A man is facing criminal charges after a recording device was found secreted in a toilet at a major hospital.

Police say a phone was found at a restricted toilet for staff inside The Austin Hospital in Melbourne’s northeastern suburb of Heidelberg on July 3.

Investigators believe it was there for “for some time” before workers became aware of the device and reported it to police.

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A 27-year-old Heidelberg West man, reportedly a trainee surgeon, was arrested in a Heidelberg West home on Thursday morning.

He was later charged with stalking and using an optical surveillance device.

The man was bailed to appear at Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on August 29.

A spokesperson for the Austin Hospital said: “We take the safety and wellbeing of our staff extremely seriously and recently made a formal report to Victoria Police.

“As this matter is now with the police, we are not able to share more information about the nature of the report.”