Patient information
Everything you might need to know before, during and after your visit.
Telehealth
Phone and video consultations are available in some circumstances. Ask our team whether telehealth is right for your appointment.
MyMedicare
MyMedicare lets you register with the practice you visit most. Ask our reception team how to register with MMPCC.
Appointments
Appointments
Consultations are by appointment. Please ensure you have an appointment time allocated for each family member attending the doctor. If you are unable to keep your appointment, please ring and let us know. Repeated non attendances without notification will incur a charge.
Please request your doctor of choice at the time of booking your appointment. You are able to book by phone, in person, using the HotDoc booking app on your mobile or online via this website. Online appointments require a confirmation. If you do not get a confirmation please call the surgery directly.
Same-day appointments
At MMPCC we will endeavour that all our regular patients who request an appointment and believe it needs to be attended that day (emergencies should go directly to hospital or call the ambulance on 000) will be given the opportunity to speak by phone or see clinical staff on the day.
Each day there are a number of appointments kept free to fill on that day for regular patients of the practice. If you feel you need medical attention on the day and there are no appointments, please relay this to the reception staff. Reception will organise for one of our clinical staff to see you or discuss the matter with you.
Every effort will be taken to fit you in with your preferred GP, however if the GP of your choice is unavailable, you may be offered an appointment with another GP if it is necessary.
Cancellations and reminders
If you are unable to attend your appointment, please contact the surgery as soon as possible to cancel or reschedule. Appointments with a GP will be confirmed the day before via SMS. This is only a courtesy message therefore it is ultimately your responsibility to keep track of your appointments. Non-attendance fees apply for missed appointments.
Teaching practice
MMPCC is a teaching practice and your GP may at times have a Registrar or medical student working with them who may sit in with the consultation or consult with you as well as your GP. You will be informed of this prior to your consultation and we will seek your consent for the 3rd person to be present.
Delays and appointment times
Appointments are kept to times allocated as much as possible; however there will be unavoidable delays at times. When this delay occurs, reception staff will notify you of this on arrival and if the delay is extreme we will try and contact you prior to your appointment.
Please book appropriate time lengths for appointments and ensure each family member has allocated appointments. Pushing in extra people at the time of the appointment is not acceptable and puts undue pressure on doctors and staff.
Longer consultations
If an appointment is expected to last longer than 10-15 mins please request a longer appointment. Extended consult times are available and may be required for various reasons such as procedures, counselling, mental health plans, first antenatal visits, medical and health assessments. If you feel you may need an extended appointment, please let the receptionist know so that they can allocate extra time.
These procedures require more time and the assistance of the nurse; they will only be able to be booked at specified time slots and may need to be scheduled for another day. Where possible follow up appointments should be made at the time of consultation.
Important infection precautions
When you attend the surgery and are not well enough to sit in the waiting room, or suspect you may have a contagious illness (rash, cough, vomiting and/or diarrhoea etc), please make reception staff aware and wear a mask. You may be asked to wait in your vehicle or isolated in another room while waiting for the doctor. If required you may be monitored by the nurse during this time.
It is very important that a mask is worn as we can have immunocompromised patients in the waiting room and we would like to keep them as well as possible.
Results
All results are checked by the doctors. If a result requires follow up or an explanation, a staff member will contact you to make an appointment as per your doctor's request. If you wish to check if results are back, please phone reception staff AFTER 2pm. Results usually take 2-7 days to receive. If results are normal you WILL NOT be contacted by us. If you wish to discuss results an appointment MUST be made with your doctor. Please note that results can not be given out to a third party or over the phone due to privacy laws. If you ring to check if results are available reception staff can not give details regarding results, they can only inform you as to if an appointment is necessary or not. It is our policy that non clinical queries will be taken by reception staff and clinical queries be triaged by Practice Nurses as appropriate. Messages will then be followed up appropriately, with a return call from the doctor, nurse or receptionist.
Scripts and repeat prescriptions
ALL S8 and S4D and any Authority scheduled medications require an in person consultation with your regular doctor. All other script repeats are available if the medication is your regular medication with your regular doctor without a face to face consultation as long as you have had a visit with your doctor within the last 6 months and as long as the request is for less than 4 medications. Any larger number of medications will also require a face to face consultation. Regular reviews are important to maintain the most up to date treatment possible.
Referrals
When necessary, the doctors are able to draw on opinions from specialists. Specialist referrals are initiated by the doctor after consultation and discussion with the patient. These must be organised prior to specialist appointments and will require a doctor's appointment. They legally cannot be back dated. Your health information will be disclosed to the specialist on the referral document. Patients are responsible for making their own specialist appointments and attending any follow ups or further testing as required by the specialist. Fees are payable for referrals.
Paperwork and forms
Forms, letters and other paperwork require your attendance at the surgery. If forms are to be filled out, this requires an appointment and fees will be charged. Our reception staff can book this for you. Let them know at time of booking what forms are involved so they can allocate appropriate time. Services you request your clinician to perform without your attendance at a consultation (such as providing a script, referral or completing a form) also involve private fees which are payable prior to collection of forms. Please note that 'just a script' or 'just a referral' involves more than 'just a signature' and therefore private fees are requested. Thank you for your understanding.
After hours care
If it is an emergency, phone 000 for an ambulance. Health Direct — Phone: 1800 022 222. The Australian Government also provides a free after hours helpline for when your GP is not available. Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network After Hours GP (for members of Leeton, Murrumbidgee, Griffith, Carrathool, Hay Shires) — Phone: 1800 272 767. Monday to Friday 6pm–10pm. Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays 12pm–4pm. For instructions on accessing our rostered doctor on call, phone the regular practice phone number, 02 6953 4333, after hours to hear a recorded message on how to access the service. Our opening hours are 8:30am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Leeton District Hospital switchboard number is 02 6953 1111. If you attend Leeton District Hospital, please let them know who your regular GP is so that information about your visit is forwarded to your GP. Other health information: MPHN After Hours (https://www.remotegp.org.au/murrumbidgee-phn); Find other Health Information & Providers (https://mphn.org.au/find-a-health-service); Health Direct (https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/).
Home visits
Doctors and other practice staff make visits to regular patients of our practice where it is safe and reasonable. These visits may be to patients in their homes, residential aged care facility, residential care facility, or hospital both within and outside normal opening hours where such visits are deemed safe. All patients are made aware that home visits or a suitable care alternative are available both within and outside normal opening hours via signage on the building, our afterhours telephone message and from our patient information leaflet at reception and website. Regular patients who meet the eligibility criteria are offered home visits. Any anticipated costs associated with home visits or alternative care systems are discussed with the patient.
Procedure: A patient can arrange for a home visit if the criteria below are met: are well known and regular patients of this practice; live within a 2.5km radius of the practice; where it is deemed by the GP to be safe and reasonable; the patient has provided a phone number that we have called them back on; patient has the type of problem that necessitates a home visit such as: acute illness; immobile; elderly; patients in final stages of terminal illness; unable to access the practice facilities due to disability; as long as it is not an emergency — all emergencies must ring 000 for immediate assistance.
Our doctors' home visit schedules are recorded in either before or after each session. Patients can request home visits however the final decision rests with the treating GP. Practice staff are not to book home or other visits without consulting the GP. Where it is unsafe or unreasonable to provide a patient with care at home or in another location outside the practice, patients are advised of alternative arrangements.
If the doctor determines that a home visit is possible, there may be an out of pocket expense for the patient. The patient will be notified of this expense prior to the home visit consultation.
Pathology collection
Laverty Pathology have a collection room within our practice. Please note this is a SEPARATE COMPANY from MMPCC and rent out of space only. All staff are employed by Laverty Pathology and not MMPCC. Issues with pathology need to be taken up with Laverty Pathology management. Monday to Friday 8:30am to 3:30pm.
Medicare claims
For patient convenience MMPCC has installed Medicare Easyclaim. Easyclaim allows us to process your Medicare refund directly to your savings or cheque account by swiping your EFTPOS card on the Easyclaim terminal. If you do not have an EFTPOS card, we can also process the Medicare refund to your bank account. (Medicare no longer mail out cheques). You are still able to take a receipt and have your claim processed at a Medicare office if you wish. More information on Easyclaim can be found on the Medicare website: Ways to claim your Medicare refund (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/medicare-claims?context=60092).
WorkCover
Please notify us before your consult if your visit is related to a workplace injury. Workers compensation claims will only be put on account to your employer if you can provide all of the details regarding the claim. If you cannot provide the required information at the time of consultation you will be responsible for the fee and will have to seek a refund from your employer. Workers compensation cannot be claimed through Medicare.
Telephone communication
Due to our GPs being frequently engaged in face to face consultations in their rooms, we can't usually transfer you immediately through to your GP when you call the practice. Our admin staff will confirm your identity and will assess the urgency of your enquiry. At times your GP may have left instructions with reception to pass certain information on to you over the phone. Our admin staff cannot give you any medical advice beyond the information your GP has authorised to release to you. If reception cannot help immediately with your enquiry, they will leave a message for your GP to return your call. At times your GP may decide that a face to face consultation is appropriate to your needs.
Parking and disabled access
Parking is available in front of the surgery in Kurrajong Avenue as well as the oval car park off Palm Avenue. There is also a limited number of off street parking available at rear of surgery. We have disabled parking at the front of the surgery, with a ramp at both front and rear entrances.
Feedback and complaints
We always welcome comments regarding the care you receive at this practice - both positive and negative. Please feel free to talk to the doctor or staff. We hope you feel able to approach us if you have a problem with the surgery or any staff member and we will endeavour to supply you with an outcome. You may prefer to write to us or use our suggestion box. In the first instance you should speak or write to our Practice Manager: Nicole Horton - Practice Manager, Murrumbidgee Medical & Primary Care Centre, PO Box 998, LEETON NSW 2705. Phone: 02 6953 4333. Email: pm@mmpcc.com.au. Your concern will be taken seriously, as we are always looking for ways to improve the efficiency of the practice. If you feel you have not been given a satisfactory response after approaching us, you may wish to contact the Health Care Complaints Commission: Ph: (02) 9219 7444, Toll Free in NSW 1800 043 159. TTY service for the hearing impaired: (02) 9219 7555. Fax: (02) 9281 4585. Email: hccc@hccc.nsw.gov.au. Postal address: Locked Mail Bag 18, STRAWBERRY HILLS NSW 2012.
Patient survey response plan
2024 Patient survey results and response.
Murrumbidgee Medical and Primary Care Centre would like to extend a sincere thank you to all patients who recently completed our Patient Feedback Survey. Your responses will help us prioritise areas for improvement. We are happy to see that we have continued to score in the high percentiles for overall patient satisfaction, but we can see that we also have work to do.
Your responses in the recent survey indicate that these are our strengths: the reception team were professional in dealing with you; the reception team were welcoming upon your arrival; the clinical team had enough time to talk about the things that were important to you; the clinical team made you feel comfortable; the clinical team told you all you wanted to know about your condition; the reception team let you know about any delays while you were waiting.
The questions that had the lowest satisfaction score were: the time you had to wait to get this appointment (before getting to the clinic) 62.48%; getting an appointment for a time that suited you 73.87%; being able to see the doctor of your choice 74.09%; the amount of useful information given about your condition 76.28%; information about side effects of any treatment 76.45%; information about how to prevent future health problems 76.90%. We will be working on improving these areas in 2024.
At the time this survey was conducted, general practices across the country were experiencing a period of high demand, long waiting times and sometimes difficulty in seeing the doctor of your choice at a suitable time. It seems that following the pandemic, some medical practitioners nearing retirement brought their retirement forward or reduced their working hours. While this wasn't the case for MMPCC, this effect across the industry has presented a challenge for all practices. We believe this combined with patients following up on routine preventative health checks and other care that they may have delayed during the pandemic has created a challenging situation.
While the situation with the wait times to get a routine appointment seems to be improving, we are also actively seeking to attract a new full time GP to increase our appointment capacity.
While satisfaction with the information provided by our clinical team was generally high, it was one of our lowest performing domains. This will be fed back to the clinical team in our clinical meetings for discussion on strategies for improvement and we will be looking for satisfaction in this area to improve in our next survey.