Frequently Asked Questions
APPOINTMENTS . . .
The Practice is open from 8.30am – 8.00pm Monday, 8.30am - 5:00pm Tuesday to Friday and on Saturday from 8:30am – 12pm for urgent appointments only.
Routine, non-emergency matters, are dealt with on an appointment system. You may book online, telephone or call in at time during opening hours to make, or change an appointment.
If you have a medical emergency please tell the staff at the time you ring. We do keep some appointments for urgent matters only each day.
If you feel you may need a longer appointment, or procedure, please let the staff know when making the booking. A separate appointment is usually needed for each member of a family. Please inform staff when booking appointments if more than one family member needs to be seen.
New patient appointments and six-week check ups for mothers and babies require a double appointment, please tell the staff when you book your appointment.
Urgent home visits can be provided and arranged as necessary.
FEES . . .
Standard Consult $93.00 – Pension $83.00
Long Consult (up to 29 minutes) - $150.00 – Pension $130.00
Long Consult (30 to 39 minutes) - $170.00 - Pension $150.00
Repeat Prescriptions: $20.00
SATURDAY MORNING AND MONDAY EVENING APPOINTMENTS
PENSIONER AND UNDER 18 DISCOUNTS WILL NO LONGER APPLY
Standard Consultation $99.00
Long Consultation (up to 29 minutes) $159.00
Long Consultation (30 to 39 minutes) $179.00
We request payment of fees in full at time of consultation. Otherwise, a higher fee is charged. Payment can be made by cheque, credit card or EFTPOS.
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If you are having any difficulty paying your account, please discuss with your Doctor to make appropriate arrangements.
We no longer bulk bill patients under the age of 16 years, however ALL CHILDHOOD IMMUNISATIONS WILL BE BULK BILLED.
Face masks are still required to be worn in the surgery if you have cold or flu like symptoms.
CANCELLATION POLICY
We understand that at times appointments need to be changed. A minimum of 1 hours' notice prior to your appointment is required for cancellation or change of appointment time.
Patients not attending or cancelling their appointment within 1 hour of their scheduled appointment will be charged a non-attendance fee of $40+GST per standard appointment and $80+GST for a long consultation.
No subsequent appointments will be booked until the non-attendance fee is settled and a deposit fee of $70 to book your next appointment is paid.
Fees are charged automatically, if you feel you have an extra-ordinary or emergency circumstances, please notify us.
ONLINE CLAIMING . . .
Blamey Street Surgery offers online Medicare claiming for patients with registered details lodged at Medicare on paid invoices. Rebates are paid directly into the patient’s nominated cheque or savings account within two to three working days (sometimes even sooner).
AFTER HOURS . . .
In the case of an emergency, call 000
Blamey Street Surgery is affiliated with Wagga Wagga GP After Hours Service. The service operates Monday – Friday from 7pm – 9pm, Saturday from 6pm – 9pm and Sunday from 9am – 1pm and 5pm – 9pm. A doctor is available by phone from 9pm – 8am daily. Telephone 69 310 900 The Wagga GP After Hours Service is open all public holidays.
The emergency Department at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital is open 7 days per week, 24 hours per day. Telephone 02 5943 1000
REFERRALS TO SPECIALISTS . . .
Referrals to other doctors and health care providers will be decided between you and your doctor, to meet your agreed treatment program. We cannot provide referrals for matters which have not been discussed with your doctor. Please make an appointment to discuss any matter you think might require a referral to another health care professional or service.
PRESCRIPTIONS . . .
Repeat prescriptions are provided in the course of normal consultations. Your doctor will advise you of when you should return for review of your condition and repeats for your medication.
Generally, prescriptions cannot be ordered over the phone, unless specific arrangements have been made with your doctor. There is a charge for this service – $20.00.
TEST RESULTS . . .
Due to the demand on our GP's time, patients will only be contacted if results require further action. Pathology and Radiology results will be available after your doctor has reviewed them. Please tell the staff when you are ringing for results as this helps us to provide you with prompt attention. Please call AFTER 10am for results.
TELEPHONING YOUR DOCTOR . . .
In general the Doctors in this Group prefer to answer telephone enquiries when they can devote full attention to the matter. This means that, with the exception of emergency matters, doctors will return your phone calls, rather than interrupt a consultation with another patient.
Often the clinical staff will be able to assist with your enquiries and are happy to do so. Please ask to speak with one of the nurses if you are unsure what action you should take.
Please do not send us emails about patient care, as we do not routinely monitor our email for this sort of material and your request may not be answered in a timely fashion.
BILLING ARRANGEMENTS . . .
Payment is expected at time of consultation – cash, cheques, eftpos and all major credit cards are accepted. We are not a Bulk-Billing Practice and we do not have accounts. Additional costs may be incurred if you have extra procedures or tests (your doctor or a receptionist will advise you of this) … most of these are claimable from Medicare. A copy of the doctors’ fees is displayed at the front desk. If you are experiencing difficulty in paying our fees, please discuss this with your Doctor.