If you have several things to discuss with the doctor or you believe you may need longer (e.g. for medical examinations, health reviews with pap smears, care plans etc), please notify the receptionist at the time of booking, so a longer appointment can be made.

When arriving, please notify the reception staff immediately if you have any emergency concerns, or why you are presenting to our clinic at the time of making an appointment.

Walk-in appointments are welcome, however will be dependant upon doctor availability and wait times. Please understand we will do our best to fit you in where possible.

We do our best to keep our doctors running on time, however due to the nature of the industry, emergencies and late appointments can and do occur.

If this is the case, you will be notified upon arrival so you can decide to wait or rebook for another time. We appreciate your understanding during these times.

We offer a convenient reminder system whereby we can notify patients when they are due for immunisations, Pap smears, blood tests, health checks and any other important follow-up appointments or procedures.

If you wish to be included on our reminder system, please advise your doctor or nurse. Importantly, if you do not want to be included in this system, please tell the receptionist, doctor and/or nurse.

We have a number of very experienced doctors working at Ubuntu Medical. If your regular doctor is not available, please consider seeing one of their colleagues.

All of your patient files and doctor’s notes are stored electronically so any doctor in our clinic can access all of your history.

This means if you can see another doctor sooner than your regular doctor you can reducing the risk of any delays in your health care and management.

Ubuntu Medical is a Mixed Billing practice for general medical and routine consultations. Private fees may apply depending on the service or procedure. All patients will be notified of any fees prior to any service or procedure.

If you are required to pay, our health professionals will inform you of any Medicare rebate or private health coverage that applies.

We request payment at the time of service. We have EFTPOS facilities and Medicare Online, which means that you can pay your account and, if you consent, Medicare will deposit any rebate for your service into your nominated account (usually within 24-48 hours).

Ubuntu Medical understands that there is a need for prompt after-hours medical assistance.

Please call “000” in emergencies or call National Home Doctor on 13 SICK (7425)

Details of your visit will be conveyed back to us to ensure continuity of care.

In special circumstances our doctors will make a home visit. We are best equipped to offer optimal assessment and care here at the surgery, so we suggest every effort be made to attend the surgery.

Some patients with chronic, complex health problems and those with mental health problems may be eligible for Enhanced Primary Care and Ubuntu Medical Allied Health supported by Medicare.

There are also Medicare items for health assessment and prevention activities for people 45-49 and those over 75.

If you believe you may be eligible or require one of these initiatives, please discuss it with our doctors. The assessment and planning will require another appointment, which is usually longer. Please advise the receptionist at the time of booking. A second appointment to complete the process may also be required.

Please note that Medicare guidelines mean that not all patients are eligible for care planning and that there may be an out-of-pocket cost (not covered by Medicare) to you if referred to an Allied Health Provider.

Most prescriptions provide enough medication (repeats included) to last until the condition needs to be reviewed. PBS prescriptions can only be written to last a maximum of six months (one month + five repeats).

For your safety and in order to adhere to prescribing guidelines, we strongly encourage you to plan ahead and to make an appointment to see a doctor to have your condition reviewed and repeat prescriptions written.

The Doctors at Ubuntu Medical DO NOT supply any Narcotics/Benzo prescription drugs.

Referrals to specialists, pathology and radiology testing etc require an appointment.

You must make an appointment to see a doctor for a medical certificate. This includes Centrelink and WorkCover certificates.

“Back-dating” of medical certificates and referrals is not possible under any circumstances.

All patients must return for their test results. This is accepted and safe medical practice. This is particularly the case for potentially sensitive test results such as sexual health/HIV results.

Please make a follow-up appointment with reception when leaving the clinic.

Under no circumstances will results be emailed or conveyed over the phone for obvious privacy and quality assurance reasons.

Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of personal health records at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff.

Your medical file will only be released to a third party upon receipt of a signed, dated request from the third party and yourself. Please see reception for an example of aforementioned form.

Should you require a translator or hearing assistance please inform reception when making an appointment.

We welcome your feedback and comments please feel free to discuss these issues with your doctor or the receptionists. Grievances will be dealt with promptly and if you still feel unhappy with the resolution, you may contact the Health Care Complaints Commission on 1300 362 072