Visiting hours are daily 10am-7pm. We ask you screen your health before coming to visit a patient. If you’re not feeling well, please delay your visit.

Ensure you wear a mask at all times (they are available at all of our entrances) and wash your hands or use a hand rub before and after you visit your family member or friend.

Please note, some inpatient units may require you to undergo a RAT before entering.

Visitor guidelines (other than Thomson and Macalister Units)
No limit on the number of visitors throughout the visiting period but only two visitors at a time at the patient’s bedside.

If you are visiting Thomson Maternity, Paediatrics or the Special Care Nursery
Children under 16 are only permitted if they are a sibling of a patient.
Visitors who are a household contact of a person with COVID-19 or have symptoms of a cold, will be supplied with an N95 mask.

If you are visiting the Macalister Nursing Home
All visitors must return a negative RAT before entering.
Residents are able to have up to 5 visitors during visiting hours. Non-vaccinated visitors can use an outdoor or garden area to visit a resident.
Palliative and compassionate visits are exempt from these guidelines.

Our Aboriginal Health Liaison officers are here to support you during your stay and help you understand hospital services and treatment options.

Contact our Aboriginal Health Unit on 5173 8653 or 5173 8831 Monday to Friday from 8.30am-5pm.

You can also contact the Aboriginal Health Liaison officers by emailing: aboriginalhealthunit@lrh.com.au

It’s free! There is no cost to use the TV at your bedside.

There is a free patient transport service to eligible patients. Access to the service is available to patients who are unable to drive themselves safely to and from the hospital or do not have a carer, friends or relatives to take them.

Patients who are unable to afford private or public transport may also be eligible.

Requests for transport assistance are assessed and approved on a case-by-case basis by the nurse in charge of the ward or unit.

The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights describes what you can expect when receiving care at a hospital.
Click this link to watch a video explaining the Charter of Healthcare Rights.

If you would like to listen to an audio version of the Charter of Healthcare Rights, click here.

You have a right to Access, Safety, Respect, Partnership, Information and Privacy when it comes to your healthcare. You are also encouraged to provide feedback or make a complaint.

Download PDF

All requests for patient information can be emailed to foi@lrh.com.au

The Victorian Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1982 gives you the right to access documents about your personal affairs, including medical records and the activities of government agencies.

Requests for access to your Latrobe Regional Health record can be made in writing to:
The Freedom of Information Officer
Latrobe Regional Health
PO Box 424
Traralgon Vic 3844

or email foi@lrh.com.au

FOI applications must:

• be in writing – not verbal
• clearly describe the documents you are requesting access to
• include the application fee or evidence that you qualify to have the application fee waived
• be made to the agency that holds the documents you are seeking.

You can make a request yourself or you can authorise another person (for example, a solicitor) to make a request on your behalf. If you want someone to make a request on your behalf for your personal information, you must give them your written authorisation. In the case of requesting information relating to a deceased person, the consent of the person’s most senior next of kin who is of or above the age of 18 years is required. Proof of this relationship is required.

CLICK HERE FOR AN APPLICATION FORM

There are two costs associated with making a FOI request – an application fee and access charges. These charges are set by government regulations.

There is a standard non-refundable application fee of $31.80 (effective from July 2022). Payment can be made by electronic fund transfer (EFT) by calling 5173 8602.

An access charge is applied under the Act for processing your request. Access charges are applied according to the nature of the request and could include search fees ($22.50 per hour), photocopying (20 cents per page), providing written transcripts of a recorded document ($20 per hour).

The application fee can be waived if payment is likely to cause you hardship. If you wish to make a claim to have the fee waived you must provide evidence that you receive social security benefits eg: a current social security benefits or health benefits card.

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 stipulates all FOI requests shall be completed within 30 days of the Health Information Unit receiving a valid request form and payment. LRH provides an equitable service to all applicants, regardless of their financial resources. All FOI requests are treated in strictest confidence, as per the LRH Confidentiality Policy.

Requests requiring interpretation of, or opinion on medical records or reports will be referred to the Chief Medical Officer for separate consideration.

If your request is declined, LRH is obliged to notify you within 30 days of the date your request was received. If you are not satisfied with this decision you are entitled to contact the LRH Consumer Liaison Coordinator on (03) 5173 8530 to discuss your concerns.

Mail the completed amendment request to
The Freedom of Information Officer
Latrobe Regional Health
PO Box 424
Traralgon Vic 3844

Latrobe Regional Health shall notify the applicant of the decision within 30 days on which a valid request is received.

More information
LRH Health Information Unit (03) 5173 8844

Freedom of Information Act
Victorian Government Freedom of Information website
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
Victorian Ombudsman

It is Victorian Government policy for health services to provide an interpreting and translation service. The interpreters are accredited through a national body and are bound by a code of ethics. They interpret objectively and confidentially and do not add their opinion or filter information.

LRH uses an interpreter service to help patients and their families make informed choices and understand important information about treatment, medication, the admission process, discharge, or simply their rights and responsibilities while in the hospital’s care.

The interpreter service covers many languages including Australian Sign Language or Auslan for people who are hearing impaired. There is tactile signing for people who are deaf and have vision impairment.

Family and friends are discouraged from acting as an interpreter.

An interpreter interprets the spoken word from one language to another and is is bound by a code of ethics. They do not add their opinion or filter information (although they may ask either party for clarification to best interpret the information).

When should an interpreting service be used?
If the hospital is having difficulties communicating with you, an interpreter may be required.
Assistance may be useful if you are under stress.

You may also need an interpreter to understand important information such as the hospital admission process and discharge, medical history, treatment, prescribed drugs, entitlements or rights and responsibilities.

Access to the interpreting service
A hospital staff member will organise an interpreter for you. Most languages are available through the interpreter service used by the hospital. While every effort will be made to secure an interpreter at a suitable time, their services are in demand and are subject to availability.

No. LRH has a smoke-free policy across the entire site including outdoor areas and car parks. As a hospital and the home of the Gippsland Cancer Care Centre, it is important we have measures in place to encourage good health.
If you need help to quit smoking, let your treating team know.

No. All of our car parks are free to use.

Yes. Free Wi-Fi is available across the hospital. Please ask for instructions to access the service.

We are required by law (Health Records Act 2001) to protect personal and confidential information such as information relating to your health and other personal details.

We will only collect health and personal information that is necessary for us to assess and treat your health condition. We will always try to collect health and personal information in a fair, lawful and non-intrusive way. Wherever possible, we will collect information directly from you rather than from third parties.

Generally, we collect and use health and personal information for provision of care and treatment to you for your health condition and for purposes directly related to this. For example, if you are admitted for inpatient medical treatment, your mental health file (if any) will be shared with the treating team and if you are admitted for inpatient mental health, your medical file (if any) will be shared with your treating team. We are required to inform you of the circumstances in which we might disclose information other than for this primary purpose.

Aside from where the law specifically allows us to use or disclose information, we will not use or disclose such information for unrelated purposes without your consent.

We may disclose your health and personal information to:

• other health care providers, including your GP, for the purpose of providing further treatment to you
• a pastoral carer who may visit you, where you have provided details of your religion
• a representative of a veterans organisation where you are a veteran
• an agency for the purposes of determining your feedback and satisfaction.

Disclosure for research purposes We may disclose unidentifiable information about you for research purposes.

Disclosure for quality improvement purposes We may disclose your health and personal information for internal quality improvement purposes and to external agencies for the purpose of accreditation of LRH.

Disclosure on Consumer Management Interface If you are a registered mental health consumer, your health and personal information will be entered on the Consumer Management Interface (CMI), which is a state-wide data base accessible to authorised staff of designated Mental Health Services. here are strict guidelines for staff accessing CMI.

Disclosure to the Department of Health (Vic) and Department of Social Services (Commonwealth) We are required to disclose information to the Department of Health and for aged residents to the Department of Social Services. Both departments are subject to privacy laws the same as or similar to the laws which apply to Latrobe Regional Hospital.

Disclosure under other laws We also are required or permitted to disclose information under the Firearms Act, Road Safety Act, Marine Act, Public Health and Wellbeing Act, Cancer Act, Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, Commission for Children and Young Persons Act, Mental Health Act, Cemeteries and Crematoria Act, Coroners Act, Children, Youth and Families Act and the Health Services Act. We may be required to provide information to the police under a search warrant or to a court on receipt of a subpoena.

You are entitled to refuse certain disclosures The information set out above is to inform you as how and to whom we may disclose information about you. Other than where we are required to disclose information you may indicate that you do not consent to such a disclosure.

You are required to complete the ‘Consent/Refusal to the use and disclosure of information’ for each admission. If you are an aged care resident, you are required to complete the ‘Consent/Refusal to the use and disclosure of information’ attached to the Resident’s Agreement.

We have a fundraising arm which might contact you for fundraising purposes or activities. You may receive information from the fundraising department unless you expressly refuse.

Data quality, security and retention We take all reasonable steps to ensure all current information is accurate, complete and up to date and to protect your information from unauthorised access, improper use, disclosure, unlawful destruction or accidental loss.