Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What's the catch? Are there any service fees associated with utilising Bed Brokers?
    There is no catch. Bed Brokers aims to place privately insured or compensable patients into the private hospital system. There are no service fees or charges levied by Bed Brokers against the sending hospital.
  2. Who decides the transfer destination?
    We will endeavour to provide both the patient and you the referrer a choice of destination, subject to the availability of private hospital beds within the vicinity of the patient's place of residence.
  3. Does the patient have to be transferred to a 'Participating Private Hospital?
    Yes.
  4. I'm not sure if the patient has adequate health insurance or compensation to be transferred to a private hospital?
    Give us a call. We will organise to check their cover whenever possible.
  5. What is the criteria for determining the receiving specialist?
    Generally, the receiving private hospital will have a specialist on-call to accept patients. If the patient has been managed previously by a particular specialist we will contact that specialist.
  6. Who is responsible for the medical handover of the patient?
    You, the referrer. Bed Brokers acts as an intermediary in order to organise a private hospital bed, and makes the necessary phone calls to secure a hospital bed and a specialist for your patient. We will put the specialist directly in touch with you for you to hand over the medical particulars.
  7. What are my responsibilities?
    All that we ask is that you:
    - Provide us with sufficient details to organise a bed and a specialist for the patient. These details will be held in confidence.
    - Ensure the patient has consented to the transfer
    - Ensure the patient is medically fit for interhospital transfer
    - Notify us immediately if there is a change in the patient's condition or your circumstances that require that you not transfer the patient. That way we can notify both the receiving hospital and the specialist that the transfer has been deferred.
  8. What are the hours of operation for Bed Brokers?
    We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.