Media hub

We provide a media service from 8:30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday:
Journalists are invited to contact us to request comments or discuss story ideas. All requests must be submitted by email to media@gh.org.au

After hours we run an 'on call' service for urgent media enquiries only.
Please phone the Ballarat switchboard on 03 5320 4000.
For all other media enquiries during business hours, phone 0466 149 289.

We are the first point of contact for all media enquiries and requests including:

  • Patient condition updates
  • Interviews with patients and staff
  • Providing experts for medical opinion
  • Permissions for filming on hospital grounds

Victorian Department of Health

  • News and alerts
  • 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
    • Discharged (this may mean they have been sent home or transferred to another facility)

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

    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.

    Media interviews can be arranged privately and independently with patients once they have been discharged from Grampians Health. Note that Grampians Health cannot provide patient contact details.

    Media hub