FAQs

All referrals should be forwarded to the Admissions Coordinator by fax or email. The Admissions Coordinator will contact you regarding the process of managing your referral.

The Admissions Coordinator can be contacted between 8.00am and 5.00pm. Outside of these hours the Hospital Coordinator can be contacted.

Referrals to Perth Clinic can be made by General Practitioners, specialist doctors and psychiatric liaison teams.

All referrals to groups are made by a Perth Clinic Accredited Doctor. Referrals to an accredited practitioner can be made by your General Practitioner.

Prior to your admission, our staff will contact you to provide information on the admission process and confirm your personal details. For further information check our website information on Preparing for Admission.

Patients are asked not to bring valuables, electrical appliances, any item that may pose a safety risk.

Most of our rooms are single rooms with ensuites. There are some rooms that are shared with ensuite. Wherever possible we try to avoid placing patients in a shared room. However, as the hospital gets full, we are required to utilise these rooms. When we are full, the Clinical Nurse Manager reviews the waitlist for single rooms every day and triages priority according to clinical need and waitlist order.

Occasionally room moves may be necessary due to clinical need or availability. Due to patient confidentiality, we are not able to provide specific reasons for these changes. We appreciate your patience and understanding during these times, as decisions are made in the best interest of all patients.

When you arrive, administration staff will greet you, complete statutory paperwork, explain what is covered by your health fund and what your out-of-pocket expenses may be.  They will then take your photo, to be placed on your medication chart for identification purposes and show you to your room.  Support persons are welcome to wait in the lounge while this is done, but can accompany you to your room.  Once settled in your room, the nurse looking after you will take-over.

You will be allocated a nurse who will be looking after you and around 5 other patients per shift. There are three nurse shifts per day, changing at 7am, 1pm and 9pm. Your nurse will change as shifts change. We will try to offer you a similar nursing team each day but this is not always possible.

Our staff wear different coloured lanyards with their name and photo around their neck.

• Black lanyard – a doctor, therapist, nurse manager or member of the administration team
• Yellow lanyard – nursing assistant
• Green lanyard – enrolled nurse
• Red lanyard – registered nurse
• Blue lanyard – clinical nurse
• Light blue lanyard – a student
• Grey lanyard – a business visitor, not a patient visitor

Your psychiatrist will decide how often they need to visit you. They will typically visit you within 12 hours of admission and then periodically after that depending on your clinical need. You would normally expect to see your psychiatrist twice a week as a minimum. Some may visit you daily depending on their capacity and your clinical need.

The length of admission varies depending on the needs of the person. Your doctor will discuss that anticipated length of your admission with you and this will be reflected in the treatment plan that our staff will develop with you.

You should discuss your mental health needs with your general practitioner who can provide a referral to one of our accredited doctors.

Please see the list of accredited practitioners on our website

A map of the hospital, including therapy rooms, ECT Suite and TMS Suite can be found on the iPad in your room. The Orientation and Group Therapy folder in your room contains a printed map of the therapy area.

Perth Clinic offers are range of programs. For details click here.

All referrals to group therapy programs are made by Perth Clinic accredited doctors.

It is an expectation that patients attend group therapy to assist with recovery.

Clinical research shoes that patients who attend regular group therapy get better outcomes. Therefore we work with your health fund to ensure you are able to access the best quality therapy whilst you are here.

If your nurse encourages you to go to group, please understand that they are trying to support you getting better and we thank you for respecting this requirement. If it is not clinically appropriate for you to attend group, your psychiatrist will advise our nursing staff and this will be documented on your medical record.

There are many group therapy programs running daily. You should know what group your psychiatrist has referred to you by looking at your iPad, this will have all your daily plan in detail.  This should also tell you what room your group therapy is being held in and when. The map in the folder in your room will show you where this room is located.

It can be daunting to attend group therapy for the first time. Please be reassured that our therapists are very understanding and approachable. We have various groups with different participation expectations depending on the group. Your treating team will be able to help you work through your concerns and as you progress your groups will become more structured. Some groups are discussion based and some are more skills based. Your clinical team can explain the differences.

Patients are provided with a group therapy manual which should be taken to group each time you attend. Also take a pencil to take notes.

Water is provided in each group room. Morning and afternoon breaks are taken in the communal area and a snack is provided.

Wear comfy clothes for the day and please do not bring your mobile phone or other devices to group to enable your full participation. If you do take your phone, please make sure it is on silent mode to avoid any disruption to the session.

To get the most out of therapy it is important to attend all scheduled sessions. If you miss a session the group leader and your treating doctor will discuss this with you and determine the appropriateness of continuing.

All our therapists are qualified staff – occupational therapists, psychologists, art therapists and clinical nurses.

We do our best to keep the same therapist through your course of treatment. However, there are times this may change when covering staff leave.

Most of the psychiatrists are not employed by Perth Clinic. They are visiting medical practitioners with admitting rights to Perth Clinic. However, we all work well together as one team.

If you are not happy with your psychiatrist, we can provide you with information on the process for seeking a new psychiatrist once you are discharged. Due to limited access to psychiatrist in general, we will not be able to assist you to find a new psychiatrist within the same admission.

There is a nurse call button on the handset next to each bed head for non urgent issues. Emergency call points for clinical or medical emergencies are located in your bathroom, on the wall in your bedroom and throughout the common areas of the hospital.

There are emergency call points throughout the hospital – in your bedroom, your bathroom, group rooms and the common areas of the building. These are for clinical and medical emergencies only, a clinical team will response very quickly when they are activated.

The cost of admission and day patient therapy will be influenced by the type of health fund policy that you hold. For further information please contact our administration staff or your health fund.

Psychiatrist consulting fees should be discussed directly with your doctor or with our friendly administration staff.

Hospital visiting hours are: Monday to Friday, 3.00-8.00pm and weekends/public holidays 1.00-8.00pm.

Patients order their meal via the meal ordering system on the iPad in their rooms.

Perth Clinic is a voluntary hospital so all leave planned is in consultation with you. However, there may be times when the clinical team determine that leave from the hospital is not considered appropriate. The reasons for this will be explained to you and this is usually to protect you and maintain your safety.

If you are not comfortable with decisions around your leave status then we can discuss this with your treating team, remembering that you have the right to leave Perth Clinic or discontinue the admission if not agreeable to any conditions or expectations of the admission that have been explained to you.

If your doctor permits you to leave, you can do so within permitted guidelines. Normally this will specify a duration for the leave and our nursing staff will sign you out for this duration. Failure to return at the expected time will trigger an alert and staff will contact you to request your return. If considered appropriate, staff may also contact your next of kin and/or psychiatrist.

Breakfast: 7.30 – 8.30am

Lunch: 12.30 – 1.30pm

Dinner: 5.15 – 6.00pm

This allows catering staff to ensure you receive your preferred meal choice, to adjust meals for people with specific allergy requirements and to serve a high number of meals in a short amount of time.

The focus of Perth Clinic is integration and ensuring that you don’t feel alone with your mental health challenges and experiences. Eating in the communal area is to support that engagement and to encourage routine and structure to your day.

A designated “Smoke and Go” area is available for patients for a maximum of 5 minutes. This area is located along the wall opposite the gazebo and is clearly signposted.

For Work Health and Safety reasons, smokers (including e-cigarettes /vaping devices) must remain within this designated area to minimise exposure to second-hand smoke.

Patients under the age of 18, staff and visitors are not permitted to smoke (including e-cigarettes and vaping devices) anywhere on Perth Clinic premises.

Please note that the courtyard gazebo is a non-smoking area.

There are many support services within the community that provide ongoing support and information on a range of mental health issues. Information on these services and sites can be found by following the online link at eMHPrac: A guide to Mental Health Resources or using the QR code below.

No. There is no parking for visitors or patients. There is ticket parking in the surrounding area. The clinic is accessible by public transport and is located on the Red CAT bus circuit.