All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
This is one of the hardest appointments to make, and there are a few things that make it easier. Tap each one.
Four things worth knowing
You can come in simply because you have been wondering about it. Nobody will tell you what you have or push you towards a conclusion you have not reached. Working out whether it is a problem is a legitimate reason to book.
“I'm not sure if it's a problem — I'd like to talk it through.”Withdrawal from heavy regular drinking, and from some sedatives, can be genuinely dangerous without medical supervision. This is an important reason to see a doctor before stopping rather than after.
“I've been drinking a lot daily — is it safe to stop on my own?”The amounts matter medically, not morally. Understating them can lead to a withdrawal plan that is not safe. Doctors are not shocked and are not counting anything against you.
“Here's roughly what I'm actually using.”History, health, what you want, and what the options are. You do not have to tell reception what it is about — "a few things to go through" gets you the time.
“I'd like a long appointment, please.”Open any of these for what it involves. General practice is a starting point for all of it, and a referral point where specialist services are the right next step.
Alcohol
What happens An honest assessment of how much and how often, what it is doing to your health, and what your options are — including whether stopping safely needs medical supervision.
Drinking that has gradually increased is far more common than the dramatic version people picture, and it does real damage quietly — liver, blood pressure, sleep, mood and cancer risk among them.
If you drink heavily every day, do not simply stop on your own. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous and needs a plan.
Prescriptions
What happens Support where sleeping tablets, benzodiazepines or opioid painkillers have become something you cannot easily stop — with a plan to reduce safely rather than abruptly.
This frequently begins with an entirely legitimate prescription. Nobody here regards it as a moral failure, and the approach is medical rather than disciplinary.
Reducing these needs a gradual, supervised plan. Stopping suddenly can be unsafe and usually fails, which then feels like a personal failure when it was a planning problem.
Other drugs
What happens Assessment of what you are using and how it is affecting your health, sleep, mood and daily life — and practical options, including referral to specialist services.
Some people want to stop, some want to reduce, and some mainly want to know what it is doing to them. All three are reasonable reasons to book.
Where mental health and substance use are tangled together, which is common, both are addressed rather than one being made a condition of the other.
Both together
What happens Assessment and treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma and sleep problems alongside substance use, because separating them rarely works.
A great deal of drinking and using is an attempt to manage something else — anxiety, insomnia, trauma, grief. Treating only one half tends to leave the other driving it.
A Mental Health Treatment Plan gives you Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions, and psychology is available here at the practice.
Family
What happens An appointment for you, about how someone else's drinking or drug use is affecting you — and what support exists for both of you.
Living with someone else's substance use is exhausting and isolating, and it takes a genuine toll on your own health.
Your GP can talk through what services exist, what is realistic, and look after you in the meantime. You do not need their permission or their involvement to come.
This is the question that stops most people booking, so it is worth answering directly. Tap a card.
Your medical record is confidential, and this is part of it.
The limits are the same as for any medical information.
If you would prefer to talk to someone anonymously first, the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline is free on 1800 250 015, 24 hours a day.
Tap any card for what that part of the visit involves.
Ask for a long appointment. You do not have to tell reception what it is about — "a few things to go through" is enough.
Flip backYou can say it out loud, or hand over a written note, or start with "I don't really know how to say this". All three work.
Flip backHow much, how often, how long, and what has changed. Asked to work out what is safe, not to form a view of you.
Flip backBlood pressure, weight, liver function and other tests where they are indicated. Often the first objective picture anyone has had.
Flip backIf stopping abruptly would be dangerous — with heavy daily drinking or some sedatives — that shapes the plan before anything else.
Flip backStopping, cutting down, or just understanding it. The goal is yours, and the plan is built around the one you actually have.
Flip backMedication where it helps, counselling, specialist services, and a mental health plan where something underneath needs treating too.
Flip backBooked before you leave. This is managed over months rather than settled in one appointment, and the follow-up is where most of it happens.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list. You are welcome to hand it over rather than say any of it out loud.
This is ordinary general practice work. Filter by who you would rather see, and ask reception for a long appointment.
Our GPs hold general registration with AHPRA. Areas listed are special interests within general practice rather than recognised specialist registration. Every one of our doctors provides this. If the GP you usually see is booked, any of the others can help — your records are shared across the practice, so nobody is starting from scratch.
Pick your situation and what you're coming in for. We'll show you what to expect before you book.
What are you coming in for?
Figures shown are what you pay at the clinic for the appointment itself. Medicines, devices, imaging and specialist fees are set elsewhere. Reception will always confirm the cost with you before anything goes ahead.
Yes. What you tell your GP goes into your confidential medical record and is not shared with family, employers or police. The exceptions are narrow and the same as for any medical information — a serious and imminent risk to life, a child at risk, or where the law compels disclosure. Your GP will tell you if any of those arise.
Simply discussing it with your GP does not trigger any report. There are specific legal obligations around fitness to drive for certain conditions, and your GP will tell you clearly if any apply to your situation rather than acting without telling you.
Not always. Withdrawal from heavy regular drinking can be genuinely dangerous and occasionally life-threatening, and the same is true of some sedatives. This is one of the strongest reasons to see a doctor before you stop rather than afterwards.
That is your decision. Some people want to stop, others want to cut down, and others mainly want to understand what it is doing to them. All three are reasonable, and the plan is built around the goal you actually have.
Yes, on weekdays, for patients with a valid Medicare card, including long appointments and mental health plans. Weekend arrangements differ, so please check with reception. Some specialist services have their own fees.
No. This is a medical problem with medical treatments, and doctors see it constantly. Nobody here will lecture you, and nobody will be shocked by an amount.
That is a perfectly good reason to book. Working it out is part of what the appointment is for, and you will not be pushed towards a conclusion you have not reached yourself.
Yes, and it is more common than people think — it usually starts with an entirely legitimate prescription. The approach is a gradual, supervised reduction with alternatives put in place, not an abrupt stop.
Yes. Book an appointment for yourself and talk about how it is affecting you. Your GP can also tell you what services exist for them, and support you in the meantime. You do not need their involvement to come.
Yes. The National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline is free on 1800 250 015, 24 hours a day, and will connect you to services in NSW. Lifeline is on 13 11 14 if you are distressed. In an emergency, call 000.
Everything after that is a medical conversation like any other. If it helps, write it down and hand the note over rather than saying it out loud.
A confidential conversation with a GP about alcohol, medicines or other drugs, including which withdrawals need medical supervision and local support services. You do not need a label to book.
We are in Salamander Bay Shopping Centre with free parking, and patients come from across Port Stephens and the Tomaree Peninsula, including Nelson Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Lemon Tree Passage and Medowie.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
