Emergencies

Please remember, a positive COVID-19 result does not mean you need to present to an emergency department. You should only come to an emergency department if you require urgent medical attention.

Most people will only have mild symptoms that require symptomatic management with simple paracetamol and good hydration. If you require medical assistance during quarantine, you will need to utilise specific COVID health support, which might include WA COVID Care at Home (see below), a telehealth appointment with your GP, or HealthDirect

You should always tell the health support person that you or someone in your household is COVID-19 positive. Read about coming to hospital if you are in COVID-19 isolation or quarantine.

For information about how to care for yourself and your loved ones at home with COVID-19, read Looking after yourself (Healthy WA).

WA COVID Care at Home

WA COVID Care at Home (Healthy WA) delivers free home monitoring care for COVID-positive children and adults in Western Australia who may have risk factors that put them at a greater risk of becoming seriously unwell.

This service is available to anyone in a metropolitan, rural or remote residential setting in WA who has access to a telephone.

You need to register to be considered for WA COVID Care at Home.

For more information, read the FAQs (Healthy WA) or visit the webpage to register (Healthy WA).

Learn more about managing COVID-19 at home (external site).

Patients requiring unplanned emergency care will continue to be treated as a high priority, but all patients must now undertake rapid antigen tests (RATs) (Healthy WA) on arrival.

These changes will help keep our patients, staff and the wider community safe from the spread of COVID-19. Please be assured patients in all pathways will be triaged as usual by ED staff to assess their condition and those needing urgent care will be managed accordingly. Read more about this triage process below in ‘When you arrive’.

Introducing RAT screening within our emergency departments (ED) allows us to identify easily those patients who need COVID-19 precautions before they enter the ED. It means greater protection for patients, staff, and the community.

Your RAT result helps decide where in the ED you will receive your treatment – it does not change the treatment you receive.

Please be assured you will be triaged as usual by ED staff to assess your condition. If you need immediate care, the appropriate care will be given.

Process for entering the emergency department

• As soon as you arrive, please check in with staff who will be located outside the ED. You will be asked a series of screening questions – please answer truthfully and fully.
• ED staff will direct you to the RAT screening area which has been designed to maximise protection of patients and staff.
• An ED staff member will help you complete the RAT. The result will be back within 15 minutes.
• Continue to wear your mask and maintain physical distance of 1.5m at all times.
• Unless you need immediate medical attention, there will be some delay to treatment until the RAT result is known.
• Once your RAT result is obtained you will be taken into the ED for treatment.
• If you return a positive RAT, staff will register your result (Healthy WA).

If your RAT result is positive for COVID-19, you cannot have any visitors while you are in the ED to protect them against COVID-19 infection. ED staff will implement a special care plan to continue to treat you safely.

If at any time you are unsure of what to do, ask an ED staff member.

See how this new process works

Information for support people accompanying ED patients

In line with visitor arrangements for all public hospitals through WA, please limit the number of people accompanying a person who is coming to the emergency department. Support people will undergo the same screening process as emergency department patients and will be required to show proof of vaccination. Read information for all visitors on proof of vaccination documents and screening processes.

Please do not leave the designated ED areas to access other hospital areas or facilities.

Ambulance arrivals

Ambulance staff will liaise with emergency department staff when admitting patients who have arrived via ambulance.

If you are coming into our Emergency Department, if possible please bring with you:

• your Medicare Card
• any other entitlement cards (health care/pension/veterans’/safety net)
• your passport/health insurance details (overseas visitors/students)
• details of your private health insurance (if you want to be admitted as a private patient)
• your current medications including over the counter medications (or a list)
• any x-rays/ultrasounds/scans that may be related to your condition
• your work contact details if your condition is covered by Workers’ Compensation
• the name of your General Practitioner (GP).

Please see the Triage Nurse first. They will ask questions and assess your condition to determine your level of priority:

• immediate (life threatening)
• very urgent
• urgent
• standard
• non-urgent.

Some patients need to be taken straight into the Emergency Department. Others will be directed to the waiting room.

While you are waiting, please inform the Triage Nurse if:

• your condition worsens
• you decide to seek treatment elsewhere.

Once you are inside the Emergency Department, you will undergo a thorough assessment by a team of nursing and medical staff.

Tests and procedures will be carried out when necessary. The team will review your test results and provide emergency treatment, and will then decide to either:

• allow you to return home with a referral if necessary for further care (such as a follow-up appointment with your local doctor or an outpatient appointment)
• monitor your condition for a few hours before making a decision
• admit you to the hospital for further care.

Sometimes patients must wait for test results or for a ward bed to become available. This may cause unavoidable delays in the Emergency Department. Our staff will continue to care for you until you are able to go to a ward or be discharged home.

Aishwarya’s CARE Call

Read what to do if you are worried you or the person you care for is getting sicker while in hospital.

Other South Metropolitan Health Service Emergency Departments

Fiona Stanley Hospital

Street address: 11 Robin Warren Drive, Murdoch
Phone: 6152 2222
Read about Fiona Stanley Hospital (external site)

Peel Health Campus

Street address: 110 Lakes Road, Mandurah
Telephone: 9531 8000
Read about Peel Health Campus (external link)

Other metropolitan Emergency Departments

• Armadale Health Service (external site)
• Joondalup Health Campus (external site)
• King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women (external site)
• Perth Children's Hospital (external site)
• Royal Perth Hospital (external site)
• Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (external site)
• St John of God Midland Public Hospital (external site)
• St John of God Murdoch Hospital (external site).

See metropolitan emergency department wait times

WA Health's Emergency Department activity page (external site) provides an up-to-date view of the status of the emergency departments in each of the metropolitan public hospitals.

This site provides current information on the average wait times and the number of patients waiting to be seen.

There are other services available to assist you if you have an urgent medical condition:

• Healthdirect Australia (24-hour health advice) – phone 1800 022 222
• the Mental Health Emergency Response Line (external link) (metropolitan area) – phone 1300 555 788
• the Poisons Information Centre – phone 13 11 26.

Contact us

Street address: Elanora Drive, Cooloongup (external link)
Telephone: 9599 4000
Operating hours: 24-hours