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Flu Vaccination Information - Flu Vaccine is available - Book in for your Flu Shot Today
The flu vaccine is currently available now at Andrew Place Clinic. With the outbreak of Coronavirus, it is more important than ever to get vaccinated against influenza. It is recommended that you get your flu shot as soon as possible to protect yourself and your family. We have taken numerous steps to ensure that when you visit Andrew Place Clinic, you can do so as safely as possible. Please call the receptionist team who can arrange an appointment within a dedicated Flu Clinic or book an appointment with one of our Doctors or Nurses who will administer the vaccination in the clinic or in some cases, outside the clinic. We ask that prior to personal attendance at the clinic, you phone to announce your arrival while you wait within your car and one of the receptionists will advise you if the Doctor/Nurse is ready. We will also do some simple checks/ questions to ensure you are not at risk of having the Coronavirus. We thank you for your understanding. If you were on a waiting list for the vaccine, our receptionist team are currently working the way down the list to contact you, however all patients and age groups are welcome to phone the clinic and book your vaccine appointment from now. IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CORONAVIRUS As you are all aware we are now facing the coronavirus pandemic. This can be a worrying time but we, the Andrew Place Clinic staff, want to assure you that we remain dedicated to assisting our patients and their families throughout these challenging circumstances. In order to minimise the potential spread of the coronavirus we will be implementing some changes to the way Andrew Place Clinic runs and we would greatly appreciate your cooperation. Also be aware that this is a rapidly changing situation and as such advice and procedures are likely to change. Please continue to check out website for the most updated information. Due to the coronavirus pandemic we are unable to see any patients with cold or flu symptoms (including cough, fever, sore throat or runny nose). We instead ask that you book a telehealth consult – which is a consultation conducted over the phone (a facetime or zoom chat can also be arranged). If you are coming to see your doctor for an unrelated issue – but also have cold and flu symptoms – even if very mild – we ask that you postpone your appointment until you are symptom free or arrange for a telehealth consult. You may also consider delaying non-urgent appointments and procedures. If you are concerned you have coronavirus please call the Austin Hospital Coronavirus Hotline on 9496 6606. You can also access the online risk assessment tool at www.austin.org.au. In order to minimise potential exposure to the coronavirus, while you are within the clinic we will be implementing the following:- · Please call the reception when you arrive for your appointment and remain in your car. Reception will log you as arrived and when the doctor is ready to see you, you will be called and instructed to enter the clinic. We hope to reduce the number of people in the waiting room and therefore reduce your risk. · Waiting room seats have been separated to create distances which will minimise your exposure to other patients, if you need to wait in the waiting room. Similarly you may notice a change in the seating arrangements in all consulting rooms. · Please ensure you use hand sanitiser as you enter the clinic and then again on leaving. Again, these are worrying times and sometimes that worry can become significant distress. Please contact Andrew Place Clinic if you are concerned about your own mental health, or that of a loved one. For 24 hour a day telephone crisis support please contact Lifeline on 13 11 44. For Further COVID-19 Advice, patients can call: DHHS Hotline: 1800 675 398 (open 24 hours, 7 days) Austin Hospital: 9496 5000 Northern Hospital: 8405 8844 (only if they have a fever) Thank you for your understanding. In Preparation - Blood Pressure Machine & Electronic Temperature Probe “ In preparation for the upcoming prolonged physical distancing we would suggest each family consider purchasing an Blood Pressure machine ( we use Omron and recommend this for anyone over 40 years of age) and an electronic temperature probe ( we use Braun via the ear probe and recommend this for everyone) and familiarize yourself we how it works. This will help the doctors monitor your conditions and health whilst being at home.” NEW SERVICES: Telephone Consultations (during COVID-19 pandemic) Private & Bulk-Billed Telehealth (telephone) consultations are now available at Andrew Place Clinic. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE TO THE BILLING OF TELEHEALTH CONSULTS FOR SOME PATIENTS - Please refer to the Fees Tab for further information. The process for phone appointments is: 1. Call our Clinic directly to book an appointment time 2. Check that you have a valid Medicare card 3. When it is time for your appointment, the Doctor will ring you directly. 4. Once the appointment is completed, the Doctor will print any documents required eg: a script, referral, Medical certificate, etc. We can then send these to you via e-mail, you can collect them from us or we’ll post them to you directly. *Please note that you must have a valid Medicare card to book a phone consultation. HotDoc Online Bookings currently only available to book Telehealth appointments We have made the decision to stop online bookings for in-clinic appointments until further notice given the coronavirus pandemic. You may continue to book telehealth appointments online at this stage. We apologise for the inconvenience. If you are unable to book a consultation via HotDoc, please call reception for all appointment needs. We hope to have this up and running as much as possible during the COVID Pandemic. MoleMap Check Appointments are currently suspended and Mirena appointments are currently on hold. As we attempt to reduce the risk of coronavirus spread there will be no further bookings for MoleMap Checks or Mirena (IUD insertions) at this stage. We apologise for the inconvenience. We will update this news page once the service is back up and running or you are welcome to phone the clinic for an update. At this stage we are looking to recommence limited appointments for these services in late June/ early July. STAFF NEWS: Dr Hirruthyaa (Hirru) Manivasagan is leaving Andrew Place Clinic - Last Day on Thursday 9/7/2020. After many years working with us at Andrew Place Clinic, Dr. Hirru Manivasagan has made the decision to leave the Clinic. She has been an amazing member of our GP team and will be dearly missed by staff and patients alike. We wish her all the very best as she continues her GP career and thank her for services provided for our patients and dedication given during her time at Andrew Place Clinic. Dr. Manivasagan's last day of consulting will be on Thursday 9th July 2020. Dr. Joe Giarrusso has Retired! Congratulations on your retirement! After more than 35 years of dedication and caring service to the patients of Andrew Place Clinic, our beloved Dr. Giuseppe (Joe) Giarrusso has retired. We hope he has a wonderful retirement. He will be missed but never forgotten. Dr. Giarrusso has done so much for all of us and while we will be sad to see him go, we wish him all the best in this next stage of life! We are wishing him endless days of happiness with his friends and family and hope he makes sure he works just as hard relaxing as he has during his long career. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. Dr. Giarrusso last day consulting was on Tuesday 30/6/2020. Dr. Christina Illing has returned to consulting sessions at Andrew Place Clinic. Dr. Christina Illing has resumed working sessions remotely at Andrew Place Clinic and is now available for appointments on Wednesdays and Fridays for telehealth appointments only at this stage. Dr. Tristan Barnes has Returned to Andrew Place Clinic. Dr. Tristan Barnes has resumed working at Andrew Place Clinic and is now available for appointments. With his return, we are excited to have another male doctor available for consultations. Dr. Barnes will be happy to see all patients. A full biography can be viewed on the Doctors page. He is working on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and some Saturdays. Current Registrar - Dr Hakamjit Kang Dr Hakamjit Kang is our current registrar. He began working on 3/2/2020 and will be with us until 2/8/2020. Celebrating Our Nurses on International Nurses Day On May 12th, we're celebrating the incredible contribution of our nurses at Andrew Place Clinic. Our nursing staff are an essential part of our teams across Andrew Place Clinic and we are extremely grateful for their support, especially during these challenging times. Thank you to all our wonderful nurses - Gabrielle, Liz, Niamh, Maxine, Dita and Jo for their dedication to providing the best care and support to our patients. Celebrating Our Receptionists on National Receptionists Day On May 13th, we're celebrating the incredible contribution of our Receptionist team at Andrew Place Clinic/ Bundoora Health. Receptionists have countless responsibilities and play such an important part especially greeting patient on phone and in person at our Clinics. Thank you to to our fantastic receptionists - Cara, Georgia, Tayla, Alina, Ashley, Isobel & Zoe at Andrew Place Clinic and Betty, Tracey, Zoe & Mell at Bundoora Health. DOCTORS ON LEAVE: Doctors on leave in July/ August The following doctors will be on leave in July/ August: Dr Melanie Hemsley: 3/7/2020 to 11/7/2020 Dr Tristan Barnes: 4/7/2020 to 7/7/2020 Dr Christina Illing: 23/7/2020 to 29/7/2020 Dr Susan Lewis: 13/7/2020 to 19/7/2020 Dr Susanne Oldmeadow: 26/6/2020 to 9/8/2020 CHANGE TO POLICY FOR RECEIVING RESULTS, REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS, REFERRALS AND TELEPHONING YOUR DOCTOR Please refer to the "Appointments Tab" on our website for further information regarding changes to our Clinic's policies relating to Receiving Results, Repeat Prescriptions, Referrals and Telephoning your Doctor. No Requests will be taken or actioned and results will not be given out on the weekend or on a public holiday and can only be given out via the telephone after 11am on weekdays. Any non-urgent requests will be forwarded to your doctor and will be actioned within the 10 business days. If the matter is more urgent, we recommend that you make an appointment to see your doctor. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. SMS REMINDERS Due to changes in accreditation requirements we require each patient’s verbal consent to send SMS reminders. Please contact reception to consent and note that you will not be able to receive SMS reminders, including those for upcoming appointments with your GP, until this has been done. Thanks for your cooperation. |