Clinical Programs. Patient Information Booklet B U S I N E S S N A M E. Useful Numbers

Transcription

1 B U S I N E S S N A M E Clinical Programs Patient Information Booklet Useful Numbers After hours service (Locum Doctor) Royal Dental Hospital St Vincent s Hospital Royal Melbourne Hospital Northern Hospital Royal Children s Hospital

2 The current staff in the unit include: The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) 2020 vision is Creating and inspiring healthy Aboriginal people and families through quality, effective community health services, education and training. VAHS will achieve this with a flexible approach that is innovative, embraced by community and sets a standard as a Centre for Excellence for Aboriginal Health internationally [ The objectives of the VAHS Medical Clinic are to : To promote, improve and support the quality of life of the Community. To provide a holistic approach to the physical wellbeing of the person, the family and the Community in a culturally appropriate way. The aim of the VAHS Clinical unit is to provide health care, assessments, understanding and education to the Aboriginal Community through: Providing support to patients Advocating on behalf of the patient with Doctors and Specialists Conducting patient health checks Providing outreach and promoting the philosophy of the VAHS. Providing health promotion and education to Individuals and groups The service operates 5 days per week and on Saturdays between the hours of 9.30am and 12.30pm for patients with emergencies. VAHS has a Locum Doctor Service set up for after hours patient requirements. If you need a Doctor after hours call and select option 2 you will automatically go through to the Locum Service. Or alternatively dial Clinic Manager: Medical Director Andrew Baker Dr Mary Belfrage Clinic Team Leader Tracy Williams Medical Receptionist: Tarneen Onus-Williams, Coen Brown Rheearnah Kennedy Medical Administration: Les Thorpe Aboriginal Health Workers: Kim Dick, Kesaia Levini, Bonnie Kairouz, Nurses: Sandra Gregson, Danny Glasby, Jason Coombes Pharmacist: Lucy Egerton Doctors: Dr Niall Quiery (Snr Dr) Dr Jon Cook Dr Ohnmar John Dr Richard Sloman Dr Thanuja Ranatunga; Preston Dr Alethea Dwyer Dr Sarah Cush Dr Kieran Shiels Dr Sarah Koh Dr Sally Stokes Dr Erin Gordon Dr Alistair Don (Registrar) Healthy for Life Officer: Shelley Williams Transport Coordinator: James Brown Clinical Drivers: Cameron Brown, Anthony Pappas & Mark Brooks Bringing them Home Graeme Austin Physiotherapist: Chris Lane Nutritionist: Robyn Delbridge, Podiatrist: Matthew Christie Optometrist: Rotational (Tues all day, Fri AM only)

3 Receiving & Returning Telephone calls The following process is involved when a call is received from a patient requesting to speak to a Doctor or another member of the Medical Team; Call for Non-Medical Staff Member The call is directed through to that person whenever possible, or the caller is advised that the staff member is not available. The caller is then given the option of speaking to another staff member or a message is taken and forwarded to the relevant staff member. Call for Doctor You re phone call will be triaged in the following manner: Urgent requests - will be directed through to the Treatment Room where an Aboriginal Health Worker and/or Nurse will triage the request and if deemed urgent they will interrupt the GP and/or direct the call to the Duty Doctor Non-urgent - scripts, results etc; will be put through to the Treatment Room where an Aboriginal Health Worker and/or a Nurse will assist with the request. Specific Doctors - If the Doctor is present on the day, the call will logged as a Phone Consult and the Doctor, dependent upon how busy they are, will return the call when they are free and/or at the end of the day. If the request is for a Doctor who is not working that day, the caller will be advised and a message will be taken and put into their respective pigeon holes for follow-up. Appointments are 1/2 an hour in duration and can be made by phone or in person at the Medical reception desk. If you require an appointment longer than the 1/2 hour allocated please speak to the Medical receptionist to organise this. No appointments will be available on Thursday mornings between 9am and due to regular staff meetings. Patients who make an appointment and are then unable to attend are encouraged to inform reception of any cancellation. Medical patients without appointments can be seen through our Duty Doctor system that caters for emergencies, sickon-the-day and non-appointments; however emergencies will be given priority and all patients for the Duty Doctor will triaged upon need. The Duty Doctor operates between 8:30am 4pm Monday-Thursday & 8:30am to 3pm on Friday s. The Medical appointment system is helpful to patients who work, have a chronic disease or require regular visits to their Doctor of choice, as this assists with continuity of care. If you have any queries about making an appointment please contact the Medical receptionist or the Clinic Team Leader or Manager Weekends The Medical Clinic is open on a Saturday between the hours of 9:30am and 12:30pm. This is for patients with an emergency and/or for Pharmacy scripts. Only one Health Worker, one Doctor and a Receptionist work on this day. Patients are encouraged to visit the clinic during the week for routine care. During the week all Medical team members are available to assist the patient with more comprehensive healthcare where they have time to manage, provide, refer and support all areas of the patient s needs.

4 Referrals are required if a patient needs to see a Specialist. Often the Doctor will do the referral and if its to an external Specialist, wherever possible, the referral will be to a bulk billing specialist, but this will not always be the case. The VAHS has a number of visiting medical specialists including a; General Surgeon, Cardiac Surgeon, Ophthalmologist, Geriatrician, Gynecologist, Dermatologist. Referrals also occur for other Programs Units within VAHS. Fees VAHS is a bulk billing service. It is important that all patients have an updated Medicare card to enable direct charging to Medicare. Patients who incur any charges outside of the VAHS are to pay their own costs. Those patients who incur costs through referrals to external Specialists and/or the Allied Health Sector, are required to pay their own costs. Recall and reminder system Our clinic is committed to preventative care. We may issue you with a reminder notice from time to time offering you preventative health services appropriate to your care. If you do not wish to be a part of this system please let us know at the Medical reception. Management of your personal information The VAHS keep electronic (computer) medical records to store your information. The computer system has security restrictions which prevent unauthorised staff or anybody else from accessing patients clinical information.

5 The VAHS has three Medical drivers who support those patients who have a Medical appointment and whom do not have their own means of transport or are severely unwell. The criteria for using the Medical pick up service is; Patient s must live, but are not limited to, within 30km of the VAHS. Pickups for appointments Contact must be made the day before the appointment Hospital appointments (where the VAHS has referred you) - Contact must be made the day before the appointment If picked up, once you have seen the Doctor please be available for the drivers to take you home. If you have made a booking for transport and you are not going to be at home or no longer wish to be picked up, please inform Medical reception ASAP. Please be advised that disruptive and or unruly behavior whilst inside the VAHS vehicle will not be tolerated. This type of action could mean your transport may be forfeited or you will not receive further transport. Home visits Home visits are available in some circumstances. Before a home visit is made by the Medical team, they will make an assessment of the reason for the request for a home visit to decide if a home visit is appropriate or more urgent action, such as calling an ambulance and going to hospital is required. When a home visit is made by the Medical team it will usually involve a Doctor and an Aboriginal Health Worker. Confidentiality Whilst you are a patient of VAHS, all efforts will be made to ensure your personal information remains confidential. Information is not given to a third party unless specified by the patient in writing. If you want your information transferred from another Doctor/surgery to VAHS you will be asked to sign a release of information form and vice versa if you have decided to see a Doctor that is not part of the VAHS. VAHS encourages any patient to inform VAHS staff immediately if they have any concerns relating to the privacy of their medical records. Medical Results The Medical unit will not give patients pathology or x-ray results over the phone, unless this has been pre-arranged with the doctor at the time of consultation or the doctor contacts the patient to discuss a result. Results will not be given out to clients in any other circumstances.. Valuables or personal belongings The VAHS will not be held responsible for any loss or damage to personal items nor can the VAHS store your belongings. Please do not leave valuable items unattended. Grievance procedures If any patient or visitor to the VAHS has a grievance with the procedures, staffing or with other patients within the VAHS it is advised that you contact the VAHS administration ASAP and write down your concerns. Patients also have the right to contact the Health Commissioner if they feel their health care has not been sufficient. Health Services Commissioner via Ph or