Have you ever found yourself up in the middle of the night with a sick child? They might have a raging fever or can't stop vomiting. Did you take them to a 24 hour medical centre or even the hospital?
What if I told you that there is now a National Home Doctor Service that will come to you house, after hours, when your local GP is closed and to sweeten the deal, they even bulk bill? This after hours home Doctor service is available week nights, weekends and even on public holidays.
Have you heard of the National Home Doctor Service?
How it works
You or someone in your family is sick, but your local GP is closed.
Simply call 13SICK (137 425) from 4pm weekdays, 10am Saturdays, all day Sunday and public holidays.
They will organise for a Doctor to visit you at home, so you can start your treatment sooner.
They'll advise you when the Doctor is on their way
They will even sent a report to your local GP for follow up treatment
Download the App You can also download the 'National Home Doctor Service' app to request an appointment. A member of the call centre team will then call you to confirm your appointment details.
The app can be downloaded from the App Store for iPhone users or the Google Play Store for Android users.
Where is the service available? The National Home Doctors Service offers home visits in:
Sydney
Brisbane
Sunshine Coast
Melbourne
Geelong
Adelaide
Simply use the handy 'suburb locator' on their website to see if they service your area.
What is the waiting time? The normal waiting period is within 3 hours of the call being placed.
What to do if your condition changes while you're waiting for the doctor to arrive?
If your condition improves and you no longer need a Doctor, simply call them back on 13SICK and they will remove you from the list.
If your condition gets worse, you can call them back and they will attempt to prioritise you or call 000 if its an emergency.
What is the cost? Bulk billing is available. You can ask for a cost estimate at the time of your call.
Doctor Qualifications All doctors are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), as required by the Medical Board of Australia and carry full medical indemnity insurance.
3 family members went down with a vomiting etc virus and the doctor was there promptly and treated us all in the comfort of our home, Great service and highly recommended but they are not there to replace your family GP but have a great service for After hours care and if serious you should always call an ambulance or go to hospital . Sue
I am sorry to hear that you didn't have the best experience with the National Home Doctor Service. You can actually contact them directly with your concerns via the feedback form on their website here: http://www.homedoctor.com.au/survey/Feedback/Feedback_form
I'm sure that they would like to hear your story as they won't have an opportunity to improve their service, if they don't know there are problems.
I have had to use them twice for my daughter and haven't had a problem.
I feel I really need to give you some feedback as I am very concerned at the diagnose I received over the last 2-3 weeks from 2 of your doctors on separate occasions the first doc said I have like a sinus allergy condition and gave me a std script for penacline antibiotics and degongestion liquid and as my symptoms worsened within a week and I couldn't breath in when I had coughing fits I got a second doc out from your service and he told me it seems to be allergy related and asked me to try to suppress my cough and told me to have over counter tablets that have antihistamine based while he was running out of the door ,I felt I had inconvenienced him and he was in a of a rush when he was seeing myself ..then as week progressed I started vomiting when I coughed as I gaged cause I couldn't breath in when I was having the coughing spasms I had to see my local GP and she ordered me to have blood tests and throat and nasal swabs and was told yesterday that I have adult Whooping Cough which is contagisious and I work in retail so I don't know how many people I have spread this infection too plus I coughed in front of the 2 doctors that were here as well ..I am on now on Emycin tablets for 2 weeks and in quarteene till I have 7 days worth of Emycin antibiotics..I was suppose to be going away for Easter which I could have i got the right diagnosis 2 weeks ago from your service..I am not angry with anyone at all just very concerned and disappointed about this home care service and to what level of diagnosis should I expect from a home doctor compared to a local GP doctor...
I've used dial a doctor in Perth and it's a similar service. We had to use it once and they were so prompt and efficient. I think my son now expects the Dr to always come to him now :-)