Before Your Admission

Once you have seen your surgeon and it has been decided that you are to have surgery at Mercy, staff at your surgeon's rooms will give you access to a Digital patient pathway. This pathway includes important information for you to read including a hospital admission form that you need to complete and send back to us as soon as possible using your mobile phone or computer. The pathway includes;

Privacy of information

Pharmacy information

Patient details, cultural and contact details, language requirements, GP information, guardian information where relevant and details of the medications that you are on.

Your health information

Payment details

Discharge Planning

Post discharge care

Your anaesthetic

Pre operative physiotherapy class

Specific procedure information

Infection Prevention Questionnaire

If you are unable to complete a form online either the Surgeons rooms or Mercy Hospital reception can give you a paper form to complete, if you are returning a paper admission form please allow enough time for postage. If you are using a paper form, please ensure that you view the appropriate pathways on this website

If you require an interpreter this can be arranged by the Credentialed Specialist prior to your admission. Members of your whanau/family who may accompany you through your procedure are not generally the preferred option as an interpreter.

Mercy respects your rights under the Health Information Privacy Code and the Privacy Act 2020. All personal information and data collected from you is for the purpose of your treatment, to assist quality assurance and to fulfil legislative requirements.

All clinical records are stored either electronically or in a secure area. We may disclose some of your personal information to other medical practitioners or health care service providers involved in your ongoing care. A summary of your care at Mercy Hospital will be shared in HealthOne, a secure electronic record allowing registered healthcare providers involved in your care to quickly access health information. To find out more about how HealthOne protect your privacy or for information on how to opt-out of sharing your health information through HealthOne visit HealthOne(https://healthone.org.nz/privacy-security)

If you have any concerns regarding this, please contact us(https://www.mercyhospital.org.nz/contact/#enquiry-form).

Before your procedure or surgery, you may need to undergo laboratory testing. Please complete any required testing as directed by your surgeon or clinic.

You may be given a laboratory form in case you require a blood transfusion. This blood test needs to be done no more than 72 hours before your surgery.

Travel and other hospital stays may require Multidrug Resistant Organism (MDRO) testing. These tests can take up to 2 weeks to be processed. Please discuss arranging Multidrug Resistant Organism (MDRO) testing with your surgeon or clinic as soon as possible if in the 12 months before your procedure or surgery you:

• Have travelled or plan to travel overseas OR
• Have been admitted to either a North Island Healthcare Facility or an overseas healthcare facility OR
• Are a resident of the Braeside Unit at Birchleigh Mosgiel Residential Care Facility

If your MDRO results are positive, you have a history of positive MDRO or your results are unavailable at the time of admission, you may be charged for isolation costs.

If you would like more information about MDRO or isolation costs, please contact either your surgeon or clinic in the first instance or Mercy’s Infection Prevention Specialist.

Before your procedure, please complete the patient admission form provided by your specialist, usually done electronically via the Personify platform, though it can also be on paper.

Most patients will not receive a phone call from the preadmission nurses if their paperwork is submitted on time. However, patients with multiple health conditions, incomplete admission forms, recent illness, or who request a call, will receive a phone call in the week before their surgery date. Calls will last for about 5 to 15 minutes. If we haven't received your completed admission forms, a full health assessment will be conducted by the preadmissions nurses on the phone and you will need to complete additional paperwork when you arrive at the hospital. Preadmissions nurses do not have information about your hospital admission time.

If your procedure involves an anaesthetist, they will contact you by phone or by text message one or two days prior to your surgery. Your anaesthetist will advise:

• Your admission time.
• When to stop eating and drinking.
• What medications to take or stop.
• Showering instructions if applicable.

Should you wish to know more about your anaesthetic please visit the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetist’s website.

If there’s no anaesthetist involved in your procedure, your specialist will provide the above information.

Please note that Mercy Hospital does not organise convalescent care, however we may be able to put you in touch with support services who can help.

If you need assistance getting to and from Mercy Hospital, the St John’s Health Shuttle may be able to help. Days of operation can be found at https://www.stjohn.org.nz/what-we-do/community-programmes/health-shuttles-stjohn/, or you can call 0800 103 046 for the South Island service.

We have also prepared a pre-admission checklist (below) to assist you in preparing for your stay, as well as a planning for discharge checklist.

Day stay patients at Mercy Hospital

The following is a guide for what you will need to bring with you on the day of your procedure:

Stay over patients at Mercy Hospital

If you are staying overnight or longer, bring along with you the following (in addition to the above):

Children are admitted to Mercy Hospital through the Coolock Day Surgery Unit (DSU). You will meet the nurse who will be caring for your child. A parent / guardian can accompany your child into theatre and stay with them until they are asleep. Following surgery and recovery, your child will return to the day surgery unit if they are a day case, or to a ward if they are staying the night. If your child is staying overnight they may have a tube in their arm that will allow nurses to give pain relief as required. 

Please bring your child's:

Accommodation for parent / guardian

Accommodation in a recliner chair (that can pull out into a bed) is complimentary for one parent when a child aged 16 or under is required to stay overnight.

To comply with fire safety regulations and to ensure patient safety, we are unable to accommodate a parent in a bed unless a double room is available. 

For children aged 17 years and over, a fee will be charged for a parent who requests to stay overnight. 

To request overnight accommodation for a child aged 17 years or over as a parent/guardian, please contact our bookings team.

Visiting hours

Parents/whanau are welcome to visit their child at any time.

Planning ahead will make for a much easier transition between hospital and home. You need to consider the following:

Physiotherapy is available for pre-operative exercises and mobility advice. This is combined with education for your specific surgery. Telehealth consultations are available.

For a consultation at Mercy's Physiotherapy Clinic: phone 03 464 0107, or contact our physiotherapy clinic via our feedback form here.

Hip and knee joint replacements:

Classes are available before your hip or knee joint replacement surgery. The class covers information regarding your recovery, exercises and any equipment that may be needed after your surgery. The classes are taken by the Mercy Allied Health team and are every second Thursday of the month, 1:00pm - 2:00pm at Marinoto House, Mercy Hospital.

Where to find the class:

Allied Health Pre-Operative Class

Thursday 1 P.M.

Please go to Barclay Room, ground floor of Marinoto House, See below:

To book your class session before your joint replacement surgery, please phone 03 464 0107 or use the booking tool below: