Calvary Health Care

The Intensive care unit (ICU), provides special care and monitoring for patients with medical and surgical conditions that require specialist critical care treatment.

Our state-of-the-art intensive care facility is supported 24/7 by specialists offering a high level of medical care for critically ill patients, and is staffed by specialist.

How to access this service

• Referral by specialist, surgeon, anaesthetist or nursing staff

• This service is located in our Main building

• 24/7

• 02 6281 8946

At Calvary John James Hospital we are committed to supporting you throughout your pregnancy and the birth of your child.

Calvary John James Hospital’s maternity unit offers:

• Single suites

• Antenatal assessment

• Birthing suite

• Childbirth education

• Midwifery care

• Parent education

• Pre-admission

• Special care nursery

Our birthing suites are designed with an emphasis on comfort, and offer a relaxing, safe, comfortable environment in which to deliver your baby. We also actively encourage your partner and/or support person to be involved in your care throughout labour, birth and beyond.

At Calvary John James Hospital our focus is to provide a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to patient assessment, care planning and discharge planning to ensure that our patients receive care of the highest standard in a timely, effective manner.

This approach also ensures a successful transition for our patients from hospital to the next phase in their care journey, whether that be recuperating at home, for complementary care at another location or to a resident aged care environment.

Our patients will receive care from a team of nurses and allied health staff committed to ensuring an environment conducive to healing in a slow-stream specialty focused on patient care and safety.

Areas of expertise

• Acute and chronic medical management of patients with a medical diagnosis

• Palliative care particularly geriatric palliation

• Generic assessment and planning

• Diagnostic investigation of medical symptoms

• Reconditioning

End of life care

We also provide a compassionate and supportive environment for patients and their families who come to us during their end of life phase. Our aim is to be flexible and accommodating with special attention to pain management, comfort measures, maintenance of dignity and respect for the individual.

Our commitment to you

While we work with you and your family, we are respectful of your individual, cultural, religious or faith-based needs. If you require support to meet your specific needs whilst in hospital, please let us know in advance.

How to access these services

• Referral by GP, another hospital, specialist or healthcare provider

• These services are delivered in our Main building | Aubrey Tow Ward

• Rest period (no visitors) between 1pm – 3pm

• 02 6281 8910

Calvary John James Hospital undertakes planned (elective) and unplanned (emergency) surgical procedures.

Surgical procedures offered at Calvary John James Hospital include:

• Ear, nose and throat surgery

• Gynaecological surgery

• Breast surgery

• Bariatric lap banding and gastric sleeve surgery

• Gastroenterology

• Dental surgery

• General surgery

• Oral and maxillary surgery

• Paediatric surgery

• Plastic surgery

• Thoracic surgery

• Urology

• Vascular surgery

Orthopaedic surgery

At Calvary John James Hospital, our aim is to provide an environment of clinical excellence in the field of orthopaedics.

Special areas of expertise include:

• Shoulder replacements

• Ankle replacements

• Hip replacements

• Knee replacements

• Foot surgery

• Wrist surgery

• Elbow surgery

• Spinal surgery

• Ankle surgery

• Hip surgery

• Hand surgery

• Shoulder surgery

• Allied health: physiotherapist, exercise physiologist, social work

• Referral to the Deakin Ward Rehabilitation Unit

At Calvary John James Hospital our Specialist team of paediatrician’s work mostly with premature babies. A paediatrician would provide special care once referred by the obstetrician. Our team works with medical specialists and health care professionals to diagnose and treat:

• Functional problems

• Genetic defects

• Infections

How to access this service

• Referral by a surgical specialist

• This service is delivered in our Main building | Curtin Ward

• General hours: 8am – 8pm, with a rest period between 1pm – 3pm

• 02 6281 8701

The Calvary John James Hospital pre-admission clinic is a free-of-charge service, which provides patients with information and support. Our goal is to better understand your needs and ensure you have a positive stay with us.

How it works

One of our registered nurses will contact you approximately one week prior to your admission to hospital to:

• Discuss your care before and after surgery

• Check your health history and complete other admission paperwork

• Liaise with other specialists who may care for the patients

• Provide you with any necessary pre-operative instructions

• Check you have had any tests ordered by your doctor

• Liaise with anaesthetists to ensure pre-operative assessments and instructions are completed

• Commence discharge planning to help plan for your return home

• Provide patients with the opportunity to discuss their expectations for their hospital stay and answer any questions they may have.

The special care nursery at Calvary John James Hospital is an accredited level 2 unit with highly trained clinical staff. We aim for each baby and family to receive the best possible care every single time and are proudly committed to supporting our vision.

At Calvary John James Hospital our special care nursery offers care to:

• Preterm babies

• Low birth weight babies

• IUGR (intra uterine growth restriction)

• Babies born with low blood sugar levels

• Babies with breathing difficulties

• Neonatal jaundice

The Aboriginal Health Liaison Service ensures that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from the ACT and Regional NSW can access mainstream healthcare services.

The Aboriginal Health Liaison Service can provide:

• Emotional, social and cultural support to patients and their families

• Liaison services for patients and their families; and

• Information about hospital services and the linkage between the hospital and other Indigenous community resources.

How to access this service

Our Aboriginal Liaison Officer works in collaboration with social workers to undertake these services.

This service is available Monday to Friday during business hours.

As this service is based across our ACT Calvary health services please contact the Calvary ALO directly on 0488 739 005, please see a member of our staff and we will arrange a referral for you.

At Calvary John James Hospital our dietitian will work with patients to create an individual treatment plan based on individual nutritional needs.

Our dietitian prescribes therapeutic diets for different medical conditions, provides counselling and dietary education to patients and their families, and liaises with the kitchen regarding specific dietary requirements of patients.

Calvary John James Hospital dietitian services can help with issues including:

• Weight management

• Diabetes management

• Gastrointestinal conditions

• Pre and post-surgery diets

• Post natal education

• Allergies and intolerances

How to access this service

• Referral by GP, another hospital, specialist or healthcare provider

• This services is provided in our Main building

• Monday to Friday, 8am – 4pm

• 02 6281 8100

When visiting the hospital

If you have a planned admission to Calvary John James Hospital you will have the opportunity to describe your disability and appropriate arrangements can be included in your admission process.

During your admission members of our occupational therapy and other allied health services may join the team providing your care. Your team will talk with you about interim or long-term services to assist with any temporary disability or enduring issues arising from your treatment or pre-existing condition.

Referrals will be provided to agencies that can assist with disability support services.

Disability support at home

Calvary Home Care provides a range of disability services in the home. We support disabled children, adults and older people to be as independent as possible and become actively involved in their local community.

Calvary Home Care can also help with managing Individual Support Package (ISP) and funding allocations.

GLA:D is an evidence-based ‘prehab’ program, developed by researchers in Denmark for people with hip or knee osteoarthritis symptoms.

The program aims to improve postoperative outcomes by reducing pain and improving strength and function leading in to your hip or knee joint replacement surgery.

Useful resources

• GLA:D Flyer

• GLA:D Information Sheet | PDF

At Calvary, we can help with the practical arrangements involved in returning home from hospital. We can also support you during your recovery.

Depending on your condition and social circumstances you may be offered ongoing treatment under the Hospital In The Home program. Under this service you remain an admitted patient but your treatment is delivered in your residential setting.

Alternatively, Calvary Home Care’s Hospital to Home Service can be provided under a government subsidised support package (if you’re eligible), delivered on a private basis, or as a combination of the two.

Calvary Home Care can help with everyday tasks to help you recover safely and quickly. It is also useful to consider Home Care services if you have a carer who may not be able to safely move or bathe you, who may need a break, or who may need time away from home to do other things. Calvary Home Care services include:

• Transport to and from hospital appointments and for everyday tasks

• Cooking and grocery shopping

• Dressing and showering

• Cleaning and household maintenance

• Respite care

How to access this service

• Referral not required, your care team will discuss with you

• This service is delivered in your own home

Our catering staff take great pride in the quality and presentation of all meals prepared daily. The menu has been nutritionally analysed and uses only the freshest of ingredients.

Calvary John James Hospital’s kitchen takes food safety very seriously and follows the HACCP food safety standards.

The Calvary John James Hospital food services team offer:

• Freshly prepared meals cooked in our onsite kitchen

• Meals to suit your dietary requirements

• Here to help you in your patient journey

• HACCP safety certified

Meals are served during the following hours:

• Breakfast – from 7.00am

• Lunch – from 12.00pm

• Dinner – from 5.00pm

For general enquiries, contact us:

• 02 6281 8100

Occupational therapy helps people take part in everyday activities. Occupational therapists help to modify your environment, provide adaptive equipment and explore different ways to complete activities.

At Calvary John James Hospital, our occupational therapists work as part of a multi-disciplinary team helping with a wide range of conditions including:

• Palliative care

• Orthopaedic surgery / Orthopaedic conditions

• Progressive neurological conditions

• Recovery from multi-trauma

• Rehabilitation

• Stroke

• Age-related conditions

Our occupational therapists are focused on helping you maintain your independence, mobility and safety. We will look at your home and work with you and your family to find the right equipment and suggest minor modifications to make life easier. We also look at lifestyle tasks and can suggest ways of making it easier or more efficient to re-engage in these tasks.

Occupational therapists can also organise for minor work to be completed and can arrange access to any necessary equipment.

How to access this service

• Referred by medical, nursing and allied health staff or self-referral (in-patients)

• This service is delivered in our Main building | Allied Health

• Every day, 8.30am – 4pm

• 02 6281 8100

We offer compassionate emotional support and spiritual care for you, your family and friends. Our pastoral care service acknowledges your beliefs, important relationships and all that is meaningful for you. It affirms your intrinsic value as a person.

Pastoral care can help if you are:

• Emotionally distressed

• Struggling with a sense of purpose or meaning

• Experiencing a time of crisis

• Feeling lonely or isolated

• Grieving a loss

• Making important decisions

• Needing support with your religious/spiritual practice

• Wishing to contact a priest or minister of religion

• Preparing for death

How to access this service

• Referral not required

• If you would like a visit from a pastoral carer during your admission, please ask a staff member, or call 02 6245 3100.

Calvary John James Hospital has an onsite pharmacy servicing hospital patients only.

Provided by Epic Pharmacy, the service ensures hospital patients are provided with medications required during their stay and on discharge.

Please be aware that some medications may not be covered by your health fund as part of your hospital stay. A charge summary will be provided in the rear clear section of your discharge medication bag.

Alternatively, an invoice for pharmacy charges will be forwarded to you post discharge. These can be paid online through the Epic Pharmacy website or using one of the other payment methods provided. Lastly, it is important that you bring any current medications and prescriptions when you are admitted to hospital.

Kindly note that Epic Pharmacy cannot fill scripts or provide medication to any member of the public or visitors to the hospital.

How to access this service

• Referral by specialist or healthcare provider

• Level 3, Peter Yorke Building (former Clinical Services Building)

• Monday to Friday, 8am – 5pm

• 02 6281 8126

Useful resources

• Your medicines while you’re in hospital

• Managing your pain medicines at home

Physiotherapists assess and develop programs to improve a patient’s strength, mobility, movement and function. Our team offers advice on personal mobility and safety in both individual and group sessions. Our Physiotherapy team can help with:

• Education regarding your injury, illness or condition

• Managing lung conditions

• Managing lymphoedema

• Mobility and transfers

• Using equipment such as walking aids, splints and collars

• Prescribing exercises to help build strength and endurance

At Calvary John James Hospital, physiotherapy is provided to:

• Acute inpatients

• Maternity patients

• Palliative care patients

• Rehabilitation patients

How to access this service

• Referral by GP, another hospital, specialist or healthcare provider

• This service is delivered in our Main building

• Monday to Friday, 8am – 4pm

• 02 6281 8113

Our rehabilitation programs encompass both inpatient and outpatient services.

These combine the expertise of medical specialists, nurses and allied health professionals to provide you with the highest quality of care.

Social work involves working with patients to help them achieve goals and ensure safe discharge from hospital back into the community. Social work is carried out in collaboration with patients and families as well as doctors, nurses and other allied health professionals.

Patients may have spent a long time in hospital and it is important to:

• Access services that may not previously have been required

• Make difficult decisions regarding health care

• Confirm future plans

At Calvary John James Hospital, social workers help patients with:

• Aged care placements

• Adjusting to illness

• Bereavement counselling

• Home care placements

• Coordinating family meetings

• Discharge planning

• Information and education

• Post-surgery services

• Short term counselling

• Transport options

How to access this service

Please talk to your nurse for more details

• This service is delivered in our Main building

• Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm OR 24/7

• 02 6281 8100

Speech pathologists are trained to provide specialised assessment, treatment and management of communication and/or swallowing disorders, which can arise as a result of a neurological condition, at birth, age related and/or trauma.

Examples of conditions speech pathologists are trained to manage include:

• Changes in voice production (Parkinson’s Disease)

• Difficulty thinking of words or expressing thoughts and feelings as a result of stroke

• Problems understanding spoken instructions or messages

• Difficulties with reading and writing

• Swallowing difficulties and/or difficulties managing secretions

• Slurred speech

• Cognitive changes that impact the way you communicate

What to expect

When you visit Calvary John James Hospital you will first be assessed by our speech pathologists if you have identified issues in any of the above areas.

An individual treatment plan will then be created with you and your speech pathologist. Education and support is provided to you and your family members throughout the treatment process.

How to access this service

• Referral by GP, another hospital, specialist or healthcare provider

• This service is delivered in our Main building

• Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm

• 02 6229 2150

Endoscopy is a general term covering any procedure that involves examining the interior of the body with an endoscope.

Calvary John James Hospital has a specialist team that uses cutting-edge technology to carry out all endoscopic treatments.

Endoscopy can be used in the following procedures:

• Bronchoscopy (examination of the lungs)

• Colonoscopy (examination of the large bowel)

• Cystoscopy (examination of cysts)

• Endoanal ultrasounds (examination of your anal canal)

• Gastroscopy (examination of the stomach)

• Oesophageal manometry (examination of the throat)

Please note:

• Endoscopy is carried out under anaesthesia, which means you will not be able to drive home after your procedure.

• You will receive instructions from your GP about preparing for your endoscopy. Please follow them carefully.

How to access this service

• Referral by GP, another hospital, specialist or healthcare provider

• This service is delivered in our Main building, operating theatre suites

• Monday to Friday, 8am – 6pm are the general hours of operation for theatres

• 02 6281 8100

At Calvary John James Hospital we have an on-site pathology department, managed by Capital Pathology Canberra.

Capital Pathology offers a 24-hour laboratory service that delivers expert analysis, testing and advice to our team of health care professionals. We offer a comprehensive range of routine, specialty and emergency pathology testing, with a fast turnaround for results.

Results can be downloaded electronically or delivered by courier to your medical specialist.

How to access this service

• Referral by GP, another hospital, specialist or healthcare provider

At Calvary John James Hospital campus we have a radiology department, managed by Canberra Imaging Group who are located on level one in the Peter Yorke Building within the Calvary John James Hospital Campus.

The radiology service at Calvary John James Hospital can help with:

• Angiography and interventional radiology

• Bone densitometry

• General ultrasounds

• Magnetic resonance imaging (3T MRI)

• Digital (3D) mammography and breast biopsy

• Musculoskeletal imaging

• Multi-slice computed tomography (CT) scans

• Nuclear medicine

• Orthopantomography (OPG)

• Vascular and soft tissue ultrasound

• X-rays

How to access this service

• Referral by GP or hospital specialists

• 1300 788 508