Media enquiries

All media enquiries must be directed to Bendigo Health’s Corporate and Community Affairs team. This includes requests relating to services, staff, patients, research activities, filming, photography, interviews and onsite visits.

The Corporate and Community Affairs team can help with a range of media enquiries, including:

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

A dedicated media service operates daily between 8.30am and 5pm.

• During these hours, media representatives may contact Bendigo Health’s Corporate and Community Affairs team via phone 5454 8526 or by calling the main switchboard.
• Email enquiries to [email protected] are monitored during business hours only.
• Calls or emails received outside the designated hours will not be responded to until the next service period.

Visiting the health service for filming and photography

Media must obtain approval from the Corporate and Community Affairs team before visiting any health service site for filming, photography or live broadcasts.

A Corporate and Community Affairs staff member must accompany media at all times.

Media must follow all safety and quality protocols, including infection control and privacy requirements.

Filming, photography, and interviews require prior written consent from patients or their guardians.

Staff will not be interrupted while performing clinical duties.

Media must use public parking options or street parking in accordance with local signage.

Emergency and restricted parking areas are not available for media use.

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. This legislation limits the amount of patient information we can release publicly.

We are unable to provide a patient’s name, date of birth, injuries, clinical care or prognosis. 

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

• Stable
• Serious
• Critical

Information we need from you

To provide you with the correct condition of a patient, we need the appropriate details, such as:

• Nature of injuries
• Location of incident
• 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.