Patient Information
Phone and fax communications
Our clinic phone number is 03 9043 6568.
Our clinic fax number is 03 9977 5852.
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Our phone lines are monitored during opening hours Monday - Saturday. If our Reception team is very busy, you may be prompted to leave a message. Please leave a detailed message and we will return your call as soon as we can - likely the same business day.
For urgent health matters, call 000.
For GP after hours care, please contact our locum provider 13 SICK (13 7425), https://homedoctor.com.au/
Email communications
Our clinic email address is info@theneighbourhood.clinic.
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Our emails are monitored during opening hours Monday - Saturday. We always endeavour to reply as soon as we can. However, for urgent queries, please call Reception on 03 9043 6568.
Please do not send health-related queries via email. Please make an appointment with your regular practitioner here. All GP prescription-related queries also require an appointment with your regular GP.
The Neighbourhood Clinic prefers not to send confidential health information via email. We will only send confidential information via email with the patient’s consent, and after confirming the identity of the patient.
After hours care and home visits
For GP after hours care, please contact our locum provider 13 SICK (13 7425), https://13sick.com.au/
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Home visits can be arranged in some instances. Please contact Reception on 03 9043 6568 to discuss.
Follow up appointments and results
Your practitioner, or our nurses, may arrange for you to be contacted with your consent, in relation to health reminders and result follow-ups.
The message you receive will let you know what you need to do - in most instances, you will need to book an appointment with your practitioner to discuss.
Patient health information
Your personal information, including your health information, is very important to us at TNC. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
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If you would like to access the health records your GP holds about you at TNC, follow the process here.
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Psychology clients can read specific information and recommendations about communicating with your Psychology team here.
Feedback
Our management team welcomes your feedback on any aspect of your experience at The Neighbourhood Clinic. We love our clinic being an extension of your existing neighbourhood, and want our patients to feel comfortable and satisfied with their time here.
You can contact our Practice Manager, Allison, anytime. You can pop in for a chat, email her at allison@theneighbourhood.clinic or phone 03 9043 6568 for a confidential discussion. You can also complete a feedback form here.
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Alternatively, you are able to contact the Health Complaints Commissioner here.
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Regularly, we seek anonymous patient feedback via a patient survey, which is arranged by an independent third party survey company. We receive anonymised responses and, as a team, we use your feedback to improve our services, processes and your experience with us.
Below are some areas of improvement identified in the our most recent Patient Survey, and the measures we have put in place.
Appointment availability
Several survey responses mentioned that it can be difficult to book a GP appointment with short notice.
We understand this can be frustrating, especially if you become suddenly unwell.​
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To help alleviate this:
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we have a variety of Doctors, offering different appointment types and times and all of them can access your medical history to provide continuum of care, even if they are not your regular Doctor
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​we have an agreement with an after hours care provider 13 SICK (13 7425), https://13sick.com.au/
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we have a triage system where our Nurses can provide support and advice in urgent cases
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we monitor patient case loads, and restrict new patient appointments for certain Doctors to enable them to meet the needs of their existing patients
Confidentiality in Reception
Some respondents find it challenging to confirm their identity at the Reception desk, especially if there were other patients in the waiting room.
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We understand that our waiting room can be a busy and noisy space, at times. We also understand that providing 3 points of ID regularly can be annoying or an intrusion of privacy. However, we are legally required to do a 3 point ID check at every interaction with a patient.
Whilst a verbal ID check is most common, it does not necessarily need to be verbal. We will remind our Reception team that ID can be provided in writing or on documents such as drivers licence, Medicare card, etc. ​​
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