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Balgownie Village General Practice would like to take this opportunity to thank our patients for their ongoing support during the challenges presented by COVID-19.

Now, as we see restrictions start to ease in NSW, it is important that patients start to resume a more normal approach to their ongoing health and medical requirements.

What does this mean for you, the patient?

Our doctors prefer to see patients face to face for many reasons, however, your GP can more readily notice any unusual changes in your health, and/or assess your situation more effectively when you attend an appointment in person.

If, however, you have COVID-like or Gastro symptoms, we can still offer a telehealth appointment under these circumstances.  Telehealth appointments not related to COVID or Gastro are at the doctor’s discretion. If you have any questions, please speak with our receptionist.

We are only taking appointment bookings through our reception desk at this time. Our helpful staff will ask you some quick questions to enable them to offer you a suitable appointment type, day and time.

Please call 02 4285 2630 to make your appointment, our phone lines open from 7.30am Monday to Friday.

If you require emergency medical treatment call 000 to request an ambulance.

#ballygp #familydoctor #gp

Face to Face GP appointments & Telehealth Appointments

BallyGP values the health and wellbeing of all who attend our practice including our Doctors, Patients, Nurses, Staff and Allied Health Practitioners. Due to the ever-changing safety concerns of COVID-19 we are still unable to make face-to-face appointments for patients who have any symptoms that may be associated with the Coronavirus. If you have any respiratory symptoms, please do not attend our practice. We can still book telehealth appointments for these patients and during the consultation your doctor can decide what to do next for you; these telehealth appointments can be booked with our reception staff or online.

Our reception staff are required to ask before they book you in, if you have any symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose, cough, fever, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, if you are unsure, call first on 02 4285 2630.

If the doctor decides to send you for a COVID test – we will organise to send the request forms direct to your preferred lab either Southern Pathology or Laverty Pathology. (You may need to call them to make an appointment). DO NOT come into the practice to collect any forms.

The COVIDSafe app is a tool that helps identify people exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). This helps us support and protect you, your friends, and family.
Find out more on the Government COVID safe app webpage

or Download the app

As of 24^th July 2020. NSW Health have changed their guidelines regarding patients attending a GP practice for appointments.  All patients must now wear a mask when attending our practice for any appointments, as per the poster.

If you have any potential COVID symptoms, do not come into the practice, instead please call and speak to our receptionists who can advise you of the correct procedure.COVID-19  Symptoms may include: fever (37.5°C or higher); cough; sore/scratchy throat; shortness of breath; loss of smell or loss of taste; other reported symptoms can include: fatigue; runny nose; muscle pain; joint pain; diarrhea; nausea/vomiting or loss of appetite.

It is preferred if possible that patient’s provide their own mask, however, we can provide a mask for a gold coin donation. (All donations collected will go to the Wollongong Homeless Hub)

As we head into winter and the NSW COVID-19 restrictions ease, it is important to make sure we look after our general health.

Regular Check-ups are still important!

Patients with ongoing chronic illness & conditions should make time to see their doctor for a regular check-up, however, if you are ill or particularly vulnerable still, the telehealth phone appointment system is in place if you need to use it. It is particularly important for patients with long-term and ongoing health concerns to see their doctor regularly and to complete any necessary follow-ups and testing when it is due.
For all other patients, you can make an appointment to come into the practice to see your doctor, or if you prefer you can also use the telehealth phone appointment system. However, for patients who are not eligible to be bulk billed as a pensioner or government healthcare card concession, regular full Medicare fees apply, just like if you come into the practice to see your doctor. Full consultation fees will apply, at the doctor’s discretion, to non-concession patients as of 8th June 2020.

Telehealth Appointments.

All patients can use the telehealth appointment system to request repeat prescriptions and referrals from their doctor. Patients are expected to collect these from reception once they are ready, except for particularly vulnerable patients whose repeats can be sent to their specialist or preferred chemist.
For patients who are not eligible concession cardholders, when you have your telehealth appointment; once you have finished your consultation with the doctor, unless they choose to bulk-bill you (at their own discretion), please stay on the line and the doctor will transfer your call to reception where our receptionists can process your credit card payment over the phone. As with all Medicare appointments, you will be eligible for the appropriate Medicare rebate, our staff will process this on your behalf and send it to Medicare who will transfer the rebate to the bank account linked with your Medicare card. This process usually completes within 24-28 hours.

Flu-like Symptoms?

While restrictions have been eased, it is important to still remember that if you have any COVID-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, cough, or fever, you MUST NOT attend our practice. Please call and speak to one of our receptionists who can advise you further.
For any additional information regarding this post, fees, appointments, or telehealth appointments, please call us on 4285-2630.

In the case of an emergency please call 000 or go to your nearest Hospital emergency department.

What is a telehealth appointment you may ask?

This is where you book an appointment just like a regular appointment, however instead of coming into the practice and sitting in the waiting room, you wait at home by your phone. When your appointment time arrives, the doctor will give you a call and consult with you in a similar fashion to how they would when you are in their consultation rooms.

It is important to know however, that just like on a regular day, the doctor may occasionally run behind schedule if a previous appointment takes longer than usual. We usually estimate that the call to you will be made within approximately 10 minutes before or up until 30 minutes after your scheduled appointment time. If for some reason, you haven’t received your call within this timeframe and you can’t wait any longer, please contact our reception staff who can reschedule the appointment for you.

Occasionally, your doctor may feel that it is necessary to see you in person following a telehealth appointment. If this is the case, they will advise you of when they need to see you and you will be able to book an in-person appointment to see them. Please note that our doctors are working very hard under unusual circumstances to continue to provide you with the best healthcare solutions possible and we really appreciate your patience whilst we all adjust.

As there have been a lot of changes in our practice over the past few weeks with the COVID-19 restrictions, our practice hours have been a little more variable. If you do need to come in, please contact the practice to confirm our opening hours for the day. Remember: If you have any symptoms such as a sore throat, cough or fever, you must call and let us know before you come in.

Please also note that Southern IML pathology services are NOT currently performing pathology collections from within our practice due to the COVID-19 restrictions and to ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of our patients and staff. If you need to access pathology services, please call (02) 4224 7474 or visit their website for further information.

 

We are still open and seeing patients for essential in-person appointments. Some appointments just can’t wait or need to be done in person. We can still make an appointment for you to come into the practice if needed. If you have any flu-like symptoms you must tell us before coming to the practice. Please call for more information.

Infection prevention and control is everyone’s responsibility.

Please make sure you use the hand sanitiser as you enter and leave our practice to stop the spread of germs and adhere to social distancing rules whilst in our waiting room or at reception. Additional chairs are located outside in the walkway if you prefer.

In-person appointments are still available for

• Childhood Immunisations
• Wound care
• Injections such as Prolia and Vitamin B12 etc
• Other appointments requiring face-to-face consultations

For all other appointments, where possible we are currently providing telehealth/telephone consultations due to the COVID-19 risks. Call the practice or use HotDoc online to make a telehealth appointment. Please note that all repeat scripts or referrals currently require an appointment.

Our practice will be closed over the Easter break – from Good Friday 10^th April and returning Tuesday 14^th April, 2020. If you require a GP during the Easter break you can contact the Illawarra Radio Doctor Service on 4228-5522.

In the case of an Emergency please call 000 and ask for an ambulance.

As there have been a lot of changes in our practice over the past few weeks with the COVID-19 restrictions, our practice hours have been a little more variable. If you do need to come in, please contact the practice first to confirm our opening hours for the day.

Please also note that Southern IML pathology services are NOT currently performing pathology collections from within our practice due to the COVID-19 restrictions and to ensure the ongoing safety and wellbeing of our patients and staff. If you need to access pathology services, please call SouthernIML direct P: (02) 4224 7474 or visit their website for further information. 

The Illawarra Radio Doctor continues to provide medical coverage for our patients in the after-hours period, on weekends and public holidays.

During the Easter break, the Illawarra radio doctor can still undertake home visit consultations for all non-flu/COVID-19 patients. They can also undertake telehealth/telephone consultations for those people who are quarantines or self-isolating due to the COVID-19 risk.

Doctors will be available
Good Friday 10/4/2020 – 24 hours
Easter Saturday 11/4/2020 – 24 hours
Easter Sunday 12/4/2020 – 24 hours
Easter Monday 13/4/2020 – 24 hours

To access the Illawarra Radio doctor service please call 42285522 and have your medicare card ready. Please make sure you advise if you have any flu-like symptoms.

In the case of an Emergency please call 000 and ask for an ambulance.

Firstly, we would like to thank all our patients for their understanding during this ever-changing COVID-19 situation. It has been a difficult time for everyone and ensuring the ongoing health and safety of our Doctors, staff and patients has been our constant priority.

All patients are now eligible to book telehealth consultations with our doctors. If there is a requirement for a doctor to examine a patient in person, this will be arranged as a further consultation. All telehealth consultations will be bulk-billed.

If you do require to come into the practice, please adhere to the following safety precautions:

• Follow social distancing rules when sitting in the waiting room (there are seats located in the walkway outside if you prefer)
• Notify reception of your arrival, however, please remain behind the yellow line when approaching the reception counter
• Use hand rub solution both when you enter and leave the surgery to prevent the spread of germs
• If you have flu-like symptoms – cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever – DO NOT attend the practice. Call first so we can advise appropriate action.

Our HotDoc online appointment system has been modified during this time. Only telehealth appointments can be booked. Either single, double or repeat script/referral appointment can be booked. These appointments will be attended to over the phone with your doctor.  Call 42852630 for all other appointments.

Again, thank you for your understanding as we all adjust to these changes.

If you have an urgent medical concern, please call 000 and request an ambulance.

Patients, Staff and Visitors – Measures we are taking to protect your health.

The Coronavirus is having a considerable affect on all Australians. This is causing disruption to our practice and our regular patient processes. We are committed to keeping our practice as safe and comfortable as possible for our patients, visitors and staff.

In order to ensure the most effective Infection Control and Prevention we have implemented the following criteria.

ALL Patients, Staff and Visitors entering or leaving our practice MUST use hand sanitiser on arrival and departure to reduce the spread of germs.

We are also taking additional measures to clean all contact surfaces at regular intervals throughout the day.

If you have the following symptoms Fever, sore throat, runny nose or cough. DO NOT ENTER the practice. Please call first and speak to one of our receptionists for further instructions or information.  Phone: 4285 2630.

Thank you for helping us to ensure that all our patients continue to receive the highest level of care during this difficult time.