What to expect from your hospital stay

Bed allocations and single rooms

Our hospitals have single and shared rooms that accommodate both private and public patients. Rooms are allocated based on clinical need and may be mixed gender. Very ill or infectious patients always have priority to single rooms. Your bed allocation may change during your stay.

Nurse call system

Should you require anything, do not hesitate to call on the nursing staff. The nurses’ call button is on the bedside handset. It is only necessary to press the button once, as the call registers in the nurses’ station until it is switched off at your bed.

Meal times

Approximate meal times are as follows:

If you are absent at meal times due to having a consultation or procedure, sandwiches can be provided.

Each day you will need to fill in your menu card, choosing your meal preferences for the following day. If your menu card is not completed, or if you are a late arrival through the Emergency Department, a standard meal will be provided for you.

The food menu is designed to provide a selection of healthy food choices to flexibly meet your appetite and dietary needs.

Please advise staff if you have a food allergy, if your diet needs to be modified due to your illness or if you have specific dietary requirements. We advise visitors who wish to bring foods for patients to choose Low Risk Foods and check with staff before providing. The hospital dietitian is also available to provide instructions so that you may continue your special diet at home, if required.

Children in hospital

Our staff will do their best to make you and your child welcome, but hospital is unfamiliar and can be daunting for a child, so we encourage the immediate family to spend as much time as possible with their child during their hospital stay.  You can help by comforting, playing with and supporting your child. You are also welcome to assist the clinical team with various routines involving your child.

Certain restrictions may be necessary so that the nurse can effectively carry out treatment prescribed by the doctor. Your cooperation is appreciated in these circumstances but there are otherwise no restrictions on visiting times for parents.

Children visiting the hospital are to be under the supervision of an adult at all times.

One adult member of your family is welcome to stay overnight with your child and will be provided with a sofa chair beside your child’s bed. Parents and carers have access to tea and coffee in the parents’ lounge. In special circumstances, parents and carers will be provided with meals.

Please be sure to advise the nursing staff if there is anything you need to make your child’s hospital stay more comfortable.

Medical team/teaching of health professionals

Your treatment and care remains our primary concern. The Bundaberg Hospital is also a teaching hospital, which means that the staff have two other important duties:

1. To train future health workers
   (student doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and other health care workers).
2. To assist in the advancement of healthcare knowledge through research.

Therefore, health profession students and recent graduates assist with your treatment and are taught at the bedside by specialist staff. You may be asked to discuss details of your illness and undergo examination by the students.

We believe you will appreciate the importance of this training and hope you give us full cooperation if asked to assist in the teaching process. Please be assured that we will respect your wishes to not participate at any time.

External partners

Some specialist services are provided for public patients through a public-private partnership. These include cardiology, ophthalmology, radiation oncology and paediatric ear, nose and throat surgery. Referral to these services does not incur a cost for public patients, even though you may be treated in a private hospital or facility.