Only 11 hospitals in Perth handle emergencies – do you know which ones?

Would you know where your nearest hospital is in an emergency?

Not every hospital in Perth has an emergency department that accepts emergency patients. It’s important to know the location of your nearest hospital with an Emergency Department in Perth, as heading to the wrong one can seriously delay the process of being seen and treated, which in some cases can be a fatal mistake.

In addition to this, some incidents and medical events should be treated at an Urgent Care clinic, which is also different to a hospital’s Emergency Department.

Keep reading this article to find out where your nearest Emergency Department and/or Urgent Care clinic is, so that you can feel confident to act in an emergency situation.

 

When should you go to the Emergency Department?

You should only go to the emergency department if you need immediate assistance for life-threating injuries and illnesses. This can include things like:

  • Chest pain
  • Stroke
  • Loss of vision
  • Severe bleeding
  • Head trauma
  • Breathing difficulties
  • Severe burns
  • Poisoning
  • Seizures
  • Numbness or paralysis
  • Unconsciousness

Our HLTAID011 Provide First Aid and CPR course covers training for all of the above, including how to provide life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation to casualties who are unconscious or not breathing while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

 

When should you go to an Urgent Care clinic?

If you have an injury or medical condition that is non-life threatening, you should go to your nearest Urgent Care clinic. These conditions include:

  • Cuts or wounds that require stitches
  • Vomiting and diarrhoea
  • Fever
  • Animal bites
  • Sporting injuries
  • Sprains and strains
  • Neck and back pain
  • Allergies
  • Foreign objects in eye or nose
  • Rashes or minor burns
  • Fractures
  • Soft tissue infections

Our HLTAID011 Provide First Aid and CPR course covers training for all of the above, including how to initially treat wounds and animal bites, intercept allergic reactions, and soothe burns prior to seeking further medical treatment.

 

Locating your nearest emergency hospital or Urgent Care clinic

There’s a small number of emergency hospitals in Perth and surrounding areas, including the following:

  • Armadale Hospital (Armadale)
  • Fiona Stanley Hospital (Murdoch)
  • Joondalup Health Campus (Joondalup)
  • King Edward Memorial Hospital For Women (Subiaco)
  • Peel Health Campus (Mandurah)
  • Perth Children’s Hospital (Nedlands)
  • Rockingham General Hospital (Rockingham)
  • Royal Perth Hospital (Perth CBD)
  • Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (Nedlands)
  • St John of God Midland Public Hospital (Midland)

In addition to the above, the following hospitals treat paediatric emergencies:

  • Armadale Health Service (Armadale)
  • Fiona Stanley Hospital (Murdoch)
  • Joondalup Health Campus (Joondalup)
  • Midland Hospital (Midland)
  • Peel Health Campus (Mandurah)
  • Rockingham General Hospital (Rockingham)

As for Urgent Care clinics, there are a good number of these conveniently located around Perth. Here are some of the major clinics in highly populated areas:

  • Clarkson Urgent Care Clinic (Clarkson)
  • John Urgent Care Joondalup (Joondalup)
  • Medicare Urgent Care Clinic Midland (Midland)
  • North Street Medial Centre (Midland)
  • John Urgent Care Midland (Midland)
  • Perth City Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (Morley)
  • John Urgent Care Osborne Park (Osborne Park)
  • Beeliar Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (Beeliar)
  • John Urgent Care Cockburn (Cockburn)
  • Get Better Doctors After Hours Clinic (Cockburn)
  • GP After Hours Walk In Clinic (Cockburn)
  • Lagoon Medical Centre (Cockburn)
  • Leeming Medical Centre (Leeming)
  • St John Urgent Care Cannington (Cannington)
  • John Urgent Care Armadale (Armadale)
  • Rockingham Medicare Urgent Care (Rockingham)

 

Hospitals without Emergency Departments

Non-emergency hospitals focus on providing care for non-urgent medical conditions (such as elective surgery, less severe illnesses and routine checkups).

 

Which conditions require professional, medical treatment?

HLTAID011 Provide First Aid and CPR equips you with the skills and confidence to respond to medical emergencies quickly and effectively.

However, there are many situations where you should still visit an Urgent Care clinic, or arrange transport to an Emergency Department. Some of these situations include, but aren’t limited to:

 

Wounds

There are four different types of wounds a person can acquire, and depending on the wound, it may need stitches or glue to stop bleeding.

In most cases, avulsions will always require surgery to repair so Triple Zero (000) should be called so that the Emergency Department can treat the wound accordingly.

In other cases, puncture wounds and lacerations may require stitches at an Urgent Care clinic, and abrasions should not lead to infection if treated accordingly with First Aid training.

 

Burns

There are three severities of burns that a person can acquire, and burns can also be received in different ways.

Minor burns will only affect the surface layer of skin and can usually be treated at home with First Aid training, or can be treated at an Urgent Care clinic if it affects second layers of skin.

Severe burns should be treated as a medical emergency. If the burn goes deeper than the skin and covers more than 20 percent of an adult’s body (10 percent for a child), then it should be considered a severe burn.

 

Breathing difficulties

Shortness of breath could have a wide range of causes—from asthma or allergic reactions, to heart attacks or choking incidents.

All of these are covered in our HLTAID011 Provide First Aid and CPR so that you know how to identify the cause of a symptom and treat it accordingly.

Regardless of cause, always call Triple Zero (000) immediately if you encounter a casualty experiencing breathing difficulties as they need to visit the Emergency Department.

 

Allergies

Allergic reactions can vary in severity, from rashes to anaphylactic shock.

In minor cases, a trip to Urgent Care may be necessary, but in severe cases where a casualty has trouble breathing or becomes unconscious, they will need to visit the Emergency Department.

Our HLTAID011 Provide First Aid and CPR training can equip you with life-saving skills to administer an EpiPen in the event of a severe allergic reaction, which can be the difference between life and death while paramedics arrive.

 

Fractures, sprains and strains

From shattered knees to broken arms and everything in between, all injuries of this variety should be treated by a professional.

Our HLTAID011 Provide First Aid and CPR training will teach you how to create a temporary splint so that the casualty can be transported to the appropriate clinic for further treatment without causing additional damage to the impacted site.

Different types of injuries will require different splint techniques, so it’s important to undergo proper First Aid training to ensure you’re prepared for every situation.

 

Keep your First Aid and CPR training up to date

First Aid and CPR Training provides life-saving skills that can keep Urgent Care incidents and conditions from progressing to Emergency Care.

Not to mention that skills like CPR and knowing how to administer speciality medications (e.g. EpiPens) can be the difference between life and death while paramedics arrive.

Enrol in First Aid and learn the life-saving skills that will help you step up in an emergency. Head to www.aits.edu.au/course/HLTAID011-First-Aid to book online today!