We understand the importance of maintaining a safe environment for both our patients and staff. We regularly review and adjust our COVID-19 policies to ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of everyone at our facilities.
COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) is an ongoing public health issue. Our infection prevention teams closely monitor COVID-19 trends in both the community and our facilities, and adjust our COVID-19 settings as appropriate.
Our current settings and policies are guided by:
- The number of COVID-19 cases in the community
- The number of RMH staff with COVID-19
- Our vaccination levels
- The effectiveness of the measures in place
- How sustainable the measures are long-term
Mask-wearing at the RMH
Patients and visitors may request a face mask from our health services entrances and wards.
In some high-risk areas of the hospital such as the haematology department, patients and visitors may be asked to wear a face mask.
See Visitors and visiting hours for more information about visitor requirements and restrictions.
COVID-19 screening
All staff and visitors to our residential care facilities Cyril Jewell House and Boyne Russell House must complete and present a negative rapid antigen test (RAT) before entering.
In the event of a COVID-19 outbreak, we may limit or restrict visitors to these sites.
Hand hygiene
Good hand hygiene is one of the most effective ways to minimise the risk of all healthcare-associated infections.
All staff, in both clinical and non-clinical areas, are required to complete hand hygiene education. Our hand hygiene auditors track and report on staff compliance with our hand hygiene standards.
Learn more about our hand hygiene performance.
Air filtration
We have portable HEPA air filters available in all clinical areas across our sites.
We have several negative pressure conversion units installed in rooms across multiple wards at the RMH Parkville. These units provide a negative pressure with HEPA-filtered air to direct air from the room away from the corridors. This helps to keep staff and other patients safe from patients with transmissible respiratory diseases such as COVID-19.
Staff COVID-19 cases
We maintain a high vaccination rate among staff for both COVID-19 and influenza (flu).
Staff who test positive to COVID-19 must report their positive result so our infection prevention team can track and manage cases across our facilities.
At the RMH, our priority is the safety of our patients, staff and visitors.
If you have feedback or concerns about your experience with our services, email consumerliaison@mh.org.au or fill out our online feedback form.