Our operating theatres facilitate elective surgery five days a week with on-call services available for emergencies and trauma 365 days a year. The operating suite consists of two operating theatres, a Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD), Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), Preadmission Clinic and Direct Admission.
Changes to elective surgery during COVID-19
The Victorian Government has made a number of changes to elective surgery including cancelling some non-urgent procedures and putting in place controls to test patients for COVID-19 before their surgery.
Due to reduced workforce and the need to directly staff various aspects of our COVID response, WDHS will be cancelling all Category 3 and Category 2 surgical cases, between Thursday 13th to Sunday 30th January 2022.
Category 1 surgical cases will continue as normal.
You will be contacted directly by our Theatre staff if your procedure is cancelled.
Emergency surgery cases:
Emergency surgery will continue as normal.
A decision about elective surgery beyond the 30th January will be made by Wednesday 26th January.
COVID-19 testing for patients undergoing surgery
WDHS has commenced the introduction of COVID-19 testing for all preoperative patients, the new regime will be fully implemented by 16th August.
We ask patients to self-isolate after their COVID-19 test to avoid being exposed to COVID-19 before their admission to hospital.
On the day of surgery, a healthcare worker will ask the patient a number of screening questions to determine their risk of COVID-19 between when they were tested and date of surgery.
If the patient screens positive for epidemiological or clinical risk factors prior to or on the day of surgery, the case will be discussed with the surgeon and anaesthetist who will determine whether the patient should be sent home to isolate, or re-tested and/or what the likely impact of any delay in proceeding with anaesthesia and surgery are likely to have.
Emergency surgery cases
Emergency surgery should not be delayed waiting for a test result where there is additional risk to the patient’s clinical condition.
Approximately 3000 operations are carried out each year. Specialty areas include:
- Orthopedics
- General Surgery
- Urology
- Bariatric Surgery
- Gynecology
- Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)
- Ophthalmics
- Gastroenterology
We have three general surgeons, a specialist obstetrician/gynecologist, ENT surgeon, a viisiting Orthopaedic surgeon, a specialist anesthetist and registrar, and a dental surgeon; all having a close affiliation with Western District Health Service.
There is one local gastroenterologist, a Hamilton based cardiologist and a respiratory physician who regularly utilise our services. Orthodontics and dental surgery is provided by visiting surgeons.
We have a General Surgeon specialising in bariatric surgery and all General Surgeons have extended their practice to include laparoscopic surgery.
All patients undergoing surgery complete a pre-operative assessment prior to their theatre date in the Pre-Admission Clinic. On the day of surgery patients are admitted through Direct Admissions where final preparations are completed before transfer to theatre.Referral:
All patients are referred for surgery by a medical practitioner.