How this practice actually runs.

We are accepting new patients, and you do not need a referral to see a GP. We are an appointment-based practice, though we do our best to accommodate walk-ins where we can.

If this is your first visit, please arrive at least ten minutes early so reception has time to register you properly, or ring ahead and ask about completing your registration before you come in.

What to bring to your first appointment

• Photo identification
• A current Medicare card, plus any concession, pensioner or DVA card
• A list of your current medicines, or simply bring the boxes
• Any recent letters, discharge summaries or results from a hospital or specialist — helpful, not essential
• WorkCover patients: please notify your employer and bring their contact details so payment can be arranged

Health assessments, complex problems, skin checks, minor procedures and wound care all need extra time. Ask reception for a longer appointment when you book.

Book online through HotDoc, or ring reception on (02) 4008 4400. Standard appointments are around fifteen minutes. If you have more than one thing to raise, say so when you book and reception will set aside a longer slot. It is the single most useful thing you can do to make an appointment go well, and it costs you nothing extra.

Opening hours

• Monday to Friday: 8:00am – 5:30pm
• Saturday and Sunday: 8:30am – 2:30pm

Phone lines open at 8:30am on weekdays and 9:00am at weekends. Appointment availability and hours can change — the position at the time you contact reception is the one that applies.

Standard GP consultations are bulk billed on weekdays for patients with a valid Medicare card. Please present your current card at reception at the time of your appointment. Weekend arrangements differ — please check with reception when you book.

Services that Medicare does not cover attract a private fee. Where that applies, reception will tell you the amount before your appointment. You will not be surprised by a bill on the way out.

The kinds of things that usually attract a fee

• WorkCover and third-party insurance consultations
• Pre-employment, insurance and driver medical assessments
• Medical reports and letters prepared for a third party
• Travel vaccines and some consumables
• Transfer of records from another practice, where that practice charges for it
• Patients without a valid Medicare card

Not sure whether your appointment is bulk billed? Ring reception on (02) 4008 4400 and ask. They would much rather tell you beforehand.

Appointments are in short supply and a missed one is an appointment somebody else needed. If you cannot make it, please give us as much notice as you can — a phone call frees the slot for another patient, often the same morning.

A did not attend, or DNA, is an appointment you do not come to and do not cancel. It is the one thing we cannot fill at short notice, and it is the main reason someone else waits longer than they should.

Missed appointments are recorded on your file. Where they happen repeatedly, a practice fee may apply before a further appointment can be booked. A fee of this kind is not a Medicare service, so there is no rebate and it cannot be bulk billed. Reception will tell you the current amount and the number of missed appointments it applies from.

Cancelling costs nothing, however late it is. Ring reception on (02) 4008 4400, or cancel through the same booking system you used to make the appointment. Even fifteen minutes is usually enough for us to offer the slot to someone waiting.

If something genuinely unavoidable came up, tell reception. They would rather hear the reason than apply a fee to someone who was in hospital, or stuck without a phone.

Calls for a doctor go to our practice nurse in the first instance, or the nurse will return your call as soon as she can. She will discuss it with your doctor and arrange a call back where that is needed.

If your doctor has asked you to ring, let reception know and they will either put you through or take a message for the doctor to return your call.

Keep an eye on your supply and book before you run out rather than on the last tablet. An appointment is required for all repeat prescriptions so your GP can review what you are taking and prescribe appropriately.

It does not have to be a long appointment, and for stable medicines a telehealth consultation often works. Electronic prescriptions are sent to your phone and can be filled at any pharmacy.

Some medicines are restricted under NSW regulations and require an in-person appointment. Reception can tell you which applies to yours.

Results are discussed in a booked appointment rather than read out over the phone, so there is time to explain what they mean and what happens next. Book the follow-up when the test is ordered and it is already in the diary.

Every result that comes in is reviewed by a doctor. We will contact you about anything urgent straight away. Systems are not perfect though — if you have had a test and heard nothing, please ring us rather than assuming all is well.

Reception are not permitted to give clinical results over the phone. It is a safeguard rather than obstruction: a number without explanation is how people are frightened by nothing, or reassured by something that needed attention.

Telehealth is available for existing patients. Medicare generally requires that you have had a face-to-face appointment with one of our doctors in the previous twelve months, so if you are new to the practice your first appointment needs to be in person.

If you have a cough, cold, sore throat or fever, please ring us and ask about a telehealth appointment rather than sitting in the waiting room.

Telehealth suits results, scripts, referrals and follow-ups. Anything that needs examining — a chest, an abdomen, a lump, a rash, an ear, a blood pressure — is better in person.

In an emergency, call 000. Do not wait and do not drive yourself.

For urgent care that is not an emergency, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222, staffed by registered nurses at any hour, or use the National Health Services Directory at healthdirect.gov.au to find an after-hours service near you.

If you need an emergency department, go to your nearest. Reception can tell you which that is for where you live, and healthdirect can advise at any hour.

Home visits may be arranged in certain circumstances, by prior arrangement with your regular doctor and within our local area. Ring reception to discuss whether it is possible for your situation.

If someone is in severe pain, badly unwell, or you are worried about their safety, call 000 rather than waiting for a visit.

Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to maintain the security of personal health information at all times, and it is accessed only by authorised staff for the purpose of your care.

Your information is not shared with your employer, your family or anyone else without your consent, except in the narrow circumstances required by law. If you would like a copy of your own record, ask reception.

The full detail is set out in our privacy policy.

Electronic medical information is transmitted in encrypted form using secure messaging software. Diagnostic correspondence and results are forwarded to the relevant doctor and marked confidential.

Patient information is only sent by email where it is securely encrypted. We do not accept clinical enquiries or requests by email, and we do not send patient information to personal email addresses. For anything sensitive, please ring reception.

If you need help with communication — a language interpreter, for instance — tell reception when you book, or on arrival. A phone interpreter may be available.

Several of our doctors speak a language other than English, including Arabic, Dari, Farsi, French, Hindi, Italian, Mandarin, Pashto, Punjabi, Russian and Spanish. Ask reception if you would prefer to see one of them.

For an Auslan interpreter, tell reception when you book and we will help arrange one.

We would genuinely rather hear it. If something has gone well, telling us means we keep doing it. If something has not, please raise it with reception, with our Practice Manager, or in writing, and give us the chance to put it right.

We will acknowledge your complaint, look into it, and let you know the outcome. If you are still not satisfied, you can take it to the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission, which is independent of this practice, on 1800 043 159 or at hccc.nsw.gov.au.

We run a recall and reminder system for screening, immunisations and care plan reviews, because the whole point of preventive care is that it happens on time rather than when someone remembers.

You may receive a text message, phone call or letter inviting you to book. If you would prefer not to be contacted this way, tell reception and we will note it on your file.

Please keep your contact details current. Out-of-date details are one of the more common reasons a recall does not reach the person it was meant for.

The practice uses social media to share health information and practice news. It is not a way to contact us about your care.

We do not discuss any patient's care on social media, we do not respond to clinical questions there, and we do not confirm whether someone is a patient of the practice. If you send us a message about your own health, we will ask you to ring reception instead.

Comments that identify a patient, or that are abusive or misleading about health, may be removed. Our staff are asked not to accept friend requests from patients on personal accounts, which protects both them and you.

You can expect the practice to:

• Treat you with respect, courtesy and without discrimination
• Give you information about your condition and your options in a way you can understand
• Involve you in decisions about your care, and respect the decisions you make
• Seek your consent before examining or treating you, and stop if you ask
• Offer you a chaperone for any examination
• Keep your information confidential and secure
• Give you access to your own health record on request
• Tell you what something will cost before it happens
• Take a complaint seriously and respond to it

We ask in return that you treat our staff and other patients with respect, arrive on time or let us know, give us accurate information about your health, and tell us if you do not understand something. Aggressive or abusive behaviour towards staff or other patients is not accepted and may end the therapeutic relationship.

The practice maintains written policies covering the areas set out on this page. Printed copies are available at reception — ask and we will print or email you whichever one you would like.

• Privacy of personal health information — how we collect, store and protect your health information. Published in full in our privacy policy.
• Using social media in our practice — how the practice and our staff use social media. Summarised under social media above.
• Your rights as a patient — what you can expect from us, and how to raise a concern. Summarised under your rights as a patient above.
• Patients from non-English speaking backgrounds — how we arrange interpreters and communication support. Summarised under interpreters and support above.

If you would like a copy of any policy, or want something on this page explained, please ask reception or contact the Practice Manager.