in the waiting room and go through a safety and identification checklist with you, which makes sure your safety is considered during and after the procedure.
At the appointed time, you will then be escorted to the trolley bay, where your carer can see you off. You will receive another consent briefing to ensure you are clear on what needs to be done, be able to ask any questions you may have, and sign some forms.
You will be escorted to a changing room to change in your patient gown. Your clothes and personal belongings will be kept in a bag, which you will bring with you in the procedure room.
You will be taken into our state-of-the-art angiography suite and your procedure will be performed.
It is standard practice for us to perform some of our procedures using conscious sedation.
Recovery. Once your procedure is completed, you will be moved to the nursing area, where you will be closely observed for a period dependent on your procedure (30mins – 4 hours). A light meal will be provided immediately after your procedure.
There will be a handover of what has been done to ensure your safety.
At the moment, because of COVID restrictions, carers are not allowed in the Recovery Area. We will notify your carer once you’re ready to be escorted home.
Post-procedure care. You will be given an information pack containing a summary of what kind of procedure you just had and some instructions to ensure your full recovery. The next day, you will receive a follow-up phone from one of our staff.
Overnight Stays
There are some procedures that will require general anaesthesia, which will be provided by our specialist neuro-anaesthetist. This kind of procedure will require you to be admitted overnight.
Prior to the procedure. Dr Tim or Dr Stephen will have discussed the procedure briefly with you. They will submit paperwork to our clerical staff in the Department of Radiology, Bookings, and the Anaesthetic clinic.
Once a time and date has been set, this will be confirmed by the clerical staff. Specific instructions will be discussed with you.
You may be required to attend an anaesthetic review clinic to ensure your overall health is checked prior to your procedure. You will receive further confirmation of the time for you to be at the hospital the morning of your procedure.
On the day. On the day, you will be greeted by our clerical staff. A nurse will meet you in the waiting room and go through a safety and identification checklist with you, which makes sure your safety is considered during and after the procedure.
At the appointed time, you will then be escorted to the trolley bay, where your carer can see you off. You will receive another consent briefing to ensure you are clear on what needs to be done, answer any questions you may have, an sign some forms.
You will be escorted to a changing room to change in your patient gown. Your clothes and personal belongings will be kept in a bag, which you will bring with you in the procedure room.
You will be taken into our state-of-the-art angiography suite and your procedure will be performed.
Procedures that require anaesthetic may take 2 to 3 hours.
Recovery. Procedure and recovery time may last for a total of 5 to 6 hours. After the procedure is completed, you will be transferred to our recovery unit until your intensive care bed is ready for you.
Hospital room. You will then be moved to intensive care. At RPA, we provide both shared and single rooms. On occasion, you may be sharing the room with other patients. For most interventional procedures, you will often require one night and possibly a second depending on your own progress.
Meals. Our hospital nutritionist will plan your meals so that they help with your full medical recovery.
Visitors. Visiting is restricted during the pandemic, so overnight patients are only allowed one visitor for one hour.
Post-procedure care. The morning after the procedure, you will be assessed by Dr Stephen or Dr Tim to ensure that you are ready to go home by lunchtime. Prior to leaving the hospital, we will have discussed important information such as your medication and your follow-up dates for you to see us in our clinic.
A note on non-emergency elective procedures
Elective procedures that require overnight stays may be cancelled or rescheduled due to unavoidable or unforeseen circumstances (i.e. unavailable beds or to accommodate life-threatening emergencies).
A note on COVID-19
RPA is a tertiary hospital where COVID-19 patients are admitted. Whilst we do have very few COVID-19 patients coming in, we have set in place extensive processes to ensure that we are safely assessing and treating them. Rest assured that we continue to give the rest of our patients the best and safest care possible during their stay with us.