Flowers to Box Hill Hospital, Melbourne
A Box Hill florist makes up the bouquet and takes it to Arnold Street. Ring the ward first: intensive care and several other units at Box Hill accept no flowers.
Box Hill Hospital is the public hospital of Melbourne's eastern suburbs, run by Eastern Health. Its main entrance is Building A at 8 Arnold Street, Box Hill VIC 3128, the clinical services building that opened in August 2014 after a 448 million dollar redevelopment; Building B on Nelson Road holds outpatient clinics, and Upton House and the adolescent inpatient unit sit on Thames Street. The hospital has about 621 beds covering emergency, intensive care, general and specialist medicine, surgery, maternity and mental health services for children, adolescents and adults. It first opened in 1956. Florists in Box Hill, Surrey Hills and Blackburn deliver there daily.
Which building and which ward
The single most useful thing you can give the florist is the ward name, because Box Hill has three buildings and a private hospital, Epworth Eastern, directly opposite at 1 Arnold Street. Inpatient wards are in Building A, reached from the Arnold Street entrance where there is a drop-off bay; the florist hands the bouquet to the ward clerk. Mental health inpatients may be at Upton House on Thames Street, which has its own entrance. Write Box Hill Hospital, Eastern Health, the ward, and the patient's full name, and the bouquet goes to the right desk first time.
Eastern Health's visiting rules by ward
Eastern Health publishes visiting guidance rather than a single set of hours. On adult inpatient wards two visitors at a time are welcome. The postnatal ward allows two adults, with visiting hours of 8am to 8pm so parents and babies can rest. The special care nursery and the paediatric ward admit two parents or guardians until 8pm, with one parent able to stay overnight on paediatrics. Mental health services, including the adolescent and youth units, place no restriction on visiting but ask you to contact the service first. Florists deliver in business hours and the ward brings the flowers to the bed.
Where flowers are refused at Box Hill
Eastern Health has no published hospital-wide flower ban, so ward staff decide. The pattern is the same as at other large public hospitals: no flowers or plants in intensive care or coronary care, none for patients on chemotherapy or with low immunity, and nothing scented in shared rooms where another patient may be allergic. The special care nursery takes no flowers; a small arrangement for the mother on the postnatal ward is the alternative. On the mental health units at Upton House, glass vases are often not permitted. Ring the ward before you order and ask the direct question.
What works on a Box Hill ward
Rooms in Building A are mostly four-bed bays with a narrow locker each, so a compact arrangement in its own water-holding container is right; nobody has time to find a vase. Gerberas, alstroemeria, tulips and chrysanthemums last well and carry little pollen. Leave lilies out. A medium bouquet with a short, cheerful card is better received than a large one that has to sit on the floor. Add your own mobile number so the florist can ring you if the patient has been discharged.
Timing an order in Melbourne
Same-day delivery is available Monday to Saturday when you order before 2pm on a weekday or 10am on a Saturday, Melbourne time; to a hospital, same day is never guaranteed, because the ward sets the pace. Public hospital stays are short, so if the patient is due home within a day or two, the home address in Box Hill, Blackburn or Mont Albert is the safer choice. Bouquets start at around AUD 75 and the delivery fee is added at checkout.
Did you know? Box Hill Hospital opened in 1956; its current clinical services building at 8 Arnold Street opened in August 2014 after a 448 million dollar redevelopment.
Frequently asked questions about flowers to Box Hill Hospital
Can I send flowers to Box Hill Hospital?
To most adult wards and to the postnatal ward, yes. Intensive care, coronary care, the special care nursery and units treating patients with low immunity do not accept flowers, and mental health units may refuse glass vases. Ring the ward first, and name the ward and Building A on the order.
How do I avoid the bouquet going to Epworth Eastern across the road?
Write Box Hill Hospital, Eastern Health, 8 Arnold Street, Box Hill VIC 3128, with the ward and the patient's full name. Epworth Eastern is the private hospital at 1 Arnold Street. The hospital name and ward are the details the florist relies on, more than the street.
What suits a new mother on the Box Hill postnatal ward?
A small, low-scent arrangement in a container with its own water: spray roses, gerberas, alstroemeria. Visiting hours there are 8am to 8pm, and most mothers go home within two days, so if the birth was a day or two ago, send to the house instead. The nursery itself takes no flowers.