Opening Hours: 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday, closed for lunch 1pm-2pm

Timely Access to care and Walk ins: If you are acutely unwell, and you need urgent care during business hours, you will be seen on the same day in the acute appointment slots. It is best to phone the practice first rather than walk in. You may be asked to give further details to our reception staff who are skilled at triaging and if necessary, you will need to speak to the Practice Nurse to ensure appropriate triaging of the urgency of your appointment or alternative care if needed. Urgent care cases will be prioritised.

Emergency Access: In case of emergency or life threatening issues Please call 000 (Triple zero) and arrange an ambulance, OR go to your nearest Hospital Emergency Department if you are safe to do so. (Mersey Community Hospital-Latrobe, Or North West Regional Hospital- Burnie)

After Hours: There is an after-hours service provided by GP Assist (Healthdirect Australia,) 1800 022 222. This service offers free assistance from a registered nurse and medical advice from a GP if needed. There are several clinics in the area that offer weekend clinics.

Medicare Urgent Care Clinic -Devonport (MUCC): In December 2023 a new Government funded MUCC was opened at 130 Steele Street, Devonport. This is for Urgent care (not emergency) when you cannot get into your regular GP. In urgent care duding business hours, always call Don Medical Clinic first. For Urgent care outside of business hours, go to the MUCC. You will be triaged and seen if appropriate.
Open Hours: Monday to Friday 2.00pm to 8.00pm
Saturday/Sunday/Public Holidays: 2.00pm to 6.00pm

Services we Provide: We are a full-service General Practice with a focus on family medicine, preventative health, early intervention and follow up whilst providing you with assistance to manage your health care needs. We offer a Confidential, accessible, affordable and non-judgemental service for all ages from birth to elderly, including young people, gender diverse and our LGBTQI community. For a full list of services provided please view our website. services we provide.

Routine Appointments: Routine appointments may not be available on the day, as these times are dedicated to see acutely unwell patients. We run on 15-minute appointments, so if you have complex needs you may need to book a double appointment. It is helpful to outline your needs to the reception staff, so that the appropriate time can be set aside for you. The doctor may request double appointments due to more time being needed to address multiple complex medical needs and this will incur an increased fee at billing.( please note the Medicare rebate also increases so the gap fee is the same for a single appt booking).

Appointment Types: Don Medical Clinic provides a wide variety of Appointment types and services including: standard appointments, long appointments, skin checks, mental health support, womens health, mens health, childrens, immunisations. For a full list of our services - select this link services we provide

Telehealth appointments: Telehealth appointments are available upon request (Telephone or Video). These will be available subject to suitability and GP agreement. You must have had at least 1 face to face consult at the practice within the previous 12 month period to be eligible for a Medicare rebate.

Preferred Doctor: You are able to ask for your preferred doctor when requesting an appointment. Our receptionists endeavour to allocate appointments so that you generally see the same doctor where possible. Due to many doctors working part time, this may mean seeing an alternative GP at times. If you are unable to obtain an appointment with the doctor of your choice you will be advised about the availability of other doctors. Don Medical uses a team-based approach to care including GPs and Practice nurses to manage your continuity of care.

Practitioners available: It is challenging to recruit GPs to regional areas in permanent roles. We have several part time GPs with varied special interests. All GPs at Don Medical have special interests in family and general medicine and are experienced in mental health. Don Medical Clinic often has to engage shorter term locum GPs and part time GPs. For a list of our current GPs, please refer to our website https://www.donmedical.com.au/staff

Drugs of Addiction: Drugs of Addiction will NOT be prescribed on your first appointment. There is no exception to this policy, so to avoid embarrassment, please respect this policy. In situations, where drugs of addiction have been prescribed, there will be regular review and encouragement to reduce and cease these medications. The Doctors at Don Medical Clinic believe that the use of alternative methods to manage chronic pain is the best long term option for their patients and this is supported by evidence based medicine. (A copy of our Drugs of Addiction Policy is available upon request).

Billing: We are a private billing practice with Medicare Online claim back facility for your convenience, however we do bulk-bill children under 16 on a concession card and routine childhood immunisation appointments. Please refer to the Billing Policy. We offer concession fees to all pensioners, concession card holders and young people 25 and under. Most veteran Affairs Gold card holder services are bulk billed

Non-Attendence Fee: We are aware that occasionally some things come up that may mean having to cancel an appointment. Please contact the practice as soon as possible if this is the case. If a patient needs to cancel an appointment, we require at least 1 hours notice if possible. In instances where a patient does not attend a scheduled appointment, or cancels an appointment at the last minute, a non-attendance fee of $40.00 (for standard appointment) may be charged to the patient. This fee is not rebatable to Medicare.

Telephoning/Electronic communication to your Doctor: A message will be taken by reception and you will be contacted by the practice once the Doctor has reviewed the message. The GP may ask the practice nurse or reception team to contact you if more information is required. Emailing should be used for general enquiries only. It is not recommended for sending private clinical or urgent information. Any emails should be sent to the practice email so they can be recorded and forwarded to the required person. Sending your GP SMS messages directly is not recommended unless the GP has specifically requested this for a particular care issue. Fees may apply for "email or text" requests.

Online Bookings: We use an online booking system called HotDoc. This can be accessed via the Don Medical Clinic webpage or Facebook page. When you register with Don Medical Clinic as a new patient and provide an email address and mobile phone number, you will receive email/SMS reminders for appointments. There will be several online appointment options for you to choose from depending on your needs. Some of our doctors do not have online appts available. If you have any queries about making an appointment or if you are acutely unwell then call the clinic directly on 6441 5299 during business hours.

Book Appointment

Repeat Prescriptions Are available without an appointment (Conditions apply). A fee is payable for this service and no Medicare rebate is available. These can now be supplied by an eToken QR code sent to your Mobile or Email. You then just take your code to the pharmacy of your choice where it is scanned and your Prescription is dispensed. This VIDEO link shows how it works for you.

Repeat Referrals - are available without an appointment (Conditions apply). A fee is payable for this servce and no Medicare rebate is available

Home Visits: Your request will be taken by reception and the staff will phone you back as soon as possible after they speak with the Doctor. If you think you may require this service please ring early in the day. Home Visit Policy

Reminder System: We consider your participation in health monitoring to be an essential part of your health care. We operate an extensive reminder system designed to ensure the opportunity of attendance. Where appropriate, patients are informed of the availability of, and offered enrolment in national or state reminder systems. (eg Breast Screen Tasmania etc). We utilise an electronic SMS recall service (HOTDOC) where possible to notify you when certain services are due for review.

Results: If you have had an investigation ordered by your Doctor, the Doctor will make arrangements with you on how to get these results. The ideal is that you return for discussion of the results. However telehealth, phone, email and SMS can be used to follow up results in some cases. Reception staff will not provide information about results and ideally we would prefer patients follow the plan outlined by the doctor and do not call for results. If you do call, a message will be taken and forwarded to your Doctor by reception staff.

Notifications: Don Medical Clinic uses the Webpage, www.donmedical.com.au, Facebook, email and SMS to keep patients up to date with changes or events relating to the practice.

Disability Services: The practice is mindful of people with disabilities and has wheelchair access and an accessible toilet. A wheelchair is available if required. If you have special needs please discuss these with your Doctor. Access to Translation services is available.

Interpreter Services: An interpreter service is available upon request through the Translator Interpreter Service (TIS). We can also provide interpreter services for hearing impaired patients through National Auslan Service and National Relay Service. Should you require these services, please advise our reception team when making your appointment so these can be booked

Feedback: We welcome your feedback to improve our care. There is a feedback box in the waiting room or you can use our online option . You can also contact us if you would like to talk to someone personally. If you wish to make a complaint, we believe problems are best dealt with through the practice and encourage you to contact us by the online form, or by contacting us directly. However you may contact: Health Complaints Commission 1800 001 170.

Accreditation: Our practice is fully accredited with QPA to ensure RACGP standards 5 are met.

Taxis: Our reception team will be happy to order a taxi for you from the surgery should you require one.

Parking: Free parking Is available at the front and rear of the building, as part of the Hill Street Complex. Accessible car parks are near the front door of the practice adjacent to the neighbouring pharmacy.

Email use: Our practice uses secure, password protected computer systems and email servers utilising the latest firewall, antivirus and malware protection systems. Unencrypted email is not recognised as a secure form of communication. There is some risk that any individually identifiable health information and other sensitive or confidential information that may be contained in such email may be misdirected, disclosed to or intercepted by, unauthorized third parties. However, you may consent to receive email from us regarding your treatment or results. We will verify the accuracy of your email information and use the minimum necessary amount of protected health information in any communication. We recommend you use a personal email address for your personal health communication (eg: NOT a workplace provided email address). Please do not use email if you need urgent information or immediate access to care. In these circumstances you should always telephone the reception directly or in case of emergency, call Triple Zero (000).

Privacy: Your privacy is important to us. This practice is bound by the Commonwealth Privacy Act - Privacy amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000. We abide by the 13 Australian Privacy Principles . Collection of your personal information is important to provide appropriate care to you. We will not release information about you or your care to anyone without your written approval unless required by law. A copy of our privacy policy can be obtained from our website or from reception. Privacy Policy

We see many young people at our practice, we use Gillick competent testing to assess their suitability to make decisions for themselves. However the doctor / nurse is legally bound to override this if the young person is deemed a risk to themselves, to others or if someone is harming them.