When you come to hospital for a day visit, you are known as an “outpatient”.

Once you obtain a referral from your general practitioner (GP), we will send you a letter confirming your placement on an outpatient wait list. We will send you another letter to confirm your appointment date and time.

As an outpatient you will usually see a specialist doctor and a range of other health professionals. You may also have an x-ray or other tests.

What to bring

You will need to bring:

• Your appointment letter
• Medicare card
• concession cards such as Healthcare card or Veterans Affairs card
• test results
• x-rays
• a list of any medicines you are taking regularly
• something to do while you wait such as a book, magazine, knitting, etc.

When you arrive

We recommend that you arrive at the outpatient clinic approximately 15 minutes before your appointment time.

Please check in with the outpatient clinic reception staff as soon as you arrive. You will be asked to confirm your contact details and to present your Medicare card and any concession cards. If you are a Veteran Affairs Card holder or WorkCover patient, please let the receptionist know.

After checking in please take a seat in the waiting area.

Appointment times

We recommend that you allocate at least two hours for your appointment (this may change depending on the clinic—please check with the clinic reception).

While we always try to ensure that clinics run on time there may sometimes be unavoidable delays. Please be assured that all appointments are individualised and patients are seen in order of their appointment times.

Some of our outpatient departments have multiple clinics running at the same time. For this reason, you may notice that other patients are called in ahead of you. This can occur because different clinics take different times to see patients.

If you need a medical certificate for work, please ask your doctor during your appointment.

After your appointment

At the end of your consultation please ensure you check out at reception. If you require another appointment, the receptionist will book you in as required.

If you doctor decides you would benefit from surgery, you may be added to the elective surgery wait list. We will send you a letter about how long you should expect to wait for your surgery. Read more about elective surgery wait lists.

If you are unable to attend your appointment

If you are unable to attend your appointment for any reason, please contact us as soon as possible on the number printed on the front of your appointment letter. This will ensure we are able to offer your appointment to another person on the wait list.

Do you need an interpreter?

We can provide a free interpreter for your appointment.

It is our policy to use fully accredited professional interpreters for all medical appointments. Family or friends are usually not able to accurately translate complex medical information.

If you would like an interpreter, please let us know as soon as you receive your appointment details.