As part of our Health Care Home programme, we’re developing a new service called GP Triage. With this service your GP can call you directly for a quick conversation about your health concerns and immediately put in place a plan of action

The aim of GP Triage is to provide patients with an opportunity to receive care without need to come into the practice. We know that, for some people, coming in to see us can be a hassle. If you’re at work it can take a significant time out of your day, and if you’re at home then you may have to wrangle the kids into the car to make the trip down. This can be especially frustrating if your condition is a recurrence of a previous condition, and it may be that in the first instance a physical consultation isn’t needed.

We also want to make sure that we can make the most out of your appointment. If we can identify the need for a test, scan or sample before you come in, we can arrange this in advance and then spend more time dealing directly with your health concerns because we already have the initial information in front of us.

By adding this service we’re making it easier for you to fit staying healthy into your daily life. We are able to spend more time working proactively with you on the health of you and your family, and we are also able to spend more time with those longer-term conditions to live a fuller life not hampered by their condition.

How does it work?

Between 8am and 9am each morning, patients who call us to request an appointment that day will be offered the opportunity to be called back by their GP, if their GP is working that morning. It’s fine if you don’t want to be called back, we’ll still find an appointment for you at the first opportunity.

During the development stage we have Dr Neal, Dr Tyler and Dr Jordan calling back their patients, and over the next few months we’ll be rolling this out to all patients and their GPs. We’re also starting with a few slots for calls (as each call does take time), and we’ll enable our GPs to return more calls if there is sufficient demand.

If you’re happy to be called back then your GP will give you a call before 9.30am. They’ll talk about your condition, and identify what the best next steps are. This could be a prescription for some medication, a test or scan to be completed, or they may need to see you urgently or at a later date. They may potentially be able to answer your query directly over the phone, saving you from needing to come in at all.

The GP will then what you need to do, and what to do if anything changes.

Does it cost anything?

GP Triage is all about providing value to you. This means that if you do still need to come in within the next day or two to see a GP then there’s no charge for the call itself, even if you’re getting a test done first.

If the GP can to able to get a treatment plan started over the phone, such as with advice, a script or a referral then there is a $25 charge

GP Triage is part continuing to deliver modern, flexible and responsive health care to our patients. We welcome your feedback on how we’re doing and how we could help you better; let us know via our contact form.