Inpatient clinic
Once a referral is received by us, a decision is made as to whether an inpatient or outpatient assessment is required. This is done in consultation with the referring doctor and the patients and their family or carer.
An inpatient assessment is often preferable if multiple different assessments and tests need to be done or for more complex referral cases. Such assessments may sometimes take months to organise if done as an outpatient and can be very difficult if patients are from regional and rural regions of Victoria, or interstate.
Patients will be admitted to the inpatient clinic for a comprehensive assessment over about two weeks.
Inpatient assessment allows us to undertake a range of multidisciplinary assessments in a short space of time, speak with patients and family and provide feedback by the end of the admission or upon discharge (to discuss discharge planning, and treatment recommendations beyond the clinic). The assessments which will occur during an admission include assessments by clinicians with many years of experience and expertise across neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, mental health nursing, social work, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.
The types of assessments and tests which may occur are described below.
The team, headed by Professor Dennis Velakoulis, meet twice weekly (Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon) in the ward rounds to discuss patient management plans, observations, and assessments to date.
Contact the inpatient clinic here