The practice will be closed on all Sundays and Public Holidays over the Xmas period. Please get organised now to sort out any prescriptions that are due for renewal. You can use our online system to make a request.
Many of our patients are planning to take leave soon as well. We wish you all the best and suggest everyone take the opportunity to get some rest but also to do whatever it is that recharges your energy.
Opening hours are:
Friday 24 December 8.00am-12 noon – Drs John, Jodie, Anna and Patti
Saturday 25 December -Tuesday 28 December– CLOSED
Wednesday 29 December – Friday 31 December 8.00am-12 noon only – Dr Jenny
Under the current Public Health Orders a reasonable excuse for leaving home is for essential medical care. Following advice from NSW Health we are booking all of our appointments as telehealth consultations, unless your presentation requires a face-to-face appointment for clinical reasons. As a default we will talk to you first and then arrange to bring you in for examination.
Telehealth appointments will be billed as per our usual billing policies.
Reasons for coming to the practice include:
immunisations – scheduled childhood vaccinations that are due (not the extras), fluvax and COVID vaccination
antenatal care – later stages of pregnancy only
a health issue that requires physical examination (after phone triage)
We are booking patients for a phone or video consultation first, and we can then arrange for patients to attend the practice if the clinical situation requires a physical examination. Video consultations are easily done through our Automed booking system – you’ll be sent a link to a secure URL to paste into the browser on your computer or device. You do not need to use the Automed app to do this.
The booking system will currently book all appointments as “Telehealth” – this can still be done as phone call if you choose.The booking system requests your card details but will not take payment until the consultation is complete. Holders of Healthcare Cards will still be bulk-billed.
If you have any respiratory symptoms, or are concerned about a potential COVID exposure, you MUST have a phone consult and we can then advise you of the best course of action. Please check our COVID page for all the information about where to get COVID swab or respiratory assessment.
If you need attend the practice the doorway is screened off. Please wait there until someone can attend to you. What we will do at the front door:
ask you to put on a surgical mask
check again if you have any symptoms of concern – flu-like symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc
ask you to check the latest NSW COVID exposure sites and confirm you have not attended any of those
check in with NSW Service app QR codes – this is mandatory as of 12/07/21
your temperature will be checked
use hand sanitiser as you enter the practice
What we are doing to protect you:
screening patients as above
keeping in place all the infection control measures we have had to date – masks, hand sanitiser, cleaning
wearing other protective equipment as required – we have been asked by NSW Health to wear PPE for all face to face consults
ensuring our staff are vaccinated
How Technology is helping (or not!)
Video consultations add an extra dimension to telehealth consultations – observation allows for better assessment of acute illness. If you think your particular problem needs to be photographed you can email to reception@erskinevilledoctors.com.au.
Prescriptions can be sent to your phone or email as an e-script. You can also choose for them to be sent to the phone of someone in your family or emailed directly to the pharmacy.
DHM Pathology have a telehealth service for request forms. Once the request is sent to DHM they will send you an SMS with a link to a barcode and a copy of the pathology form.
Wherever possible we will use secure messaging for referrals, or send directly by fax to so that you don’t have to come into the practice.
If you require something to be emailed to you, we ask that you send that request to reception@erskinevilledoctors.com.au so that we can send it by return email – this is an extra layer of security.
Payments for telehealth appointments can be taken over the phone. We are grateful if you can respond to messages from our staff to pay promptly. Please ask staff if you would like your receipt emailed.
The practice policy is not to write prescriptions or referrals based on telephone requests if you have not attended the surgery in the last 12 months. The doctors appreciate the chance to see you and review your medical issues.
You can request a short phone consultation for a repeat referral or prescription. As at June 2020, Medicare rebates apply for phone consultations.
In some situations the doctor will not be able to write a prescription without reviewing you, for example pain medications or sleeping pills.
If you do not wish to have a phone consultation, administrative charges for the service of reviewing your file and providing a prescription or referral will apply. Extra administrative fees may apply for faxing/posting, or for services provided on the day.
As of Monday 1 March we will be moving to a new online booking system – Automed. Automed has several new features that will help us manage booking, appointment reminders, results and reminders, and online ordering for repeat scripts/referrals.
You can now receive your prescriptions in an electronic version directly to your phone. We can do this either during a telehealth consult or when you are in the practice.
An e-script comes to your phone as an SMS that opens a link to a QR code. The pharmacist scans the code to unlock your prescription. Repeat scripts are sent back to your phone as another SMS. You can save scripts in a Notes folder on your phone or in one of various apps (many pharmacies are creating their own)
If you do not have a Medicare card you will not have an Invidual Health Identifer number that allows us to do e-scripts. You can however apply for one here.
Just a quick update on who will be away in September/October.
We will be closed on Monday 5th October as this is a public Holiday.
Dr Jenny will be away 28 September- 4th October
Dr Annabel will be away 3 – 10 October.
Dr Cara is away from 17 – 31 October.
Dr John is away 15 – 23 October
If your regular doctor is away and you need an appointment please call to discuss with our staff on 9557 2266. They will arrange a time with one of our other doctors, who can hand over care back to your regular doctor if needed.
This week some of the public swab clinics are struggling to keep up with demand, in particular the drive-through clinics at Rozelle and Summer Hill. There are lots of other options, so check the map for what’s closest to you – eg .Canterbury Hospital, Redfern Community Health, the pop-up clinic in Surry Hills.
One of our doctors can provide you with a request form for any of the private pathology companies, and this might be a quicker option. They include a drive-in clinic at Stanmore, and some pathology services at Marrickville and Earlwood. Please call for a quick appointment to organise a request form.
NSW Health recommends that anyone with respiratory symptoms or unexplained fever should be tested for COVID-19.
Relevant symptoms that could be COVID-19 related are fever ≥37.5, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, loss of smell and loss of taste.
Other reported symptoms of COVID-19 include runny nose, muscle pain, joint pain, diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting and loss of appetite.
If you have these symptoms you should stay at home and arranged to get tested.
In particular, we ask you to keep an eye on the hot spots and information about venues in NSW where known positive COVID cases have been traced, and follow the advice here. Note there are businesses listed here in several suburbs in the inner west and inner city, as well as the recommendation to have a low threshold for anyone who has been in the whole of Potts Point.
When attending a COVID swab clinic you should take your Medicare card and/or ID, wear a mask to attend, and be self-isolating before and after attending. This means that you need to wait for your test result until you go to work, shopping, go on public transport, attend the gym or do anything outside of your house that involves interacting with other members of the public. The turnaround time is about 48 hours.
As per the Public Health Order you are required to self-isolate for 14 days if you arrived in NSW from Victoria from 8 July. Call if you need a phone consultation during this period
If you have severe symptoms, like increasing shortness of breath, you should call you local Emergency Department and present there either by Ambulance 000 or taken by a family member. You need to let people know that you fit the criteria for suspect COVID-19 case so that they can treat you appropriately.
For further information, see this link about who to call.
Electronic scripts are now available – we have the technology!
An e-script is a QR token, much like a boarding pass on your phone. This is how it will work:
During a consultation your doctor will offer to send your script as an e-script (QR token)
You can choose to receive it via SMS or email –we will use the details we have on file and check them with you before sending
We will check that you have received the e-script before the end of the consultation.
The script opens on your phone or computer as a QR token
Print the QR token or take your phone to the pharmacy. They will scan the code and dispense your medication
The pharmacy software will generate a new QR token for the repeats
You can also choose to have the e-script sent to an alternative mobile number or email, for example if you need a family member to collect your script.
Not every pharmacy is currently set up to process e-scripts, so it’s worth checking with your preferred pharmacy. You should discuss with your regular pharmacy if they are able to receive the token via email/SMS/app at their end.
Hopefully this will mean no more lost scripts! If you do lose your phone or delete the SMS we can cancel the script and re-issue. We suggest you look at the possibilities of storing the scripts in a file on your smartphone (eg. on an iPhone you can created a folder under the Notes icon and save them there).
If you have fever or any respiratory symptoms, OR have been in a NSW hotspot, OR you have travelled to Victoria in the past 14 days, , you MUST call the practice first for a phone consultation initially. This provides an extra layer of screening and safety for everyone. Your doctor will make appropriate arrangements if you need to be assessed in person.
Given there have been increased COVID-19 cases in Sydney over the past fortnight, we suggest that you opt for a phone or video consultation if you think your issue can be appropriately managed that way. We continue to offer face-to-face consultations for many issues, eg. immunisations, cervical screening, any issue that would warrant a physical examination.
Please note that as of 20 July 2020, the Government has advised that eligibility for Medicare rebates for phone/video consultations will be limited to patients who have attended the practice at least once in the past 12 months. This means that we might suggest a consultation at the practice if we haven’t seen you in the past 12 months, UNLESS we need to screen you out due to symptoms or possible exposure to COVID-19. In those situations we will triage you and make appropriate arrangements.
Attending the practice
For patients attending the practice, we will need to manage our waiting room according to physical distancing guidelines, and allow time for cleaning surfaces between patients. Our waiting room has capacity for 8 people.
Please take note of the following:
. Please bring your own mask
. Let our staff know you have arrived, but you may need to wait outside or in your car until your doctor is nearly ready.
. We will do our best to advise you if there is a delay in your appointment time. We can SMS to let you know when your doctor is nearly ready.
. As you enter the practice please clean your hands and follow any instructions from our staff about where to sit.
. don’t bring extra family members to the consultation if you can avoid it.
We appreciate your patience as we manage the constant changes. Don’t neglect your health needs – if in doubt please call.
