Albury Wodonga Health Media Guidelines

The AWH Communications Department manages all media enquiries and requests relating to all AWH locations.

We are the first point of contact for any media enquiries, including patient condition updates, interview requests with AWH staff acting as medical experts, escorting film crews and photographers and permission to film on hospital grounds.

Media opportunities are subject to approval and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Media enquiries:

Weekdays - 8:30am-5:00pm - journalists can email awh.communications@awh.org.au or call 02 6048 1160 

Requests to film

  • All interviews, photography and filming on AWH premises must be approved prior to the media entering an AWH healthcare facility.
  • A Communications staff member will escort media during approved visits, including for interviews, filming, and photography.
  • All AWH staff directly approached by media outlets will, in the first instance, redirect enquiries to the Communications team.

Patient conditions

  • When enquiring about a patient condition update, we are guided by the Health Services Act 1988. This legislation, limits the amount of information that can be released without written consent from the patient, or where appropriate their next of kin.
  • When categorising the condition, we use the following descriptions: stable, serious and critical. Due to patient privacy, we cannot provide any patient details, such as name, age or injuries.

Patient interview requests

Interview requests to individuals on AWH property must be done through the Communications Team. Our team will not approach a patient on the day of admission. It is important to us as a health service to ensure our patients and their families feel safe and supported when in hospital. 

awh.communications@awh.org.au or call 02 6048 1160 

Live or Simulated Live crosses

Media are permitted to film AWH facilities from public walkways and footpaths, however, we ask to be notified via the AWH Communications Department prior to arrival so that security on location can be advised.

Additional media resources

Reporting on Mental Health

Reporting on People with a Disability

Reporting on Violence against Women and Children

5 September 2024

Media statement attributable to Linda Hudec, Chief Operating Officer Acute Hospital Services:

Since July, Albury Wodonga Health (AWH) has worked closely with the Royal Melbourne Hospital to establish our ‘Progression of Care Hub’, the first central access and flow coordination centre of its kind in a regional Victorian health service. This innovative, multidisciplinary hub helps AWH to better coordinate its resources across the health service in partnership with our peripheral health services. These efforts will be significantly enhanced in November with further digitalisation across the Hume region. 

This initiative has significantly improved patient flow across the system which has alleviated pressure on our clinical teams and assisted in freeing up capacity to commence more planned surgeries for our community. 

In recognition of these advancements, AWH has been invited to join the Victorian Department of Health’s statewide ‘Timely Emergency Care’ program, an initiative that helps to advance collaboration and thought leadership amongst clinicians and health leaders, to better deliver the right care, at the right place, at the right time.  This program will enable AWH to collaborate with other leading health services across Victoria, sharing best practices in access and flow.

Additionally, the Progression of Care Hub has positioned AWH to manage its Acute Admitted Overflow Unit more efficiently. This unit is designed to flex up during surges in acute admissions and flex down in capacity as demand eases. Thanks to these innovative improvements in patient access and flow, AWH has been able to flex down this unit, ensuring patients receive care in more traditional and appropriate points of care.

Consultation with staff and the New South Wales Nurses Association (NSWNA) has begun on the proposed permanent closure of the unit. Currently, the unit remains flexed down in line with its intended use, with nursing staff redeployed to other acute care areas to continue delivering high-quality patient care.

 

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