From Tuesday, 16 November the internal number for emergencies will change from 999 to 22 22 across all Monash Health sites.
This change is being made in conjunction with the Department of Health to standardise internal emergency numbers across Victoria. Having one internal emergency number improves healthcare worker awareness, particularly for those who work across multiple health services and hospitals and reduces the risk of a delayed emergency response.
It’s important to note that this change is to the internal emergency number only. Those services that use 000 will continue to do so.
We’ll be replacing listings and references to the old emergency number with the new number, including on phone handsets, internal phone directories, ID badges, policies and procedures. We’ll be encouraging adoption of the new number from 16 November but to minimise risk, the 999 number will continue to be run parallel with 22 22 to ensure no emergency calls go unanswered.
We’ll provide you with FAQs and other resources over the coming weeks to ensure you’re ready for the change. For more information, contact the Standardised Emergency Number (SEN) working group: SENproject@monashhealth.org
Approved by Katrina Nankervis