Appointments

To minimise delay, consultations are by appointment.

Most appointments take about 15 minutes. If you anticipate your consultation may be longer than this (for example: minor surgical procedures; insurance medicals; counselling, pap screening, RMS forms) please inform the receptionist when you make an appointment.

Longer Consultations are available upon request. Longer or more involved consultations (including first visit) may involve a higher fee (see "Fees"). Enquire at the desk if in doubt. You will only be charged for a longer appointment if you have been given a longer service.

Priority is given to sick patients, and those with appointments.

We do provide a service on Saturdays to cover acute problems which are unable to wait until the next routine working day. We encourage routine matters to be attended to during normal working days.

Appointments cannot be made prior to the day but are required for Saturdays. You need to phone on the day for an appointment time.

Emergencies and Acute illness

Emergencies will be attended to as a priority. If you feel you may have an urgent problem, please phone, or have someone else bring you directly to the surgery during surgery hours.

If an ambulance is required phone 000.

After Hours

One of the Practice's doctors is on call and can be paged: Call (02) 4358 1107 for a recorded message.

All our doctors participate in our after-hours roster on a rotating basis.

The fee for a standard after-hours home visit is from $160.00 payable at the time of service.

Alternatively, call the After Hours GP Hotline on 1800 022 222 or go to Bridges After Hours GP Clinic located in the grounds of Wyong Hospital.

Bridges Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri: 7.00pm - 10.30pm

Sat:  3.00pm - 10.30pm

Sun & Pub Hols:  1.00pm - 6.00pm

Home Visits - for regular patients

Those too unwell to come to the surgery, please call in the morning, and a doctor will attend when possible (usually 1-2 pm or after surgery). There is a fee for this service starting at $95.

Visits can be arranged through your doctor for patients in nursing homes that have previously been cared for by our practice.

Repeat Prescriptions

Please ensure at the time of your consultation that you have enough prescriptions to last until your next visit. There is a fee of $10 for prescriptions written out of consultation provided you have seen a doctor of our practice in the last month and the requested medication is a current medication.

These prescriptions will be available for collection on the next working day.

Authority prescriptions will not be written without seeing the doctor.

If you require your script urgently a $15 fee will apply.

Referrals

An important element of general practice is the provision of continuity of care. To ensure you receive the best continuing care, we need to see you before referral to a specialist.

As all specialists charge different fees, it is best to check with them when making your appointment, as to what out-of-pocket expenses you will incur.

Test Results

It is very IMPORTANT that you phone us for your test results. These are generally available 3 days after your test. Do not assume that your results are OK or that we will contact you.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you receive your result.

If the test is worth having done, it is worth knowing the result.

Please book a follow-up appointment with your doctor if you need to discuss your results.