Key messages

When a patient presents to an emergency department or urgent care centre, they should be given the best available information.

This updated fact sheet helps ensure clinicians and patients have access to easy-to-read information about different emergency conditions.

Give this fact sheet to your patients when discharging them from an emergency department or urgent care centre.

Download our fact sheet  to provide your patients with easy to follow guidance on snake bite.

This fact sheet has the #withconsumers tick from the Consumers Health Forum of Australia

A snake bite occurs when a snake uses its fangs (teeth) to try to inject you with snake venom. Snakes are most likely to bite you in self-defence (for example, if someone is trying to harm or capture them).

There are three venomous snakes found in Victoria – brown, tiger and red-bellied black snakes. Snake bite is uncommon in Victoria, and envenomation (potentially life-threatening poisoning from the bite) is rare. Each year in Australia one to four deaths are caused by snake bite.

Patient fact sheet

Get in touch

Centre of Clinical Excellence - Acute
Safer Care Victoria
Emergencycare.clinicalnetwork@safercare.vic.gov.au
Kids Health Info fact sheets - Royal Children's Hospital

Page last updated: 15 Jan 2021

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