Hospitals see patients in the order of how clinically urgent your condition is. This means, we see patients with the most serious or life-threatening illness or injury before we see patients with less serious problems.
We provide 2 types of surgeries, day surgery and inpatient surgery:
- Day surgery is when you come to the hospital for a minor surgical procedure, and leave the same day.
- Inpatient surgery is when you stay in the hospital overnight, or possibly longer, after the surgery.
Surgery appointments
We try to see patients for their scheduled appointment or surgery on time. However, if there's an emergency, we may have to reschedule.
When this happens, we'll let you know as soon as we can. We'll set up another appointment at the earliest time we have.
Getting ready for your surgery
Preparing for surgery can feel hard if you do not know what to expect.
Go to the Queensland Government website to find out more about:
- hospital care before, during and after going to hospital
- what to expect for an operation or surgical procedure.
Your appointment letter might also include some important information for you to make sure you're ready for surgery on the day. For example, the time you need to arrive, where to go and other important instructions. Please make sure you follow these, this will help make sure your appointment can go ahead.
Find out what to expect if you're staying in hospital or contact your hospital using the contact details in your appointment letter.
Costs
If you have a Medicare card, surgery is free. Bring your card to each appointment.
If you don't qualify for Medicare, you'll need to pay for all services. Find out more about health costs, insurance and financial support.
Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme
If you need to travel to get surgery, you may be able to get financial support through the Patient Travel Subsidy scheme. You may also be able to get the scheme if you had in-patient surgery. Read more about the scheme on the Queensland Government website.