Sew a face mask for us
Find out how you, family and friends can help us by sewing face masks.We have plenty of material and elastic. Get in touch with karen.heath@lh.org.au to request some.
Support and wellness
Our world is changing rapidly, leaving us with uncertainty and fear. Psych-oncologist Dr Toni Lindsay helps cancer patients cope with uncertainty every day. She’s noticed some parallels lately and, in this article, she shares some of the things she’s learned from her patients about managing uncertainty. We hope these tips can help you feel settled.
To help you maintain your routine and wellbeing during isolation, we have launched the LivingRoom @ Home, a Telehealth and online program to care for you at home during social distancing.
The program is designed to keep you well during your cancer treatment and recovery and allows you to access some of the vital services the LivingRoom offers from the comfort of your own home.
A message from our doctors…
Your safety and the safety of our staff is our top priority, as we continue to care for you.
- All visitors must wear a face mask
- You must bring your own face mask
- Keep you mask on the whole time you are in the building
Visiting restrictions
We will allow you to bring one visitor only (and no children) to accompany you to your appointment. However, if you are well enough, we would prefer that you come alone at this time.
Inpatients may nominate two visitors only to visit them.
In special circumstances, we can be flexible about visitors. Call 0429 530 685 if this applies to you.
Please be patient with us as we get through this next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Your actions during this time not only protect you and your loved ones, they keep our staff safe so that we can continue to care for you.
If you have any questions or concerns about your treatment or COVID-19, please call the Call Centre for Telehealth on (02) 8514 1111.
What we’re doing to keep you safe
Everyone entering the building will have their temperature screen upon arrival. Please let our friendly staff know if you are unwell, experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, or have been in close contact with a known case or hot spot within the past 14 days.
We have suspended the shuttle bus service between Central Station and Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. Find out about community transport options here.
We have restricted access to our cafe to patients, their carers who accompany them and nominated visitors to patients on the wards. The cafe remains open to Monday to Friday 6:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Please don’t come to the hospital if you are:
- Feeling unwell or have any COVID-19 symptoms
- Have visited any known COVID hot spots
- Been screened for COVID-19
- Been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19
We understand that limiting visitors is difficult when you have a loved one in hospital. We’ve introduced Virtual Visitor patient in-room video calling via the tablets provided in the rooms.
If you have any questions or concerns about COVID-19, call our help line at (02) 8514 1111.
Where possible, appointments with your doctors will be conducted via Telehealth. This reduces your risk of exposure as you do not have to travel into Lifehouse, and you can communicate with your doctor via video link.
A week in advance of your appointment we will send you an SMS asking you to phone our Call Centre for Telehealth. Your call will be answered by a member of our clinical staff and calls will be triaged to ensure that patients with the most need are prioritised. We have taken the necessary measures to ensure these appointments are secure and cannot be accessed by anyone other than you and your clinician.
You can be assured that providing you with the very best care we can remains our priority.
The telephone number for the Call Centre is (02) 8514 1221 and it is open from 9.30am to 3.30pm.
We have divided our teams into two and we’ll be running appointments across a 12-hour day, Monday to Saturday, to space them out both physically and in time.
In line with guidelines from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention we have reduced the time you spend in the waiting room and the number of people in the room at any time. Children under 15 will not be allowed in the unit at this time.
Where possible, we’ll ask you to get your blood tests done locally the day before your appointment. You should have a Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology clinic in your area. Ask us to send them a request form. Your clinic appointment is likely to be done via Telehealth but if you do need to attend the hospital, it will not be on the same day as your treatment.
We will call you to change your upcoming appointments. If you don’t hear from us, then there is no change. Call us to discuss your individual situation on (02) 8514 0756.
Providing a safe environment for you to enter is critical and we have increased the frequency of cleaning rounds in high use, clinical and public areas.
We adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines and are working closely with state and federal government to maintain the best practices and protocols for keeping you safe.
Hand sanitiser is widely available throughout the hospital and we urge all patients, visitors and staff to practice thorough and frequent hand washing.