Patient Information

Below is a list of patient information. Simply scroll down and click on a subject for more details

Doctors are in attendance at the clinic from 8am until 7:30pm on weekdays and 9am to 12pm on Saturdays. Each doctor has regular consulting sessions, including one evening per week, and is available on weekends on a rotating roster basis. There is a medical locum service on call after 8pm.

Appointments can be made by phone, online, or by visiting the clinic. We recommend you attend one particular doctor regularly, but please feel free to see any of the doctors according to your needs.

In cases of emergency or if urgent medical care is required, patients will be seen immediately without an appointment.

If patients attend without an appointment for non-urgent care, we will endeavour to see you at the earliest opportunity, although this may entail a longer waiting time.

If you have a complicated problem or more than one problem, please specify when making your appointment that you will require extra time.

Always help us to help you by indicating your needs to the reception staff.

When you arrive at the clinic, please check-in with the receptionist before sitting in the waiting room.

After-hours calls may be provided via the medical locum service on 132 660.

Other services include Nurse on Call 1300 606 024 or local Accident and Emergency Departments at the following localities:

Monash Medical Centre
246 Clayton Road, Clayton
Phone: 9594 6666

Dandenong and District Hospital
David Street, Dandenong
Phone: 9554 1000

Mulgrave Private Hospital
Corner Gladstone Road and Police Road, Mulgrave North
Phone: 9795 7700

Knox Private Hospital
262 Mountain Highway, Wantirna
Phone: 9210 7000

Cabrini Hospital
Wattletree Rd, Malvern
Phone: 9508 1222

Wheelers Hill Clinic is a fully accredited private billing clinic. However, every effort is made to keep fees modest but in keeping with high-quality service. All Government Pensioners & Healthcare card holders are charged a reduced consultation fee with an out of pocket cost of $25.00 Fees for Veteran card holders are charged directly to the Department of Veteran Affairs. 

 

Our current fees are:

  • Standard Consultation is $88.40 (Medicare rebate $41.40)
  • Long Consultation is $153.10 (Medicare rebate $80.10)
  • Prolonged Consultation is $205.00 (Medicare rebate $118.00)
  • Consultations on Saturday do incur a higher fee

We ask that all accounts be paid in full on the day of service and we can arrange for the Medicare rebate to be put into your account within 72 hours.

 

We accept cash, cheque, eftpos, Mastercard or Visa for payment.

 

In addition to the consultation, further costs may be incurred through investigation, procedures, treatments & Care Plans.

 

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, please discuss the situation with your doctor.

If a home visit is necessary, please ring the clinic early in the day, where possible.

The decision to attend a home visit is at the discretion of the doctor, taking into account the clinical situation, availability of a doctor, and the distance from the clinic. Clinic nurses may be involved in assessing the need for a home visit. This will incur an out of pocket fee of $100

In most cases, we encourage patients to attend the clinic if at all possible, phone the ambulance service in an emergency, or use the locum service or hospital Emergency Departments after normal clinic hours.

In an emergency situation always phone the surgery first during clinic hours, and you will be advised of the appropriate action to take.

Outside clinic hours, phone the ambulance service, or take the patient directly to the

Emergency Department of the nearest hospital.

As a general rule, repeat prescriptions are issued as part of a normal consultation. If you have a chronic medical condition requiring medication, we recommend you see your doctor at regular intervals.
 
Repeat prescriptions may be requested by phone. If appropriate, a brief telephone consultation will be arranged with your doctor within 24-48 hrs. This service attracts a small charge, which is billed directly to Medicare, with no out-of-pocket cost.

The best way to obtain your results is at the next appointment with your doctor.

If your doctor is concerned that your results are significant, they will call you, or ask a staff member to contact you and organise an appointment with them to discuss your results.

If you do not hear from us but you are concerned, please make an appointment with your doctor to discuss the results and ongoing care.

Many people prefer appointments. These are available and encouraged, but urgent testing can be organised by your doctor immediately after your consultation if required.

We appreciate that your time is very valuable. Therefore, we strive to keep waiting time down to a minimum. However, emergencies and unexpected medical complications force us to deviate from our appointment schedule occasionally. This is the unpredictable nature of general practice.

Many of the longer consultations can be predicted ahead of time. If you consider that a longer than usual consultation will be required, please ask for extra time when making your appointment. In this way, patients can help each other to reduce waiting times.

Please call the clinic if you expect to be delayed, if you cannot attend, or if you wish to check if the doctor has been delayed.

For the benefit of patients attending in the surgery, we try to avoid interruption to consultations unless the problem is urgent. In most cases, the practice staff will be able to help you with an enquiry. If you need to speak to the doctor we will return your phone call or ask you to make an appointment for a consultation.

Our doctors strongly encourage prevention rather than cure and recommend regular periodic medicals at all ages. We often send reminders for health checks. We can add reminders at your request.

We constantly strive to provide you with the best possible care and attention. If you have any suggestions or are unhappy with any aspect of our service, please mention this to your doctor or a member of staff, who will be more than happy to listen to your comments.

Suggestions for improvement may be left in the box provided in the waiting room.

If any complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction, you may contact:

Health Complaints Commissioner

26/570 Bourke St Melbourne 3000. 

Free call 1300 582 113 or

Email: hcc@hcc.vic.gov.au

Children are just as important as adults and may have special needs. A dedicated children’s area is set aside in the waiting room with a desk and chairs. Children are often less able to accommodate to unexpected delays, so it may help to check that the doctor is on time just before you come to the clinic or ask when you arrive. Our reception staff can guide you as to the best time to attend the clinic and so minimise your waiting time.

We are strong advocates for regular screening tests for all our women. Cervical Screening Test (previously called a pap smear) should be carried out every 5 years and a Mammogram is recommended 2 yearly from the age of 50 (or 40 in certain circumstances) until 75 years.

Many men neglect their health. We encourage regular checkups especially regarding prevention or early detection of heart disease and cancer. Many of the risk factors for disease are not associated with symptoms and may require specific examination or testing e.g. blood pressure, cholesterol, prostate tests, and skin checks.

When bringing psychological issues to your doctor, please book a longer appointment time.

Preventive Health Assessments require a longer appointment. Please let the receptionist know when you book that you need a longer appointment for the assessment.

The clinic is equipped with a ramp for easy access and disabled bathroom facility for people with disabilities.

Warts/Papillomas and sunspots can easily be treated on-site with liquid nitrogen. Deeper skin problems such as moles and cysts can usually be removed under local anaesthetic at the clinic.

We also suture wounds and set fractures in the surgery.

All surgical instruments used for procedures are either disposable or sterilised by autoclave.

A screening Audiometry test for hearing loss can be performed by our staff, if you are concerned about your own, or your child’s hearing.

We also have an on-site audiologist for more detailed hearing tests.

This test is used to diagnose asthma and other respiratory diseases, as well as to monitor improvements in control of your condition. Our staff are experienced in performing Spirometry. Results are available immediately after the test. Please make an appointment for the test and see your doctor to discuss the results.

Results are electronically stored in your file, and a copy provided to you if you require it.

Treatment is available at the clinic specifically to help manage pain. The Allied Health specialists at the clinic can also help. Techniques used include medication, physiotherapy, massage,

relaxation training.

We strongly encourage patients to stop smoking and will offer you as much help, and support as is necessary. A variety of strategies is available. Ask your doctor about government subsidies for nicotine patches or other medication to help to quit smoking, as part of a comprehensive smoking cessation program with your doctor or other service.

For many years, Wheelers Hill Clinic has been involved in teaching medical students and training doctors for a long-term career in general practice. These doctors have considerable medical experience and bring new ideas and fresh perspectives to the practice.

We always request our patients’ permission to involve students in medical consultations. Your decision to accept or reject such involvement will have no effect on your medical care.

All the doctors are involved in ongoing education as part of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners program of Quality Assurance and Continuing Professional Development.

We are committed to the highest standards of care for our patients. Consultations, medical records, and patient test results are kept strictly confidential in accordance with National Privacy Regulations.

Wheelers Hill Clinic is required to meet rigorous standards of practice and is recognised as an accredited general practice by AGPAL (Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited).