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.
Same-day appointments go quickly, and a few small things make a real difference. Tap each one.
Four things worth knowing
Same-day appointments are held back and released in the morning. By mid-afternoon they are usually gone. If you can ring first thing rather than at lunchtime, you will be seen far more often than not.
“I'm after a same-day appointment, please.”People cancel all day long, and those spots go straight back onto HotDoc. Refreshing the app a few times beats ringing repeatedly, and it is how a lot of our same-day patients get in.
“I'll keep an eye on HotDoc for a cancellation.”Reception need a rough sense of what is wrong so they can tell the difference between something that should be seen today and something that can safely wait. Telling them clearly helps you, not the queue behind you.
“Here's what's actually going on.”Insisting on your usual GP is the single most common reason a same-day request fails. Every one of our doctors can see you and all of them are reading the same notes. Continuity matters for the ongoing things, not for a chest infection.
“I'll see whichever doctor is available.”Open any of these for what to expect. If you are not sure whether something qualifies, ring and ask — that is exactly what reception is there for.
Acute illness
What happens Your GP works out what is causing it, whether it needs treating and whether anything needs ruling out. Many of these turn out to be viral, and knowing that with confidence is a useful result rather than a wasted visit.
Fevers, sore throats, coughs, chest infections, ear infections, gastro, urinary symptoms, sinus pain, conjunctivitis. Things that arrive quickly and make you feel genuinely unwell.
Antibiotics are prescribed when they will help and not when they won't, and your GP will explain which of those applies. If it is viral you will leave knowing what to expect and, importantly, what would mean coming back.
Children
What happens A child who is unwell is a priority. Your GP checks the things that matter in children — temperature, breathing, hydration, ears, throat, chest, rash — and tells you clearly whether this is one to watch at home or one to act on.
Small children get sick often and get better quickly, which is little comfort at two in the morning. If you are worried, that is reason enough to ring.
Several of our doctors have particular experience in children's health, including a Diploma of Paediatrics. Ask reception when you book if you would prefer one of them.
Injuries
What happens Sprains, cuts, burns, bites, splinters, minor fractures. Your GP assesses it, treats what can be treated here, and sends you for an X-ray or to hospital where that is what it needs.
A good deal of minor injury work is managed in general practice, which is faster and considerably cheaper than an emergency department for anything that isn't serious.
Tetanus cover gets checked at the same time, which is the part most people have forgotten about.
A change
What happens A symptom you already had that has become different — worse, faster, or accompanied by something new. Your GP takes the change seriously, because change is usually the most informative thing about a symptom.
Pain that has shifted or intensified, a mole that has altered, breathlessness that has come on, a headache unlike your usual ones, bleeding that isn't expected.
Do not sit on these waiting for a routine appointment. Ring and describe the change — reception will make sure the right urgency is applied.
Run out
What happens A short appointment so your GP can review and reissue it. For some medicines your pharmacist can supply a small emergency amount, which buys you time to be seen properly.
Blood pressure tablets, thyroid medication, antidepressants, insulin, inhalers — stopping these abruptly is not a harmless inconvenience.
Do not wait until the last tablet. Ring as soon as you notice you are running low and something can almost always be arranged.
The hardest part of being unwell is deciding how worried to be. This is the honest version. Tap a card.
Anything that is making you unwell but is not threatening your life or a limb.
Some things should never wait for a booking. Call 000 or go to the nearest emergency department.
If you are unsure, ring us and describe it, or ring healthdirect on 1800 022 222. Being told it can wait is a good outcome, not a wasted call.
Same-day appointments work on a rhythm. Once you know it, you will get in far more often. Tap any card.
The day's appointments are released in the morning. The earlier you ring, the more there are. This single habit matters more than everything else on this page.
Flip backCancellations land back on the app all day. Checking a few times through the morning often works better than waiting on hold.
Flip backReception are working out how quickly you need to be seen. Vague answers make that harder and usually work against you.
Flip backAll twelve read the same notes. Holding out for a particular GP is the most common reason a same-day request doesn't come off.
Flip backArrive ten minutes ahead if you can. Same-day lists move fast and an early arrival occasionally slots into a gap.
Flip backSqueezed-in appointments run late almost by definition, because the day is already full. Bring something to read and treat any wait as the price of being seen today.
Flip backTell reception if things change while you are waiting. Someone quietly deteriorating in a waiting room is exactly what they are watching for.
Flip backIf it needs reviewing, book that before you leave rather than starting the same process again in four days.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print it. It gives reception what they need to judge the urgency, and it saves you explaining twice.
For anything acute, the doctor who can see you today is the right doctor. All twelve read the same notes.
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.
Ring (02) 4008 4400 when the phones open, or check HotDoc through the day for cancellations. A number of appointments are held back each morning for people who need to be seen that day.
Yes, on weekdays, for patients with a valid Medicare card — there is no surcharge for being seen urgently. Weekend arrangements differ, so please check with reception.
Ring first wherever you can. We will always help someone who is genuinely unwell, but ringing means reception can tell you whether there is a realistic wait or whether you would be seen sooner somewhere else.
Reception will look at the following morning, put you on the cancellation list and, if it should not wait, talk through the alternatives — including healthdirect on 1800 022 222 for nurse advice at any hour.
Sometimes, but not often. For acute problems the honest advice is to take whichever doctor is available. Your records are shared and none of them is working blind.
For chest pain, breathing difficulty, stroke symptoms, severe bleeding or a child who will not wake properly — yes, immediately, and call 000. For almost everything else, general practice is faster and far cheaper.
We prioritise unwell children wherever we can. Ring early, and tell reception the child's age and what is happening.
Often longer than a booked appointment, because you have been added to a day that was already full. Bring something to read and let reception know if you feel worse while you wait.
Yes, when your GP has assessed you. A certificate follows from a genuine assessment, which is the whole reason an employer accepts it.
Sometimes, for the right problems — but anything that needs looking at, listening to or feeling is better in person. Ask reception and they will tell you honestly which is more sensible.
Those two things get more people seen on the day than anything else. If you are not sure whether it warrants an appointment, ring and ask — nobody minds being told it can wait.
When something cannot wait until next week, appointments are held back each day for people who need to be seen that day. Ring when the phones open or watch HotDoc for cancellations, and walk-ins are seen subject to availability.
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.
From the health journal
