Doctor Who? The National Home Doctor Service pays a visit
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It’s Tuesday morning. You roll out of bed in an attempt to find your way to the shower, only you roll back in as the sudden wave of aches transcends through your body.
Just breathing makes your chest heavy and tight, sending you into a splutter of coughs as the air fills your lungs. And you know by your constant sniffling that you probably shouldn’t be going to work. Problem is your boss, like so many others, won’t honour a sick day without a doctor’s certificate.
But your chances of getting into see your GP today is highly unlikely, with only one in three people actually getting an appointment the same day their sick. Looks like you have to suffer in silence and drag your sorry self to work.
Wrong.
Canberra has finally received its long overdue booster shot of after-hours health care with yesterday’s launch of the National Home Doctor Service, Australia’s largest network of bulk-billing home visiting doctors. Available to more than 196,000 households and 27 aged care facilities throughout the ACT and Queanbeyan, the service provides a simple to use alternative for when GPs and medical centres are closed (or unavailable) and the illness is not serious enough for the emergency department (ED).
For mums who experience the late night dilemma of having to drag a sick child into the cold, the NHDS is a godsend.
It’s passionate team of doctors care about the health of everyone offering a service that meets a range of healthcare needs addressing urgent episodic issues, not your regular routine checkups. So if you’re needing a repeat on your script or your blood pressure checked, you’ll still need to make that appointment with your GP.
While it can’t replace everything, the NHDS is not here to compete with GPs says NHDS spokesperson Ben Kenneally.
“The NHDS is about supporting the GP as the cornerstone of patient care. It gives people another option rather than going to an emergency department, particularly at night and on weekends when regular GPs are often closed, and will help relieve some of the pressure on emergency departments,” he says.
“It will give people a real alternative when they know that they don’t really need to go to emergency but sometimes they think its the only option they have.
“It is particularly important for residents of aged care facilities who struggle to get care when they need it; this provides an alternative for their carers. “
What’s more, the service is set to save taxpayers and the government a little bit of cash too with the average medicare benefit cost of an out-of-hours home visit around $125; a third of the average cost associated with managing a patient in need. When it comes to the elderly and those with limited access to GPs, most feel their only option is to call 000. Ideally, the National Home Doctor Service will reduce the number of elderly people who present at Canberra Hospital’s emergency department and the number of calls for an ambulance. By providing this service it gives Canberra residents with low acuity health concerns an alternative and a much-needed breather for the public health system.
But it’s not only the elderly who benefit. If you have a Medicare card, then you are eligible for bulk-billing. If you don’t have access to Medicare (e.g. a temporary resident, tourist/overseas visitor or an international student), you can still use the service but there is a $200 doctor’s fee which can be paid at the time of the visit by cash or credit card.
The service is accessible by everyone—from the elderly to people without transport; those with carer responsibilities to those with children; people with a chronic illness or palliative care patients. To use the service is simple.
Fundamentally, you just pick up the phone and call, or you can download the app and request a doctor visit; and for aged care facilities there is a fax pad that can be completed and then faxed through. There is then a triage process by the NHDS receptionist similar to when you front up to the reception at your local GP.
As the doctors are already out on the road travelling and making house calls, you can usually expect a knock on your door within 3-hours of the initial request, but like an Emergency Department, delays can occur. By 8am the following morning (or next-business day), your GP will receive a secure and detailed clinical report from your house call visit ensuring that your health records remain current.
Although trends in recent years have shown a steady decline in home doctor visits, it looks to be that the ways of the old days are returning.
“There’s no doubt that in the last 30 years there’s been a decline in the number of home visits being carried out,” says Mr Kenneally.
“This is a return to the old days in some ways.”
The essentials
What: National Home Doctor Service
Where: ACT and Queanbeyan
Who: Everyone
How: Call 13 74 25 or download the App.
Cost: Bulk-billed for Medicare card holders; $200 doctor’s fee for those not eligible for Medicare.
Hours: Open weekdays from 4pm, Saturday from 10am, All day Sunday and Public Holidays
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