Services Found at THMC
Temple Hills Medical Centre is a fully accredited general practice providing comprehensive, patient-centred care for individuals and families across all ages.
Our services include:
General consultations for acute and chronic conditions
Preventive health checks, including:
- Health assessments (e.g. over 75s, 45–49-year-old checks)
- Heart health checks
- Diabetes risk assessments and management
- Childhood immunisations
- Routine adult and travel vaccinations
- COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations
- Wound care and dressings
- Cervical screening (Pap smears)
- Contraceptive advice and sexual health checks
- Pregnancy care and antenatal shared care
- Mental health support, including Mental Health Care Plans
- Chronic disease management plans
- Pathology services – on-site collection available downstairs
- Minor procedures, including:
- Skin checks and minor skin lesion removals
- Iron infusions
- Ear syringing
- Removal of sutures or staples
- Medical certificates and reports
- Aged care – including visits to local aged care facilities
- Telehealth and video consultations
- Home visits for eligible existing patients within the local area
Please read our FAQ section to see answers to many common questions that you may have here or see below for further information.
If you’re unsure whether we offer a particular service, please call our friendly reception team on 9842 9911. Furthermore, if you have any questions regarding patient care or if you have any concerns please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Emergencies
Shortness of breath, difficulty talking, severe allergic reactions, central chest pain, altered consciousness, severe burns or crooked fractures are all problems best seen in the Emergency Department. Call 000, or proceed to your nearest hospital with an emergency department.
After hours appointments
If you are sick and need to be seen by a GP outside business hours, you can call the clinic on 9842 9911 and you will be redirected to DoctorDoctor. They will triage your call and provide access to the most appropriate after-hours service to meet your needs, including telehealth consultations.
You can also call the Nurse-On-Call service to get in touch with a registered nurse for caring, professional health advice around the clock. Their number is 1300 60 60 24.
Routine Appointments
Routine or non-urgent appointments can be made online via Automed, or by telephoning the clinic. Automed allows you to see all of your doctor’s available appointments and choose the one that best suits you. You can book at any time of day or night, and it’s free to use. You can also download the Automed application onto your device to keep track of appointments.
Standard Appointments
Different problems deserve different amounts of time. If you are unsure, please call and ask our receptionists who will be able to ensure that you have enough time to address everything you need to discuss.
If you need a new prescription, medical certificate, blood pressure check, removal of sutures or you have a new symptom or illness, a cough or colds, cervical screening, fever.
Urgent Appointments
We keep a portion of our appointments free so that they can be booked on the day in line with the RACGP guidelines. These are available by telephoning the clinic.
Our reception staff will ask for some information about your problem to help them decide how urgently you need to be seen. They may also ask you to discuss your symptoms in detail with a nurse.
We don't generally accept walk-in patients as an appointment is generally required to see the doctor. However, if it is an acute injury then the Doctor may at their discretion be able to fit you in. However, it is always best to ring the practice before coming so that we can liaise with the doctor and see if it is possible and how we manage other appointments.
Long Appointments
Multiple symptoms or concerns, new patient to the clinic, first antenatal visit, procedures (please book an appointment prior to your procedure appointment in order for us to plan for it), first contraception discussion, mental health concerns (stress, anxiety, depression), long standing symptoms, second opinion on a complicated symptom
Home Visit Appointments
Home visits may be available if you are an existing patient of THMC and are unable to attend due to illness and live in the local area. All home visits will be charged at an appropriate rate and will not necessarily be bulk billed.
Please call THMC to enquire whether a home visit is possible. We will liaise with the doctor and determine if it is something that one of our doctors can do.
Our Doctors do also visit several aged care facilities in the local area. Please call THMC to see if such a visit would be possible.
Mental Health Care Plans
Mental Health Care Plans are a tool for you and your doctor to assess your mental health and plan your recovery, often with the help of a mental health practitioner, such as a psychologist or mental health social worker.
If you think you need a Mental Health Care Plan, please book a comprehensive consultation with your GP. Alternatively, your GP might suggest developing a care plan if he/she thinks you might benefit from one.
The care plan may take one or two appointments to develop based on your current problem and health.
Your plan, once completed and billed, will allow access to rebated psychological counselling services with registered providers. You and your doctor will decide who would be best for you to see. There may still be an ‘out of pocket payment’ to see your counsellor, however you will have access to up to six rebated visits with a counsellor, followed by a further four after the plan is reviewed by your GP.
GP Chronic Condition Management Plans
GP Chronic Condition Management Plans are available to patients who have an illness expected to last longer than six months. Developing a plan helps both you and your doctor to set goals for your health and plan your care proactively.
At Temple Hills Medical Centre, plans are discussed with your doctor, then written by our practice nurse with regular further reviews with your doctor.
If you have a Chronic Condition Management Plan, you may also benefit from accessing subsidised visits to an allied health provider. This allows you and your doctor to engage an allied health provider in order to assist you in achieving your health goals and better manage your chronic condition.
When you have a chronic condition management plan, you are generally eligible for Medicare rebates for up to five visits per year to see an allied health practitioner. If you have any further questions you are welcome to discuss it with your GP or nurse when you next see them.
Telephone Appointments
Generally it is better to see the doctor face-to-face; however, telephone appointments are available. These are particularly useful if you need a repeat prescription or an updated referral. Please consider whether the doctor needs to physically examine you during the appointment before booking a telephone consultation. If you are unsure, please call our receptionists who will be able to help or put you through to one of our nurses.
In order to qualify for the medicare rebate you will need to have seen your doctor face to face in the past 12 months. If this is not the case then you won't be able to receive the medicare rebate.
Sometimes the appointment may require a video consultation. In these circumstances we use GP consults. You will be sent a link via SMS which will contain a link. When you click on the link you will be connected to the video call.
Communicating with the Doctor
Please be aware that email is not to be used in an emergency. Please call 000 if it is an emergency or call our practice number 9842 9911 if you need an immediate response.
On occasion your doctor may request that you email through documents either for review or to be incorporated into your medical file. Please email us, if this is the case, using our practice email: admin@templehills.com.au.
We endeavour to respond to all emails within 1-2 business days.
If the email contains questions or statements that need to be addressed in a consultation, we will respond stating that you need to book an appointment so that these can be answered. Please call us if there are any issues with this or if you have any confusion.
If you need to leave a message for the Doctor you can give us a call on 9842 9911. Please note that the Doctors at THMC are unavailable during consultation hours unless the matter is extremely urgent. They will assess messages at the end of the session over lunch or at the end of the day.
