Appointments

All bookings for consultations are made by appointment. This can be done by phoning the practice or using our online booking system via HotDoc. We ask that you arrive at least 5-10 minutes before your appointment to allow for processing at the front desk. Should you require a longer than the standard 10 minute appointment, please inform the front desk at the time of booking. A longer appointment option can also be selected If you are booking online or via the app.

Urgent cases will be triaged by the practice nurse and an attempt will be made to accommodate the patient with a suitable appointment time. It is not always possible to see the doctor of your choice for urgent cases, as these will often be allocated to the first available doctor.

Whilst all doctors attempt to run by their appointment times, due to the nature of General Practice and the provision for urgent cases, doctors may at times be running late.

Billing policy

As of 1st January 2021, all NEW PATIENTS to the clinic and all CURRENT PATIENTS who have not attended within the last 5 years will be required to pay a FULL PAYMENT for their appointment corresponding to their concession status (there will be no bulk-billing available for children or aged pensioners).

The clinic has a mixed billing policy. All non-concession patients pay a full fee (or gap) at the time of their consultation. There is a reduced fee for concession-card holders. Requested return visits by the doctor for review or follow-up of test results are bulk-billed. Fees are higher for weekend visits.

Our current fees (as of July 2023) for a standard consultation are:

Fees payable by Non-concession card holders are as follows:

Monday – Friday         $88 Full Payment        $47 Gap Payment

Saturday               $93 Full Payment         $52 Gap Payment

Fees payable by Pension & Health Care Card holders are as follows:

Monday – Friday         $83 Full Payment         $42 Gap Payment

Saturday               $88 Full Payment.       $47 Gap Payment

If you are unable to keep an appointment please notify the clinic as early as possible, so that the time may be offered to someone else. A fee of $44.00 will apply if an appointment is not cancelled prior to the appointment time.

Home Visits

Home visits will generally be performed at the discretion of the doctor for our regular patients who are disabled or too ill to travel to the surgery. They should be arranged prior to 10.30am where possible. Home visits will generally incur a full fee.

Telephone Calls

Doctors in the practice may be contacted after 11:00am of normal surgery hours to discuss important medical issues. If the doctor is with a patient, a message will be taken and the reception staff will advise you when it is likely that your doctor will return your call. Your call will always go through to the GP or nurse if in an emergency.

Electronic Communication

Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff. As the internet is inherently insecure in its information transfer, we do not recommend sending your medical information via the internet or email.Where this should be necessary for urgent or important medical care, we will take all necessary security measures (eg. data encryption) to ensure your medical information is safely transferred to those requiring the information.

Results of tests / New prescriptions

Results of any tests performed will generally not be given over the telephone. We encourage you to make an appointment (which is bulk billed) with your doctor to discuss your results. Appointments should also be made for prescription renewals as these should not be generally requested over the phone.

Reminder system

Our practice is committed to preventative care. Your doctor will seek your permission for you to be included in our reminder system. We may issue you with a reminder notice from time to time offering you preventive health check and services appropriate to your healthcare needs. This will include recalls for cervical screening, age appropriate health checks, colonoscopy / gastroscopy procedures, etc. If you do not wish to be automatically included in this reminder and recall system please inform our reception staff.

Things we do

Virtually all aspects of General Practice are covered within our consultations, including the following: General medicine, infant & travel vaccinations, minor surgical procedures, venesections, iron infusions, family planning, shared obstetric care and fertility treatment, hormonal implants, paediatrics, wound care, family and relationship counselling, emergency medicine (including suturing & fracture management), medical examinations (for employment and driving), chronic disease management with an organised team approach, preventative health, palliative care, aged care, forensic medical services and expert opinions.