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HotDoc is our online booking system which will make it easier to make appointments online at your convenience. Click on HotDoc to take you to the online booking website.
Last updated 1.20pm, 1 September 2023 The Clinic Bulleen will be closed for the Christmas and New Year Period from Friday 22 December 2023, re-opening on Tuesday 2 January 2024. PLEASE NOTE: Face masks are encouraged when attending for a face to face appointment. RETIREMENT OF DR ROBERT MURDOCH Dr Robert Murdoch quietly retired in December 2022 after 36 years of continued service at The Clinic Bulleen. We wish him and his family the very best as he embarks on a new chapter in his life. Drs Jane Froster and Edward Tsui are actively seeking a new doctor to join The Clinic Bulleen. SEASONAL INFLUENZA 2023 VACCINES GOVT funded influenza vaccines are available for the following groups: - All adults aged 65 years and over - All people aged 6 months and over WITH certain medical conditions which increase the risk of influenza disease complications eg. asthma, lung or heart disease, low immunity, diabetes - All children aged 6 months to less then 5 years (Vic Govt funded) - All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged from 6 months - Pregnant women during any stage of pregnancy COVID-19 VACCINATION The Clinic Bulleen are NO LONGER offering COVID-19 booster vaccinations. Booster vaccinations will need to be sourced from other participating GP's, pharmacies, or a Govt vaccination hub, which can be found at the Govt website: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/book-your-vaccine-appointment#book-at-a-high-volume-vaccination-centre Please telephone the clinic first if you have a fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, shortness of breath, or loss of sense of smell or taste, so that arrangements can be made to arrange COVID-19 testing and appropriate follow up. WHAT TO DO IF YOU TEST COVID-19 POSITIVE We advise you speak to the doctor to determine if you may be able to receive a prescription for anti-viral medication to help treat a COVID-19 infection, to reduce the risk of hospitalisation from a severe infection. People aged 70+ are now elligible for anti-viral medications once a positive result is confirmed for COVID infection. People aged 50-69 might be elligible for anti-viral medication depending on the presence of two other co-morbidities PNEUMONIA VACCINATION RECOMMENDATIONS Adult pneumonia vaccination recommendations were updated in mid 2020. changed. A single Govt funded vaccination using 13vPCV pneumonia vaccination (Prevenar 13) is now offered to following groups of people:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) - General Information The global pandemic due to a new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first identified December 2019 in Hubei Province, China. Government and Health department advice are regularly updated due to the highly infectious nature of COVID-19 and its impact on the frail and elderly, with millions of deaths report worldwide. Presently, the health department advises testing ALL people with clinical symptoms to help find cases being transmitted in the community. Testing is advised for people who have: Fever OR chills in the absence of an alternative diagnosis that explains the clinical presentation OR Acute respiratory infection characterised by cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath, or loss of the sense of smell or taste. NOTE: In addition, testing is recommended for people with NEW ONSET of other clinical symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (ie. headache, myalgia, runny or stuffy nose, anosmia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea). Close contacts of confirmed cases are defined as - anyone who lives or stays overnight in the same premises as a confirmed case - anyone who has spent more than 4 hours in a residential setting with a confirmed case during the "infectious period" (over a 24 hour period) Close contacts must test for infection if symptoms develop. There is no need to quarantine at home as a close contact, but a face mask must be worn when outside of the home. COVID-19 positive results (PCR or RAT) must be notified to the Health Dept. Patients at risk of more severe symptoms from COVID-19 include: - people over 65 years of age, or - pregnancy, or - a parent of a child under 12 months old, or - a person with a chronic health condition, or - immunosuppressed, or - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders older than 50 years of age Currently, bulk billed telephone consultations are available to ALL people following Medicare's introduction of new billing codes during the COVID-19 pandemic. WHAT IS THUNDERSTORM ASTHMA? Thunderstorm asthma can occur suddenly during Spring and Summer when lots of pollen is in the air during hot, dry, windy and stormy weather. People with asthma and hayfever need extra protection between September and January by using preventer medicine every day, and having their reliever medicine eg. Ventolin (blue puffer) ready to use People more likely to suffer from thunderstorm asthma are: - those who get asthma and seasonal hay fever - those with hay fever who have never had asthma - those with past asthma or undiagnosed asthma To stay safe during high risk times for thunderstorm asthma - stay indoors just before and during storms with wind gusts - use a doctor prescribed nasal steroid spray medicine - keep informed about weather forecasts and pollen counts. Free adolescent meningococcal ACWY vaccine program A free meningococcal ACWY (Nimenrix) vaccine program on the National Immunisation Program is available for: - year 10 students in secondary school - young people aged 15 to 19 years of age Cervical cancer screening changes from 1 December 2017 with a new 5 yearly screening test replacing the 2 yearly Pap smears. Screening now starts in sexually active women from the age of 25 years, and looks for persisting infection from cancer inducing strains of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) Shingles vaccine (Zostavax) is a Government funded vaccine for people turning 70 years of age. Lifetime risk of shingles is 1 in 3. The vaccine halves the risk of a shingles episode, and halves the risk of painful post-Herpetic neuralgia in someone who is unfortunate enough to still develop shingles despite receiving the vaccine. Whooping cough (Pertussis) vaccinations remain free for pregnant women over 28 weeks gestation during every pregnancy, and partners of pregnant women over 28 weeks gestation if they have not received one within the last 10 years. Recommendations for updating a Pertussis vaccination are aimed toward anyone in close regular contact with a newborn in the first 12 months of life. |
Online Bookings
Online appointments can be made via the HotDoc website, in addition to making a booking over the telephone. When entering your details via the HotDoc website, please use your name as recorded on your Medicare card A reminder message will be sent to your mobile phone number prior to your appointment. Information provided over the online booking system is NOT given to any third party agencies for marketing purposes. Please feel free to try this service and let us know what you think. Click here to make an online appointment. My Health Record My Health Record is the name of the new national digital health record system which enables important health information to be accessed through one system by doctors, specialists and hospital staff, with your consent. Examples of such information may include: - allergies - medical conditions and treatments - medication details - test or scan reports You can find more information at the My Health Record website. |
