
During the global Coronavirus pandemic, our practice is taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our patients and staff. We continue to monitor all health alerts and government restrictions and are acting on the advice from the Australian Government and the Department of Health, together with other professional bodies.
COVID-19 Patient Information
Do I still need to attend in person for my appointment?
When you make your appointment with our receptionist, you will be triaged to determine if you need to attend in person or if the reason for your visit can be attended to via a telehealth (telephone) consultation.
Do I come into the practice on arrival and wait in the waiting room?
If you need to attend the practice for a scheduled appointment, we ask that you telephone us upon arrival to let us know you have arrived.
Why is my appointment via Telehealth?
Telehealth – Where possible we are encouraging patients use telehealth to consult with their preferred GP. Telehealth is a convenient way to have a consultation with a GP in the comfort of your own home. Most Telehealth consultations are provided by phone and do not require web cams or specific programs to be downloaded.
Telehealth is Good for:
-
Chronic Disease Management
-
Repeat Prescriptions
-
Exploring Mental Health Issues
-
Specialist and Allied-Health Referral Letters
-
Discussing General Health Maintenance
Telehealth is Not Suitable for:
-
Conditions where your doctor may need to listen to your chest, heart or lungs, feel your abdomen or observe something on your skin.
-
Procedures including skin lesion excisions, cervical cancer smears, insertion/removal of contraceptive devices or administering injections.
Your Telehealth consultation is private and confidential unless you choose to have someone participate in the conversation. Telehealth consultations are not recorded and are conducted in the privacy of the doctor’s consultation room.
Our response to COVID-19 - What has changed?
Booking Appointments
Currently we have closed our Online Booking Service. This is so that we can triage all patients and advise them of the procedure for their appointment. Please phone the practice to book an appointment.
Face to Face Appointments
If you have a pre-booked face to face appointment with your doctor or a nurse clinic, you are asked to phone the practice from your car or outside and wait until we ask you to come in.
This process is designed to reduce the number of patients in the waiting room.
Please do not attend the practice unless you have a pre-arranged appointment or have contacted the practice via phone.
Waiting Room
You may notice a reduction in the number of chairs in the waiting room.
This is to reduce the number of patients in the waiting room at any given point in time and also to abide by social distancing requirements.
Cleaning
Our practice is following the advice from the Department of Health and have implemented additional cleaning duties.
All frequently touched surfaces (waiting room chairs, door handles, reception desk, EFTPOS machine, doctor rooms, treatment areas) are being cleaned regularly throughout the day with a bleach solution. This precaution is aimed to minimise the risk of transmission of any harmful viruses, moulds, fungus, algae and/or other harmful pathogen.
Protective Screens
To help protect our staff, protective screens have been installed at our practice's reception desk.
How do I stay up to date?
To monitor the NSW COVID Hotspots, see the NSW Government COVID-19 news and updates page:
https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/latest-news-and-updates
Over the Phone:
Call this line if you are seeking information on Coronavirus (COVID-19) or help with the COVIDSafe app. Line is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7).
This line provides information and support to senior Australians, their families and carers. Line is operational Monday - Friday: 8:30 am to 6:00 pm (excluding public holidays).
Online:
-
Australian Government - Department of Health: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Health Alert -
NSW Government - COVID-19
For up-to-date information about our practice, we encourage you to like/follow our Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/tuggerahmedicalcentre) and check our website for updates.
What is Social Distancing?