Information about how to visit the Royal Melbourne Hospital as a media representative, enquire about patient condition updates, request interviews, plus media on-call hours and more.

Contacting the Communications team at the RMH

The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) Communications team should be the first point of contact for all media enquiries and requests relating to all the RMH locations.

The Communications team can assist with a range of media enquiries, including:  

  • Patient condition updates
  • Interviews with RMH staff
  • Escorting film crews and photographers
  • Permission to film on hospital grounds

Media enquiries

We provide a media service from 6am to 10pm each day. Journalists are welcome to contact our media advisor on-call via the RMH Switchboard on (03) 9342 7000.

During business hours, journalists can email mh-communications@mh.org.au. We do not respond to emails outside business hours.

Media enquiries after hours

We offer an after-hours media service that operates seven days a week from 6am to 10pm. Calls made outside of these hours will not be received or responded to.

To use our after-hours service, call the RMH Switchboard on (03) 9342 7000 to be put in contact with the media advisor on-call. Calling ensures we can respond in a timely manner.

Please do not email about patient condition requests.

Enquiring about patient condition updates

The privacy and safety of our patients, their families and staff are our main priority.

When providing information about a patient to the media we are guided by the Health Services Act 1988 at all times. This legislation limits the amount of patient information we may release without written consent from a patient or, when appropriate, their next of kin.

Without expressed and informed consent, we are unable to provide information about a patient’s injuries, clinical care or prognosis. 

When providing a patient condition update, we categorise the condition using the following descriptions: 

  • Stable
  • Serious
  • Critical

Note: Due to patient privacy we cannot verify or provide any patient details such as a name, age or injuries.

Information we need from you

To provide you with the correct condition of a patient, we need the appropriate details and information to ensure we are referring to the same person.

Information such as:

  • Nature of injuries
  • Location of incident (suburb, street or freeway name)
  • Time incident happened, or time brought to hospital 
  • Condition the patient was brought to us in (stable, serious, critical)
  • Gender and approximate age

If our team is able to identify the patient for you, we will provide a condition update. However, we are not able to confirm a name, age, or any other details about that person.

Note: If a patient’s next of kin requests that we do not release a condition, we will not do so.

Patient or family interview requests

Interview requests to individuals on the RMH property for media purposes must be done through the Communications team.

Our team will not approach the patient or their relatives for any media opportunities on the day of their admission. It is important for us as a health service to ensure our patients and their family feel safe and secure when in the hospital.

For more information on patient or family interview requests, contact the Communications team via the Switchboard on (03) 9342 7000.

Request to film at the Royal Melbourne Hospital

If you are looking to film or photograph a helicopter landing, contact the Communications team as soon as possible. Key information required from our team is:

  • Where is the helicopter coming from?
  • What time are you expecting it to arrive?

From there we’ll be able to see if Security is available to escort the film crew. It is important to note that Security may be called away and may not be able to facilitate this request – this could happen at the last minute, even after approval.

Film crews must be respectful of the privacy of patients, their family members and carers at all times. 

Contact the Communications team if you wish you film at any one of our locations. We will consider and fulfil requests where possible.

Live crosses

If you wish to do a live cross out front of the RMH, consider the following:

  • Notifying the RMH Communications team before a live cross to ensure security is aware
  • Live crosses are often done out front of the main entrance on Grattan Street, or out front of the emergency department entrance
  • Please be mindful both entrances are frequently used by our patients and families, so please be respectful of patient privacy
Staff in scrubs being photographed outside the RMH Parkville main entrance
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