Complety Lost

[Sam Brown]

Hi there,

 

We have just moved over fro the uk (8 weeks ago) due to my husbands work and I am lost over the whole health care issue. We do have private care sponsored my by husbands company for a year, and we also have Medicare cards.

 

Back home we registered with a doctor who the told us when we were due for certain things like when the kids needed vacs or when it was time for a "lady check" but I've been told over here where we live they are mostly walk in clinics. Do I get registered or not?

 

Also Dentists. Back home we had a denplare plan, but the kids were seen free, how does it work over here.

 

Feeling very lost at the moment, any help gratefully received.

 

Thank you.

 

Sam

[Rupert]

Well I have been here for four years and have never registered with a doctor, I don't have medical needs generally though, but if you do you might want to find a regular doctor. Dentists will be all you unless your private insurance has some cover.

[calNgary]

Hi Sam you can still register with a GP and they will alert you when Pap smears etc are due, you even get a 2nd cranky letter if you forget and don't make an appointment,lol.

For the kids injections etc ,if of school age they get boosters etc via school, if for any reason theyre absent and miss the booster ,you will get informed of what they need via letter from the local council.

Hope this helps abit, it is all very confusing when you first arrive.

 

Cal x

[northshorepom]

You can just use doctors on a walk in basis but it's also completely normal (especially if you have a family) to register with a GP and go and visit them when you need, just as you would at home. All that's really different is how they are paid

 

Some "bulk bill" and Medicare will pick up the tab, others charge you the difference between what Medicare pay and their fee. Ours is one of the latter, I am used to paying for GP visits as that's the way it was in Sweden and don't have a problem with it. If on a tight budget I'd go to a bulk bill GP

[Paul1Perth]

We have been using the same doctor and dentist since we've been living here. The doctor bulk bills and the dentist is good so we stick with him. I think you can register with a doctor and I know our dentist sends us a reminder when a visit is due. You can either go or not though, he doesn't take offence.

 

I don't think you will find it a lot different from the UK. The kids might get their teeth seen to free if the school has a visiting dentist.

[nic1171]

Unlike the UK where you usually had to be registered with a GP before being seen you don't here. Most people will go to the same practice but if there's no appointments available you can go another one. A lot do offer a type of walk in service to, a bit like a minor injury centre

[LKC]

There is a page here about the Medicare immunisation register which might help http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/medicare/australian-childhood-immunisation-register. When we arrived, I checked which immunisations were needed and when, and then at the right time I took the kids along to the nearest doctor. The nurse (who did the immunisations) took all of the kids immunisation history from their red books, and somehow got it added to the register. That means that you get a reminder (I think) about when the jabs are due. You can definitely log on and see what the children's immunisation status is once they have been added and you have opened a medicare online account.

 

In general for GP's we have tended to stick with one, but have swapped to another if we have been unable to get an appointment at a time we have needed. In NSW at least (I have no idea of the other states) when I had my last PAP I was entered on to a register and they send a reminder when it is due.

 

It is confusing. We ended up phoning some health advice line that we found in the phone book, and they sent for an ambulance three days after we arrived, because our youngest was showing signs of meningitis, and we had no idea where to go and find a GP. We had no internet connection or anything at all. The paramedics were lovely, and they did take her to hospital because she had an extremely high temperature, was listless and 'floppy' for want of a better word. Thankfully it wasn't meningitis, but that was pretty much one of the most stressful things I have ever had to deal with, because we just didn't know what to do! You'll sort it all out soon enough!

[Guest littlesarah]

Where I live (NSW) for kids' immunisations, the council partner up with the local health service to provide vaccination clinics, and the council send a reminder letter when your child/ren is/are due for boosters. Or you can get them done at the GP surgery - whatever suits. Either way, I'm pretty sure reminders are sent from the state health department (I got a letter recently about my baby's first lot of immunisations).