News October 2020

October 1, 2020

WELCOME DR ELSA GLADIGAU

Federation Clinic is excited to Welcome Dr Elsa Gladigau to the team. Elsa was born in Melbourne and grew up on a sheep farm near Nhill in Western Victoria. She completed her high schooling in Melbourne and then studied Medicine at Monash University. Elsa chose to enter the General Practice training program during her intern year, attracted to its variety, continuity of care over the long term and balanced lifestyle. Her very first General Practice experience was here at Federation Clinic in 2010! Whilst Elsa enjoys every facet of General Practice, her special interests include preventative and lifestyle medicine and chronic disease management. 

FACE MASKS

Federation Clinic requires all patients who can do so, to wear a face mask when attending the clinic for a consultation and when coming into reception. There are sometimes suitable reasons for not wearing a face mask, including relevant medical conditions and children under 12yo.

If you do not have a face mask, and are unable to access one, we can provide one for you. Alternatively, a scarf or other face covering is a suitable alternative to a face mask if you do not have one.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) PANDEMIC UPDATE – TELEHEALTH CONSULTATIONS

The Coronavirus pandemic is a challenging time for everyone across the community. Federation Clinic is committed to continuing to provide high quality healthcare to our patients during this period, things are just being done a little differently than usual. One of the measures that has been implemented to help keep our staff and patients safe, is to conduct the majority of our consultations by telephone (telehealth).

We also advise that the ability for patients to book an online appointment using the HotDoc app has been suspended during this period. We understand this may impact the convenience of making an appointment outside of normal business hours, however, it is important that every appointment request can be screened and triaged according to your needs and symptoms. Online appointments will be reactivated once the pandemic period is behind us.

Unfortunately we are unable to accept any additional new patients during this pandemic period, with the exception of family members of existing patients. These appointments will be triaged on a case-by-case basis.

How does the telehealth process work?

To make an appointment, phone reception on (02) 6059 2500. In an emergency please call 000. You will be asked a series of questions to determine your suitability for a telehealth consultation. You will be given an appointment date/time and any other necessary instructions.

If you are booked for a telephone consultation – DO NOT COME INTO THE CLINIC……..WE WILL CALL YOU.  At the end of your consultation, your doctor will provide advice and instructions regarding what will happen with any prescriptions, referrals or other documents, along with any follow-up instructions.

All telehealth consultation will be bulk-billed to Medicare for everyone with a valid Medicare or DVA card number.

I have been advised I need to come into the clinic, what is the process?

If you have been advised that you need to come into the clinic for a face-to-face consultation, the process for checking into the clinic has changed for now, to help keep staff and patients as safe as possible. When you arrive in the carpark, please do not enter the building. Please call reception on (02) 6059 2500 to advise you have arrived. PLEASE WAIT IN YOUR CAR. We will mark you as ‘waiting’ on the diary. When the doctor is ready for you, we will call you and you can come in. If you, do not have a mobile phone, please come into reception to advise you have arrived, you will then be asked to wait in your car and will will come and get you when the doctor is ready.

For those that are arriving by taxi, or on foot please check in at reception on arrival. You will be instructed where to sit in order to observe social distancing requirements. Please avoid arriving early for your appointment to reduce the amount of time you are sitting in the waiting room.

We encourage everyone remain vigilant with ensuring good hand hygiene and social distancing. If you have any questions, please call our reception team on (02) 6059 2500.

 

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

In an emergency please call '000'.

Every effort is made to keep appointments running to time, however, due to the unpredictable nature of our work this is not always possible. Patients are encouraged to contact us prior to an appointment to check that the schedule is running to time.

Please give thought to the amount of time your appointment may require. If there are multiple or complex issues that need discussion, please let reception know when booking your appointment so that sufficient time can be allocated with the doctor.