Practice Information
Welcome to our Family Practice
We are a group of General Practitioners and staff dedicated to providing comprehensive medical care for individuals and families. We are committed to providing our patients with the highest quality preventative and treatment care and service to ensure a healthy lifestyle for our patients.
Consulting Hours:
Monday-Friday 8.00am-5.30pm
Thursday 9.00am-5.00pm (except Thursdays)
Saturday 8.30am-12.00pm
Sunday/Public Holidays CLOSED
After Hours: Please phone GP Access on 1300 130 147. For emergency treatment phone the Ambulance service on 000, or go to the nearest Accident & Emergency Department.
Appointments:
You will need to make an appointment to see a doctor.
We are unable to accommodate walk in appointments. Please make a separate appointment for each person attending. We allocate 15 minutes for an appointment. Longer consultations are available on request. If you are a new patient or think that you will require longer than 15 minutes with the doctor, please notify the receptionist when you make the appointment.
Whenever possible, appointments are available for booking on the day, however they may not always be with the doctor that you usually see. Another doctor in the practice will be able to assist you.
You should attend your appointment at the arranged time. If this is not possible please phone the surgery as soon as possible so it can be offered to another patient.
SMS Appointment reminders are sent the day before as a free service.
Training Practice/Medical Education:
We sometimes teach medical students and you may be asked to see your doctor with a student present. You will always be asked beforehand if this is acceptable and you may refuse to have the student present.
Personal Changes:
Please let us know if you change your name, address or telephone number
ACL Pathology
ACL Pathology Service is co-located within our practice. Appointments are not necessary and referrals from other providers are accepted. Please note, this service is independent of Elermore Vale General Practice
ACL’s Hours of Operation Mon- Fri 8.00am to 4.00pm. Thursdays 9.00am-5.00pm
Fees and Payment:
Payment is required at the time of the service being provided. We have credit card and Eftpos facilities available. It is not our policy to Bulk Bill. We offer discounted fees for pensioners and Health Care Card holders. If financial difficulties are a barrier to attending please discuss this with your doctor. Private patients can have their Medicare claim forwarded electronically by the surgery at the time of payment. You should register with Medicare to have your refund deposited directly into your bank account to access this. The clerical staff may be able to assist. Our consultation fees are displayed in the waiting room and fees for additional services (eg ECG) are available from Reception. If you are referred to another doctor or specialist you will need to ask that doctor about their fee structure. Pathology and X-Ray services may also charge a fee for their services.
Concerns and Inquiries:
We welcome constructive comments and suggestions. Any inquiries or concerns that you may have about the practice should be addressed to the practice manager or the doctor concerned. If you have an issue that you feel needs addressing by an outside body, then contact The Health Complaints Commission Ph. 02 921974444.
Language Difficulties:
Interpreter services can be arranged for non-English speaking patient. Auslan interpreters can also be arranged for people with hearing difficulties. Early warning of the need for these is essential so that they can be arranged at a suitable time.
Home Visits:
These are available during surgery hours for regular patients of the practice, if your condition prevents you attending the surgery. Please notify the receptionist as early in the day as is practical so that the doctor can arrange their time accordingly.Doctors will only make a visit to regular patients of our practice in their homes, in nursing homes or hospitals:
* where it is safe and reasonable
* if their patients are acutely ill, immobile, elderly or have no means of transport to the practice
*if they live within a 3 km radius of the practice
*the visit is scheduled and confirmed by the doctor
After Hours Arrangements:
For after hours medical attention, please phone the GP Access on 1300 130147, or for emergency treatment phone the ambulance service on 000 or go to the Accident and Emergency Department of the nearest public hospital. If you phone the surgery when it is closed, our answering service will provide you with details of after hours services.
Telephoning Doctors:
The doctors may be contacted by phone during surgery hours. The receptionist will put you through if it is an emergency, otherwise leave a message and the doctor will contact you when available, usually at the end of that session.
Old records:
Paper medical records are kept for seven years (or until a person turns 25, whichever is the latter) after the last visit to the surgery. After this time they are destroyed.
Travel Vaccinations:
Please arrange an appointment at least 8 weeks before your planned departure.
Your responsibility:
Patients are responsible for their own health, and the health of their children and you should co-operate with the practice in endeavouring to keep you healthy. The doctors give professional help and advise. Please act on it. Many problems can be solved by advice alone, therefore you should not always expect a prescription.
Practice Nurses:
The practice has four nurses who provide additional support. There will be occasions when you will see a nurse for simple procedures such as vaccinations and wound dressings. The nurses may also be involved in your general health care.
Emergencies:
Appointment times are set aside each day for emergencies – please advise our receptionists if you consider this applies to you. Our clerical staff have procedures they will follow, which may include advising you to go straight to the hospital
Medical Procedures:
Our reusable instruments are Autoclaved (sterilised) at a local hospital and sterile packs are used for procedures.
Privacy & Confidentiality of Patient Files:
Your medical record is a confidential document. It is a policy of this practice to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff. If you are referred to another doctor or health provider (eg specialist) or your doctor collects a specimen and sends it to pathology, then your doctor has reason to consider that you are giving implied consent to passing necessary information to the other health provider or laboratory. As a patient of this practice you have the right of access to any information we hold concerning you. Should you wish to access this information please ask for our hand out entitled “Accessing Your Medical Records”.
Patient information may be shared between the general practitioners, nurses, allied health providers and non-clinical staff for the purpose of managing your health. This information will only be used to fulfil our staff's duties, in the course of planning and managing your health care.
Recalls and reminders:
The practice has in place a recall and reminder system to ensure follow up of conditions and regular health checks (eg cervical screening (pap smears), immunisation etc).There are also state based reminder systems/registers. Your Doctor may seek your consent before placing your details on a formal reminder system for preventative care recalls but we also operate under an opt-out policy. This means that you will be added to an appropriate list unless you request otherwise. A request to be removed from a recall list may be made at any time by advising your doctor.
Test Results:
The majority of test results are now downloaded electronically and checked by the doctors at the first opportunity. Patients whom the doctor considers need to be seen urgently or in the near future will be contacted either by the doctor or a clerical staff member. You should always phone the surgery for your results, preferably in the afternoon. Please note that some test results can only be provided to you by the doctor.
Informed Consent:
Our doctors and nurses inform their patients of the purpose, benefit and risks of proposed treatment or investigations directly instigated by the practice, not those resulting from referral. We believe that patients need to receive sufficient information to allow them to make informed decisions about their care.
Difficult patients:
Our practice has zero tolerance to violence or threats of violence. Any form of verbal or other abuse is completely unacceptable behaviour. Patients should not attend the surgery under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol as this is also unacceptable. If you are rude or aggressive to our staff this will be noted. In repeated cases you may be asked to find a new surgery. In extreme cases, security or the police may be called.
Feedback and Suggestions:
Your feedback is very important to us.
If you have any suggestions, ideas or any concerns you can either:
speak with your GP or Nurse,
speak with our Practice Manager
let our reception staff know
write us a letter
fill in a patient feedback form and place it in the Suggestions box in the waiting room.
If you feel you would like to take your concern further or you feel that you would like to discuss the matter with a third party outside of the practice you may wish to contact the
NSW Health Care Complaints Commission
Locked Bag 18 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
Phone: 1800 043 159 or online by visiting www.hccc.nsw.gov.au
Our Team
Our Doctors
Dr Julie Bartlett (Practice Principal)
Dr Tim Berwick
Dr Andrew Davey
Dr Jeff Flaherty
Dr Gemma Halliday
Dr Danielle Knipe
Dr Kristy Lane
Dr Julie Mallinson
Dr Amy Noakes
Dr Jennifer Sharwood
Dr Sally Sweeney
Dr Sally Verheul
Dr Anne Williamson
Our Nurses
Michelle Burton
Linda Fawaz
Deborah Parker
Kim Tennant
Our Administrative Team
Marion Redpath (Practice Manager)
Alannah Brown
Lissa Cardew
Nicholle Cliff
Jane Foster
Leanne O’Brien
Tracey Parkes
Angela Pryor
Contact Us:
Elermore Vale General Practice
Ph: 02 49517677 Fx: 02 49 502265
a: Shop 10-13 Elermore Shopping Centre
Croudace Road, Elermore Vale NSW 2287