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We recently asked some of you to fill in a feedback survey. We were pleased to know that our reception staff give a warm welcome and that we generally listen ! We know we need to work more on keeping appointments to time. Of course everyone appreciates a thorough doctor who spends time with them, so it is always difficult. We will endeavour to call you if the doctor is running very late and feel free to ring and ask whether your appointment is likely to be on time. We try and reserve times each day for urgent medical problems but there is a doctor shortage and waits for appointments are inevitable.

You can help by asking for a long appointment if you have complex issues or a number of concerns. If you have a wait, please enjoy our slide show with photos and health information or go for a walk in Pambula there are some lovely shops and cafes and a playground.

Dr Lancashire is on extended leave. We regret we may not be able to serve all his regular patients. We apologise that patients may need to access care at other clinics.

We follow ATAGI’s advice regarding immunisation.

Currently if you are 75 years or over Covid boosters are recommended every 6 months, from 65 – 74 years they are recommended every 12 months and consider 6 monthly. For other adults consider 12 monthly boosters. Talk to your doctor if you are immunosuppressed or have had covid recently as this changes the recommendations.

Influenza immunisation is recommended for all and funded at no cost for those at high risk ( $ 20 if you are not a high risk group) . Late April or May is the ideal time.

Other vaccines to protect against Shingles, Pneumonoccal pneumonia and Respiratory Syncytial Virus may also be recommended depending on your age. Some are funded , some require purchasing.

Ours nurses and doctors are happy to give advice and administer the vaccines, or ask your pharmacy.

July is the time of the year we update our salaries and usual fees. We use the Consumer Price Index to ensure our staff salaries increase appropriately and our fees must rise as well. Unfortunately the medicare rebates have once again not been indexed to keep up with inflation. We encourage you to talk to the federal politicians about that issue! Remember every doctor is entitled to alter their fee depending on the complexity of the consultation.

NEW PATIENTS

With three doctors starting at once, there are many new patients registering. Please collect a new patient registration form and complete it to assist our very busy reception staff. Once your details are set up on our system things will be less hectic!

PMC welcomes Dr John Lancashire , Dr Shauna Cheah and Dr Dilini Pelpoli !

Dr Lancashire will be joining the practice from 16 June 2022 and is accepting new patients. Dr Lancashire is a specialist general practitioner and has worked in the Bega Valley since 2019.

Dr Pelpoli has already had an afternoon working with us and looks forward to many more! She is an experienced specialist General Practitioner and has worked locally for over 10 years.

Dr Cheah is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and has interests in women’s health, chronic disease and preventative care. She has worked in the area since 2009 and begins work with us on June 16.

See more information on our staff page

As usual we recommend influenza immunisation for all in the months before winter.

We expect our doses to arrive late March. The government provides free flu vaccine to all people over 65 , young children from 6 months and 5 years and to anyone with a significant medical condition. Aboriginal or Torres Strait islanders can have a free flu vaccine at any age over 6 months. If you don’t fit those criteria it is a modest cost either here or at the chemist.

This year it is OK to have Covid vaccine on the same day as your flu vaccine. A fourth dose is now recommended for people over 65 , 4 months after the third dose. We will try and book both vaccines on the same day if you are eligible.

We conduct patient feedback surveys for our accreditation. We thank all patients who completed the survey.

Overwhelmingly our patients are satisfied with the quality of our care and the skills of staff we employ. However we always fall down on our appointments being on time…. To this end we have changed our usual appointment times to 20 minutes. Our reception staff will endeavour to allocate more time if you feel your issues are complex. Of course quality care takes time and is costly, so don’t be surprised if you are billed for a long /complex consultation when this is appropriate. Medicare rebates are greater for longer consultations but do not reflect the cost of providing a quality facility, employing skilled staff and all the additional costs of running a practice.

If we are running very late the reception staff will try to ring you to minimise your wait time in the clinic.

We continue to offer Covid immunisation . Thankfully almost everyone has had two doses in the region .. well done!

A third dose is now ( January 2022) recommended for everyone 4 months after your second dose. This will be a pfizer or moderna dose even if you had AZ the first two. If you are immunocompromised ATAGI recommend having your third dose any time after two months ..and a fourth dose 3 months after that .

Shingrix is an effective immunisation against shingles, newly available in Australia ( though used for quite a while in the USA) and is recommended for anyone over 50 years. It is not funded my medicare so is a private prescription and requires two doses. Talk to your doctor if you are interested .

If you are over 70, Zostavax also for shingles reduction is still available for free however is not as effective vaccine and can not be given to immunosuppressed people.

PMC has the capacity to immunise for COVID 19, fully funded by the government . We have both AZ and Pfizer brands in the numbers allocated by the federal government. We strictly follow the health department eligibility rules. Please check your eligibility on https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility?lang=en

As of August 9 , AZ is available for all those over 60. Anyone between 40 and 59 can have Pfizer at present. Those in high risk occupations or medical conditions can have Pfizer from the age of 12 .

Any adult can discuss having an AZ vaccine , but be aware of the rare clotting issue that has been well publicised, it occurs more commonly in younger people.

Phone our clinic for an appointment if you think your are eligible.

We also recommend influenza immunisation , these are available for free ( government funded) for those over 65, under 5 or with serious medical conditions and cost $16 for others.

PMC is pleased to say we are able to immunise our patients . As of May 2021 we will be getting 150 doses per week of the AZ vaccine. This is recommended for those over 50 years of age. You need two doses ideally 12 weeks apart. Please call for an appointment .

There is a small risk of serious immune related blood clots which occurs at a higher rate , perhaps 1 in 50,000 in young people, but 1 in 250,000 in those over 50 .

For those under 50 years the AZ vaccine can still be given if you have a high risk situation (associated with your work or travel) , however government advice is to wait till an alternate vaccine is available later in the year.

Flu vaccine is also available it is given at least 2 weeks away from the Covid vaccine. It is free to those under 5 or over 65 or with health conditions. Our private fluvax costs $16 .