Palmerston Regional Hospital

If you are seriously hurt or sick, you can go to the hospital's emergency department for urgent treatment.

When you present at the emergency department, you will be treated and managed based on your clinical needs.

However, if you are critically ill or have a life-threatening condition, you will be stabilised and transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH).

If you need to stay at the hospital for up to 24 hours for medical treatment but don't need to be admitted or transferred to RDH, you will be moved to the extended emergency medicine unit (EEMU).

If you need longer treatment, you may be moved to the medical ward for general care or transferred to RDH.

If you are a patient over the age of 16, you can access rehabilitation services at the hospital if you:

• have rehabilitation goals
• have a positive attitude
• will benefit from inter-disciplinary rehabilitation services.

Rehabilitation can help improve your mobility and regain your independence after a major illness or injury.

The facility includes:

• dedicated therapy space
• gym
• hydrotherapy pool.

You can get assessment, triage, treatment, inpatient and outpatient services for conditions such as:

• acquired brain injury
• spinal cord injury
• stroke and neurological conditions
• vascular conditions and amputation
• post-surgical and medical deconditioning
• major burns
• deconditioning
• amputation
• initial gait training
• multi-trauma
• orthopaedic Injuries
• neurological conditions

Multi-trauma or orthopaedics injuries are treated by a multidisciplinary team of rehabilitation medical specialists including:

• nurses
• medical consultants
• physiotherapists
• occupational therapists
• speech pathologists
• psychologists
• podiatrists
• prosthetics
• social workers
• dietitians
• chaplains.

Make an appointment with the rehabilitation outpatient services

You can self-referral to the service or have your healthcare provider refer you.

Exclusions

You cannot be referred to the service if you:

• reside in an aged care facility
• are awaiting nursing home placement
• are only needing assessments
• are requesting access to the NDIS
• are a surgical patients requiring ongoing surgical intervention
• are a burns patients requiring significant specialist burns nurse review
• are a medical patients requiring ongoing specialised treatment that cannot be provided at PRH
• have an age related neurological deterioration and no specific diagnosis
• need vocational rehabilitation
• need a driving assessments.

Contact

To contact the ward in relation to someone being treated as an inpatient, you can contact 08 7979 9301.

Outpatients can request a referral form by calling the rehabilitation outpatient service on 08 7979 9502.

Submit your completed form by email or post.

RehabServicesOutpatients.THS@nt.gov.au

Outpatient Coordinator
PO Box 41326
Casuarina NT 0811

The geriatric evaluation and management (GEM) service aims to improve the quality of life and mobility of older patients.

The service involves goal setting with a medical, nursing and allied health team approach.

The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The service can provide:

• specialist consultation and assessment
• inpatient and outpatient services including:
  • a dedicated constant care team
  • community outreach support services.
• allied health services:
  • occupational therapy
  • dietitian
  • physiotherapy
  • speech pathology
  • social worker
  • psychology.

Accessing the service

GEM can assist with people who:

• are 65 years and over or 50 years and over if yo are an Aboriginal person.
• have functional deterioration due to a medical condition or hospital admission
• require inpatient geriatric multidisciplinary care
• require a trial of therapy to determine the potential for recovery
• are motivated and able to engage in therapy
• are in or awaiting residential care facility placement
• have dementia and difficult behaviours (delirium and BPSD) for medical, psychosocial management and behaviour plans.

You cannot be referred to the service if you require acute ongoing medical or surgical intervention.

Get a referral to GEM

You can be referred to the service by your doctor.

Contact

Fore more information about GEM call 08 7979 9334 or email GEMward.PRH@nt.gov.au.

Doctor's referrals can be emailed or faxed to 08 7979 9791.

Medical inpatient wards are generally for patients with a less complex medical condition.

If you need more critical care, you may be transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital.

The hospital provides planned day surgery. This means you can come into hospital for a procedure and leave on the same day.

Examples of planned day surgical procedures include:

• endoscopies
• dental
• urology
• ear, nose and throat
• gynaecology.

Depending on your needs, Top End Health Service will schedule your surgery at either Palmerston Regional Hospital or Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH).

When you come in for planned day surgery, you will have access to:

• pre-admission clinics
• consultation diagnosis
• treatment
• pain management
• post-surgery care.

If you more need complex surgical procedures, they will be carried out at the RDH.

You can get a range of maternity services at the hospital including the following:

• pregnancy check-ups
• monitoring
• education
• advice to expectant mothers
• follow up care post birth
• mother and baby monitoring
• breastfeeding advice.

Labour and birth services are available at Royal Darwin Hospital.

Outpatient services are for people who are coming to hospital to see a specialist.

These types of services don't require an overnight stay in hospital.

You can access all of the following services at the hospital:

• antenatal
• diabetes/endocrinology
• endoscopy
• allied health
• pain clinic
• chronic pain management
• Geriatric Evaluation Management (GEM)
• general medicine
• general surgery
• gynaecology
• haematology
• infectious diseases/viral hepatitis
• paediatrics
• palliative care
• postnatal
• rehabilitation
• respiratory - including pulmonary lung function testing
• rheumatology
• other speciality services.

Inpatient paediatric care remains at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) and most surgical procedures for children will continue to be carried out there.

You may be able to schedule some day surgery procedures at Palmerston Regional Hospital (PRH).

PRH's emergency department will assess and provide emergency care for children.

If your child needs intensive, critical care or has ongoing needs, they will be stabilised and transferred to RDH.

If your child needs overnight or longer-term care, they will be transferred to Darwin.

A small number of beds are dedicated for children who are admitted with short term, non-life-threatening conditions such as:

• mild dehydration
• mild gastroenteritis
• cold symptoms
• mild asthma.