Information for Patients

Facilities and Equipment

Our surgery has excellent facilities including eight consulting rooms, a two-bed treatment room and a large comfortable waiting room incorporating a children's play area.

We use a fully computerised medical record system.
Wherever possible we use disposable equipment which is discarded after a single use. Reusable surgical instruments are cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner and sterilised using a modern autoclave by our fully trained staff.

Parking

Car parking is available at reasonable rates at David Jones and King Street Council Car Park (however, if your appointment is late in the afternoon, check for the closing times). Metered car parking is available in surrounding streets, particularly in the early morning and late afternoon. A disabled parking spot is available directly outside the surgery and a wheelchair is available for patients use, while at the surgery.

Appointments

Our practice uses an appointment system. We book patients at approximately 15 minute intervals. If you feel that you need more time, please ask for an extended consultation. The Medicare rebate for longer consultations makes them a very cost effective alternative for those patients wishing to discuss multiple issues with their GP.

After Hours

All after hours care is now provided by GP Access After Hours. If urgent problems arise after hours and you require medical attention, please phone the GP Access After Hours service for an appointment on 1300 130 147.

Open Surgery

This service is available for urgent medical problems each weekday afternoon between 2.00pm and 4.00pm. Patients already enrolled with the practice will be seen without an appointment by the first doctor available. Patients are seen in order of arrival, except in the case of emergencies. There may be delays.

Home Visits

Our home visit area is Newcastle, Cooks Hill, Bar Beach, Merewether and The Junction. When necessary doctors from our practice visit homes, nursing homes and hostels in the same area, within surgery hours.

Results

Patients will be contacted by KSGP staff regarding abnormal test results when it is received by the doctor. As an extra precaution we would ask that you telephone the practice seven days after your test to ensure that the result has been received and processed.

Referrals

Your doctor will discuss referrals with you when necessary and welcomes enquiries about referrals.

Repeat Prescriptions

In the interest of our patients' health, our doctors will not normally issue a repeat prescription without a consultation. We offer a "Script Only" consultation for this purpose.

Medical Certificates 

The doctor must see a patient who requires a medical certificate. It is a legal document.

Forms

You will need to make an appointment to see a doctor to complete any forms for: RTA, Centrelink, Hospital Admissions etc.

Reminder Systems

We offer enrolment in reminder systems at this practice. Please discuss with your doctor if you would like your name to be placed on any of our reminder systems.

Fees

Our practice does not bulk bill, as we cannot maintain our standard of medical care on the rebate available. However, we do provide medical care for concession card holders at a discounted rate. We ask that accounts be settled in full at the time of consultation. We accept cash, Eftpos, Bankcard, Mastercard and Visa. The current fee scale is displayed in the waiting room. Please ask our receptionist for further details if needed.

Telephone Calls

• For results, contact our reception staff 7 working days after the test was performed.
• Any other query will be handled by our receptionists who will contact the appropriate doctor or nurse if necessary.
• Phone calls cannot be transferred to your doctor whilst they are consulting patients.
• Full consultations cannot be conducted by telephone

GP Registrars

We are fortunate to have registrars completing their postgraduate specialist qualifications while working with us. These doctors are fully qualified and work closely with our senior doctors.

Rights of Patients

King Street General Practice has developed a privacy policy in compliance with the Federal Privacy Act in all areas relating to patients personal information.

All patient consultations and medical records are dealt with in a non-discriminatory manner. The Practice recognises that some patients may have difficulty in asserting their wishes during their visit to their doctor. Doctors are to be alert for and responsive to any indications that the patient has any reservations about their treatment or about the conduct of their consultation.

The Practice recognises patients’ rights to refuse medical treatment or advice.

The Practice recognises the rights of patients to seek a further opinion. Doctors will facilitate this by encouraging patients to discuss their concerns and by inviting patients to have follow-up with their doctor after a specialist’s appointment and by frequent consultation with colleagues, both within and outside the practice.

We encourage patients to work in partnership with the medical staff in management of their health.

Drugs of Addiction

This practice strictly follows the NSW Dept of Health guidelines concerning the prescribing of sedatives, strong analgesics and narcotics.
This means that such drugs will only be prescribed for patients known to the practice doctors.

Visiting patients requiring sedatives, strong analgesic or narcotics are advised to make arrangements with their own doctor.

Medical Students

Occasionally, medical students from the University of Newcastle sit in with our doctors as part of their medical training. The reception staff will ask you to sign a consent form giving your permission for the medical student to be present during your consultation. Please feel free to decline the students presence if you prefer.

Suggestions/Complaints

Although we try our best it is inevitable that from time to time one of our patients will have a complaint about our service. These complaints are very important to us as they alert us to problems with the service we are providing.

If you have any suggestions, ideas or criticisms please notify us by telling the receptionist or your doctor or write them down and place them in the suggestion box in the waiting room.

If you prefer you may contact the:

Health Care Complaints Commission
Locked Bag 18
STRAWBERRY HILLS NSW 2012

Telephone: (02) 9219 7444