Patient Information

Appointments

Birregurra Medical Centre is an appointment only clinic, with ‘On the Day’ appointments always available. ‘Walk-ins’ will be triaged and accommodated where time is available, urgent/emergency cases will always be given priority. We will always endeavor to assist you as best we can.

Face-to-face appointments are preferable however phone consultations may be available based on a case-to-case basis. We do not offer routine telehealth appointments. Telehealth appointments will be billed privately and are payable on the day of appointment.

If you are unable to keep an appointment, please phone Birregurra Medical Centre as this allows your appointment to be used for urgent patients. Appointments which are missed or cancelled with less that 2 hours’ notice will incur a fee.

Home Visits

Home visits are available (locally) for regular patients of this practice whose condition prevents them from attending the clinic. If you wish for your doctor to make a home visit, please call and discuss this with our reception team. Home visits will be arranged at the doctor’s discretion.

Communication

For confidential and privacy issues any personal or medical information should be discussed either in person or via a phone call. The practice email is birregurrareception@cah.vic.gov.au but please only direct general enquiries here as email is not a secure source of communication. Appointments cannot be booked via email.

Doctors at Birregurra Medical Centre cannot be contacted by phone during consultations, except in emergency situations. Messages will be taken, and your call returned at the earliest opportunity and at the doctors discretion.

Privacy

Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of Birregurra Medical Clinic to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff.

Please ask our friendly staff if you would like a full copy of our privacy policy or click on the link to access our Privacy Policy.

What do you need to bring to your appointment?

Please remember to bring to your appointment:

- Your Medicare, DVA, Seniors or Concession Card

- List of any medications, allergies and any recent test results

If you are a new patient please arrive ten minutes early to fill in a New Patient Form and Patient Consent Form. You can save time by downloading, printing and filling out the forms before your appointment.

Help us minimise waiting time by arriving five minutes early to your appointment.

Fees and Medicare Rebates

We are private billing practice. Payment in full is requested on the day of consultation (if you are unable to pay on the day please discuss with the reception staff prior to the consultation.) We accept cash, cheque and EFTPOS.

Script only appointments are available at the doctor’s discretion and a fee will apply.

Consultation Length	Upfront Fee	Medicare Rebate	Out of Pocket
Standard (Less than 20 min)	$90	$42.85	$47.15
Long (21- 40 min)	$140	$82.90	$57.10

Podiatry – Matt Payton

Consultation Type	Upfront Fee	Medicare Rebate	Out of Pocket
Initial	$90
Subsequent	$80
EPC Initial	$90	$58.30	$31.70
EPC Subsequent	$80	$58.30	$21.70

Bulk Billing Policy

This practice currently bulk bills pension card holders, children under the age of 16 years and full-time students 18 years and under who are attending secondary school.

There is an annual full fee payment for routinely bulk billed patients, payable at the beginning of the financial year.

Additional Fees and charges will apply for:

Procedures
Dressings
Overseas visitors and students

Please discuss these with our friendly reception staff if you have any queries.

Communication Assistance

If you require assistance with communication (e.g. a translator) please notify our reception team upon arrival. A phone interpreter may be available. If you require an Auslan sign language interpreter during your appointment, a booking can be made online at http://www.nabs.org.au/ or by phoning 1800 246 945.

Complaints and Feedback

Your feedback and comments about our medical services are always welcome. Please talk with your doctor or receptionists if there is something you would like to discuss. You may prefer to write feedback, complaints or suggestions and you can email them to birregurrareception@cah.vic.gov.au. For more information you can read our Complaints Policy.

Unresolved feedback can be escalated to the Health Services Commissioner by:

Calling 1300 582 113
Fill out a complaint form on the Health Complaint Commissioner website https://hcc.vic.gov.au/
Send a letter to Health Complaints Commissioner, Level 26, 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3000

Reception is open from 8.30am to 5.00pm
Lunch closure: 12.45pm to 1.45pm

Dr Jared Kilday
Monday to Friday: 9.00am to 5.00pm

Dr Carol Head
Monday & Wednesday: 9.00am to 5.00pm
Thursday: 2:00 to 5:00pm

Nurse Abbey Gannon
Wednesdays: 9.00am to 12.45pm

Nurse Narelle Place
Thursdays: 9.00am to 4.30pm

Mr Matt Payton – Podiatrist
Monday: 9.00am to 5.00pm
Every second Wednesday: 9.00am to 5.00pm

After Hours Care

Outside of regular clinic hours the following services are available to provide out of hours support, advice and management to our patients.

Nurse OnCall 1300 606 024

Victorian Virtual Emergency www.vved.org.au for non-life-threatening health emergencies via video consultation.

Colac Area Health Urgent Care Connor Street, Colac (03) 52325 100

If your situation if life-threatening, please call Triple Zero (000)

Birregurra Medical Centre patients are able to access out of hours care via contacting Hesse Rural Health service on 52671200, where a nurse will take your call and contact the on-call doctor on your behalf. If you then need to be seen at Hesse Rural Health or Birregurra in an after-hours or emergency situation by the on-call doctor, this service will be provided privately.