Policies and Procedures
Communication with Patients
Your call will be answered politely and efficiently but to ensure confidentiality the Doctors at Summerhill Medical Centre do not take telephone calls during a consultation. All telephone messages will be passed on to the Doctor or Nurse who will respond according to the urgency as determined by the Doctor or Nurse. If you have a query or message for the doctor, staff will relay it to the doctor via an internal messaging system. Staff will only interrupt a consultation if the problem is life threatening. Reception staff will advise if a more appropriate interaction is necessary.
Email communication is available only if necessary and can be sent to summermcreception@gmail.com.au but may not be read the same day so patients are advised to phone for urgent issues. All other emails matters will be tended to within 48 hours. If you do not get a response within this timeframe, please follow up with our reception.
Zero Tolerance Policy
Summerhill Medical Centre has a Zero Tolerance policy on aggressive and abusive behaviour. Aggressive behaviour and any form of verbal or physical abuse towards any member of staff will not be tolerated. Staff hold the right to immediately terminate a phone call or request that you leave the premises if they are a victim of such behavior..
Management of Personal Information
Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy and responsibility of each Doctors and Allied Health Provider at Summerhill Medical Centre to maintain the security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorized members of staff. We abide by the Australian Privacy Principles. Please click here for further information.
Test Results
After any test including scans please discuss your results to see the doctor 3-5 working days later. If calling the Practice for results, Reception staff will only be able to advise whether your results have been received. Our Doctors utilise an SMS reminder system to inform you of any results requiring you follow-up. Please note, that reception staff are only able to relay comments as provided by the Doctor. It is not within their scope of practice to relay or discuss particulars of your results.
After hours and Emergency
For all emergencies please call 000
For After hours please call Dial a Doctor After Hours service. Contact number 13 SICK
Home Visits
*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Summerhill Medical Centre has deemed Home Visits an unsafe and unreasonable service for our General Practitioners to provide.
This is due to a high threat to our practitioners’ personal safety and wellness and as it also poses a risk to our larger patient base should our GPs become injured or become unwell due to a Home Visit interaction. We therefore encourage any patients in need to book a telehealth appointment with the GP, or contact our afterhours home doctor service (National Home Doctor 13 7425). In all emergency situations we refer patients to the emergency services. And where the above are not appropriate we also provide details of the Nurse On Call (1300 60 60 24) service.
The Doctors at Summerhill Medical Centre endeavour to serve every member of the community. Home Visits are an appointment type made available to our most vulnerable patients on request and can only be booked through our reception team. Home visits are made available to patients that fall into the following categories:
- The Doctor deems the home visit, safe and within reason
- Only existing patients, who have seen their Doctor in the last 12 months
- Live within 2 km radius from our practice
- That are non-urgent
All home- visits are at the Doctors discretion. If the Doctor deems the appointment unsafe or not viable, reception will direct patients to book a telehealth appointment, or contact our after hours doctor service (National Home Doctor 13 7425) and provide the number for Nurse-On-Call (1300 60 60 24). In all emergency or urgent situations, reception refers patients to appropriate emergency services.
Reminder System
The Doctors at Summerhill Medical Centre are committed to preventative care. The Doctors from time to time 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 part of this system please let your Doctor or receptionist know.
Appointments and Walk-ins
The Doctors at Summerhill Medical Centre are committed to providing medical service when you require as we understand that you can’t predict when you fall ill. As such, our Doctors’ operate a triple appointment system – advance booking, same day bookings and walk in appointments. Walk in appointments are our preferred but there is usually a wait of 30-60 min. Bookings are limited and can be booked via our website.
Appointments are however required for non-GP services (i.e Allied Health and Nurses). For emergencies please call 000.
Home Visits
Are provided only in exceptional circumstances. For After hours Locum Service please contact 13 SICK.
Complaints and feedback
We always seek to improve our services. Please forward feedback of any kind to the Practice Manager by phone 03 9471 3788 or by completing this complaints form and email to summermcreception@gmail.com If you have a complaint and are not satisfied with the outcome of our service, you can contact the Health Services Commissioner, the contact details of which are: The Health Services Commissioner, Victoria 30th Floor, 570 Bourke Street Melbourne VIC 3000. P: 8601-5200 or 1800 136 066 (toll free) Website: www.health.vic.gov.au