Medical Day Stay

For health professionals

A six-chair medical infusion service for the administration of various short-term infusions that do not require an overnight stay or can be safely administered in a day stay setting.

Our referral instructions and templates page explains how to refer to Mercy Health and provides you with the latest referral forms.

Procedural information

Referrals to this service are assessed against the Statewide Referral Criteria. Please utilise HealthPathways to assist in making the referral. Referrals which do not meet the Statewide Referral Criteria will be declined.

Iron Infusion:

• • IV iron infusions are administered using Ferinject (Ferric carboxymaltose) and can be rapidly infused over a 15 to 20 minute period. It requires a period of 30 minutes post infusion observation.
  • All referrals must contain a copy of the latest FBE and Fe studies (within the last 3 months).
  • Please refer to HealthPathways ‘Iron Deficiency Anaemia‘ or ‘Anaemia in pregnancy‘ for assessment and management guidance including interpreting serum ferritin.
  • Medical Day Stay has strict criteria for iron infusion. As below

Adult Referral Criteria (18 years or older)

Referrals will be accepted only if ALL applicable criteria are met:

One of the following:

• Patient with a chronic condition under specialist management
• Referral is made internally from Werribee Mercy Hospital
• History of a previous iron infusion reaction requiring a monitored hospital setting

AND

• The patient has trialled oral iron supplementation for at least 3 months (or is intolerant of oral supplements) and remains iron deficient

AND

• Low serum ferritin < 30 µg/L OR Serum ferritin <300 µg/L AND transferrin saturation (TSAT) <20% in patients with a chronic disease (e.g. chronic kidney disease, heart failure, inflammatory bowel disease).

Paediatric Referral Criteria (under 18 years)

Referrals will be accepted only if ALL applicable criteria are met:

One of the following:

• Patient with a chronic condition under specialist management
• Referral is made internally from Werribee Mercy Hospital
• History of a previous iron infusion reaction requiring a monitored hospital setting

AND

• Iron deficiency anaemia with:

• • Low haemoglobin
  • Microcytic, hypochromic indices
  • Ferritin <10 µg/L

AND

• The patient has trialled oral iron supplementation for at least 3 months (or is intolerant of oral supplements) and remains iron deficient.

Important Information

• MDS does not investigate iron deficiency or anaemia.
• Unstable or urgent cases should be referred to the nearest Emergency Department.
• Iron infusions are not provided for patients aged 14 years or younger at Werribee Mercy Hospital.
• Pregnant patients should be referred to Pregnancy Day Stay for assessment and iron infusion if required, rather than MDS.

Werribee Mercy Hospital Emergency Department will only accept patients for iron infusion at Medical Day Stay if the above criteria are met.

Blood transfusion:

• If referring for Packed Red Blood Cells or Platelets, referral must include recent FBE results (within the last 7 days).
• Please refer to HealthPathways for ‘Blood transfusion criteria‘

Medical day stay can involve:

• chemotherapy
• blood transfusions and other blood products for various conditions
• administration of various medications, e.g. iron infusions, biological response modifiers

Clinical information:

• Presenting problem and duration of symptoms
• GP diagnosis or provisional diagnosis, if known
• Relevant medical history
• Relevant social history or special needs
• Current medications
• Allergies or warnings
• Physical examination results
• Management to date and response to treatment
• Investigation results (see below)

Investigation results:

• Results of any previous investigations
• If referring for Iron Infusion – must supply most recent Iron Study results.
• If referring for Packed Red Blood Cells or Platelets- must have up to date FBE results.

Additional information:

If booking needs to be done with someone other than the patient, such as next of kin (NOK) for special circumstances, this needs to be specified on the referral form. An interpreter will be supplied on the day of treatment for any non-English speaking background (NESB) patients.

How to prepare the patient

Please ensure all relevant blood results accompany waitlist referral forms, including treatment required and medical history.

What/when you should refer to us

If your patient is requiring a short infusion and is otherwise well.

What/when you should not refer to us

If your patient is acutely unwell and potentially requiring a higher level of care or supervision.

If your patient is non-mobile and requires full nursing assistance with basic care requirements.