Personalised care throughout your joint replacement journey

As a leader in orthopaedic joint replacement surgery, the Mater hospital strives to provide our patients with excellent care for their entire joint replacement journey. To continue to provide this high standard of care, the Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Services Department has established the Mater Continuous Care Team (MCCT) to improve your patient experience and our service excellence.

The MCCT is made up of both highly experienced orthopaedic nurses and physiotherapists and has been established to educate, prepare and support all hip and knee joint replacement patients. The team will support you during the pre-operative stage through telephone calls to assist you in preparing for your surgery.

For those patients who discharge directly home, the MCCT will visit you during your hospital stay and then support you for 2 weeks following discharge via telephone calls, with the aim to ‘bridge the gap’ and ensure a smooth transition for you from hospital to home, until your care is taken over by your follow-up physiotherapy teams. The concept is based on evidence that supports pre-operative education, pre-habilitation and post-discharge phone calls in ensuring a positive outcome for patients, and a decrease in adverse events.

How can we help?

We understand that undergoing this surgery is a big milestone in your life, and our Mater teams want to be with you every step of the way. As soon as you book in for joint replacement surgery, we encourage you to get in contact with us.

The team will be on hand to discuss a range of topics with you including the following:

• What to expect for your joint replacement journey
• Any concerns or questions you might have about your upcoming surgery
• Physiotherapy pre-habilitation exercises
• Your options for follow-up outpatient rehabilitation following your surgery

Recovering at home

In line with evidence based practice and global trends, the Mater Hospital and our surgeons are supportive of discharge directly home. Studies suggests greater levels of activity occur in those who are at home completing their ongoing rehabilitation, rather than staying in hospital longer than necessary. This greater level of activity occurring whilst you rehabilitate at home allows you to return to normal levels of function and your desired activities sooner.

The MCCT will help patients to prepare as best you can for your discharge home. It is normal for patients to feel a little worried about going home, and that is why it is important that we speak to patients as early as possible in their joint replacement journey, to educate and empower them for the process.

For patients discharging from hospital directly home, we know it is important to have someone check on you – the Mater Continuous Care Team calls all patients who discharge directly home following joint replacement surgery within 48hours, to ensure our patient's safety and comfort. We will also be on-hand over the 2 weeks following your discharge to answer any questions and address concerns.

Knee & Hip Replacement Guides & Video

For more information about what you can expect throughout the knee or hip replacement journey, read our information guides below, and watch the patient education videos created specifically for our Mater Hospital patients. These videos cover everything you need to know prior to coming in for your joint replacement, what to prepare around your home before you come to hospital, your pre-habilitation exercises, and what to expect during and after your hospital stay.

Get in touch

The team is available during the following hours to assist with your concerns

Monday - Friday: 8am-4pm

Saturday: 8am-12pm

Call: (02) 9900 7475

Email: MCCT@svha.org.au

A member or the Mater Continuous Care Team will call you back within one working day to complete our telephone consultation. 

It is recommended that you read through your patient information booklet thoroughly, in conjunction with the ‘Patient Admission Guide (PDF 3.4MB), and watch the Mater Continuous Care Team video(coming soon). This information will explain:

• How to prepare for your operation 
• What to expect during and after your operation 
• How to prepare for your return home from hospital 

We look forward to supporting you in your preparation for your upcoming joint replacement surgery both physically and emotionally to ensure with a smooth recovery. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Please note: The information provided is only a guide and each person may require differing treatments. It is important that you follow the specific instructions given by your surgeon and treating team.