- Operating Hours
Monday & Friday
8.30am – 4.30pm
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
8am – 4.30pm
Saturday & Sunday
CLOSED
Policy
Management of Personal Health Information
The practice has strict guidelines on confidentiality, patient consent, consent for a 3rd party to obtain information, transferring of health information and access and security of personal health information.
It adheres to the The National Privacy Principles Act and the Health Records and Information Act.
Communication Policy
There are multiple ways in which the practice communicates with patients and third parties. Communication can occur through the following channels:
Face to face
This can be via consultation with your doctor or nurse or interactions with other staff members. i.e.: Practice Manager or reception staff.
Telephone
Patients are able to contact the practice via telephone between the hours of Monday 9am – 5pm.
Please note we are closed on public holidays.
As the first point of contact, receptionists must review the triage support guide to ensure they are correctly assessing patient’s needs and concerns. Receptionists will often need to ask questions to determine that the patient receives the most appropriate care, at the most appropriate time.
Phone calls from patients requesting to speak to the doctor will not generally be put through at the time of the call. This is to minimise disruption to the doctor as they are usually in consultation with another patient and respectfully not wanting to interrupt their consultation. Doctors may take phone calls if time permits.
Reception staff will ask the patient to briefly explain the reason for the call and will determine if the doctor should be interrupted or if a message can be given to the doctor to return the call at a later time. This may be throughout the day or after the doctor has finished consulting for the day. Where clinically significant information is discussed, a note will be made in the patient’s file.
Fax
Faxes received that are patient related are imported directly into the Doctor’s inbox which is then put into the patient’s file. These are then reviewed and actioned by the doctor. Any urgent patient related faxes are immediately handed to the doctor or if that doctor is not available another doctor in the practice will review the fax. All non-patient related faxes are given to the relevant staff member.
All outgoing faxes will be sent to the relevant place on request from the doctor and then saved into the patients file with a note detailing where it was sent and by whom.
Email is not a secure form of communication and we do not use this to communicate personal information to patients without their consent. Whilst we make every effort to keep your information secure it is important for patients to be aware of the risks associated with electronic communication, in that the information could potentially be compromised and accessed by someone other than the intended recipient. Patients must be aware that any communication they direct to the surgery via email is also NOT secure and confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. Patients communicating through email do so at their own risk.
If you do choose to contact the surgery via email this will be considered as patient consent to reply via email.
We endeavour to reply to all emails within 1 business day. Our emails are checked on a regular basis, however they are not constantly monitored. If you have an issue that requires urgent attention, we request that you contact the practice via telephone.
Please note that the email addresses are not monitored 24/7.
If you want to book an appointment, please either call the practice or book online.
Strictly no clinical information or results, or clinical advice will be given over email.
SMS
SMS messages are sent for a variety of health management purposes.
These may include:
– Appointment reminders – a reminder message will be sent the day prior to your appointment.
– Health reminders (e.g., cervical screening/care plans/Immunisations etc)
We need to ensure that your mobile number is up to date at each visit to ensure that this information is sent to the correct number. Patients must be aware that if another person can access their mobile phone, then the confidentiality of these communications cannot be protected by the practice.
Walk-In Services
Chittering Health Centre does offer a walk-in service with some exceptions. The wait time for walk-ins varies and depends on how on time the Doctors are running. Please note we will refuse walk-ins if the Doctors are running late and do not have the capacity to fit in walk-In patients. We also charge a $25 out of pocket fees for walk ins. Same day appointments are available within our opening hours. To book an appointment you can call the surgery, or you can come in and enquire when the next appointment is available. You can book appointments online via our websites or via HotDoc.
Home Visits and Out of Hours Services
Our Medical Centre provides a locum service for those patients who require a home visit after hours. During the clinic opening hours, the practice GPs will offer home visits at their discretion. Doctors will offer home visits when it is appropriate, depending on circumstances and considering safety of all staff. To obtain a home visit during clinic hours it needs to be safe and reasonable for the GP, and within a 5km radius of the clinic. When the patient is triaged and a home or other visit is deemed neither safe nor reasonable, a telephone consultation will be offered.
For urgent care outside of our opening hours you contact the following:
Joondalup Health Service on (08) 9400 9400
Telehealth Services
We also currently offer telehealth phone consults with our GP’s. If you are unable to get in to see your doctor or have symptoms of COVID 19 we can do your consult over the phone.
Please call our reception team and ask for more information or to book an appointment online. Please note you must have attended the practice within the last 12 months to qualify for a telehealth visit.
Post
Letters are often sent offering services available to eligible patients and for health reminders and recalls for patients who do not have a mobile number or who have opted out of our electronic messaging system.
Incoming mail is collected and opened each day. Letters received that are patient related are directly imported to the doctor’s inbox which is then saved to the patient’s file. These are then reviewed and actioned by the doctor. All remaining letters are provided to the addressee.
Social Medica
Our social media pages update practice information and health promotions.
This page, however, is intended for announcements only by Chittering Health Centre and not for the provision of individual medical advice. This page is not regularly monitored for comments. If you have any queries or questions, we ask that you please contact the practice via telephone.
URGENT RESULTS
Your doctor or the practice nurse will attempt to contact you immediately via the contact details supplied. If our attempts at contact are unsuccessful, a letter will be forwarded to your address to contact us urgently for an appointment.
NON-URGENT RESULTS
Our nurse will contact you via phone to advise that you need to make a non-urgent appointment to see your doctor. If our attempts to contact you are unsuccessful, a letter will be forwarded to your address to contact us for a non-urgent appointment.
If your results are NORMAL we will NOT contact you. You are welcome to phone us to check if your results have been returned to us, but you will have to make an appointment to discuss these results. At no time are results provided to you over the phone due to confidentiality laws.
Patients are contacted for recalls and reminders. If our attempts at contact are unsuccessful a letter will be forwarded to your address to contact us for an appointment.
Confidential information is not included in these letters. All personal information is stored on a program specific, encrypted computer data base.
CONTINUOUS EDUCATION
The practice is committed to supporting the doctors, nurses and administration staff to participate in on-going education.
DID NOT ATTEND (DNA) AND CANCELLATION POLICY
Due to the high demand for appointments and the high number of non-attendances and cancellations for GP appointments, we will charge a fee of $40 per standard consultation or $80 for a long consultation if the appointment is not attended or cancelled within 4 hours of the appointment time.
If this account is not paid, a letter of suspension of services and the outstanding account will be issued. This letter will see your access to all services suspended until accounts are paid. There may also be the possibility of permanent suspension from the practice at the doctor’s discretion for repeat offenders.
We have many wasted appointments every day and by introducing this policy we hope patients will consider cancelling their appointments so that others may access them if required.
If you have any concerns, please speak with our reception staff.
APPOINTMENTS
Please phone us on 08 9576 1091 for an appointment.
If you need more time with the doctor, please tell the receptionist when you make your booking. Urgent medical problems will always be dealt with promptly.
TELEPHONE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
Electronic Communication is available via email at reception@chitteringhealth.com.au. All personal emails are stored on a program specific encrypted computer data base system.
For after hours medical attention, please contact the following or alternatively seek the nearest Hospital Emergency Department:
In the event of an emergency, please phone 000
SJOG hospital Midland – Phone: (08) 9462 4000 Address: 1 Clayton St, Midland WA 6056
SJOG hospital Joondalup – Phone: (08) 9400 9400 Address: Grand Blvd &, Shenton Ave, Joondalup WA 6027
After hours clinic – Landsdale Medical Centre – 6.00pm – 9.00pm Monday to Friday / Saturday & Sunday – 9.00am – 6.00pm Phone: (08) 9302 5600
PATIENT FEEDBACK
Your feedback is important to us and patient feedback forms are available at reception. Alternatively forward your comments
Email: reception@chitteringhealth.com.au
If for any reason you are not satisfied with the service you have received and do not wish to discuss this with us, the following information is for the state health complaint agency:
The Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO)GPO Box B61
Perth WA 6838
Phone: (08) 9323 0600
Fax: (08) 9221 3675
Country Free Call: 1800 813 583
Privacy Policy
Our privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient, on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties. You can view our privacy policy by clicking on the link below: