COVID-19: Update for Patients
To all our patients and community, we hope you have all you need to take care of yourselves and your family in this time.
Our GPs and practitioners are here to support you. We want to assure you that we have everything in place to make your appointment as safe as possible.
Telephone or Telehealth appointments
You can choose to have your appointment via telephone or Telehealth appointment. However, if you require a physical assessment, in-person appointments will be available.
Care Plans will be conducted via telephone or Zoom. We recommend that all non-essential Health Assessments (>75 years or 45-49 years) be re-booked further down the track.
Now that the Central Coast is no longer considered a “hot spot,” longer telephone consults (>20 minutes) are not covered by Medicare. This means that for longer phone consults you may be at least another $40 out of pocket (although it does not apply to Zoom consults). If you would like to switch to an in-person appointment to bill through Medicare, please note the recent changes to our COVID Safe Plan below.
For Patients Coming to the Clinic
If you are coming to the clinic for an appointment, please call Reception if you have the following symptoms before coming in: sore throat, fever, fatigue, shortness of breath or a cough. (Please be patient, our phone lines are busier than usual.) You will likely need a COVID test; please only attend the practice with these symptoms if advised by our team.
When you arrive at the practice, please wait for our Reception Team to take a temperature check before entering. Please check into the practice with our QR code. As per current advice from NSW Health, we request the use of face masks for all people attending the practice. Please wear a 3 ply disposable mask, which can be provided by our Reception Team if necessary.
After your temperature check, you will be asked to wait in your car until the Reception Team contact you by mobile phone to advise that your practitioner is ready to see you. (If you do not have a mobile, please let the Reception Team know which car you are waiting in!) You are also welcome to wait in our beautiful garden behind the practice, provided you can safely distance from other patients.
If you will be in Invitation to Health for more than 20 minutes, you may be required to have a COVID Rapid Antigen Test prior to seeing your doctor or nurse. This will be done via a nasal swab – it takes approximately 15 minutes and will cost $15. We will attempt to contact you if this applies to your consultation, but as this gets up and running there may be a few glitches! Many thanks for your patience.
What to Do if You Have Symptoms
If you are unable to get in touch with us, Gosford Hospital has a COVID-19 Clinic and can be contacted on 02 4320-5055. They are also available weekends from 10am – 4pm.
For information on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), call the Australian Government’s National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800 020 080.
Please note, if you have difficulty breathing, we recommend you call 000.
What You Can Do to Take Care of Yourself
It is important during these uncertain times to remain calm, minimise stress, get adequate sleep, regular exercise and ensure that your diet is providing your body with all the essential nutrients to maintain a strong immune system, providing the best defence against any potential viruses. Please be mindful that during the cooler months, we are also faced with other viral illnesses.
Extra immune supportive therapies include ensuring optimal levels of Vitamin D, Vitamin C & Zinc and consideration of herbs that support the immune system. If this approach interests you, you can contact your GP or our naturopath, Kim Scott-Puata, face to face or via a telephone consultation.
In addition to hand washing and avoiding touching your face, you can follow the other current recommendations:
- wash clothes in 40-degree water, especially if you are exposed to people who are unwell
- drink lots of warm liquids to flush your mouth & throat
- use saline nasal spray to clean your out your nose
As always, maintain adequate hydration and sleep, and be gentle on yourself and on others.
Supplements from Our Dispensary
If our team of Integrative Practitioners have recommended some suggested supplements to support you in this time and you would like to purchase them from our dispensary, we can accommodate phone orders and will be offering complementary shipping for larger orders. For further information or to place an order please call our friendly reception team on 02 0422 0700.
Please be mindful that we will be experiencing a high number of calls over the coming weeks and there may be extended wait times for us to take your call. Please be patient with us, we are doing our best to continue to support you during this period.
Vaccines
Invitation to Health is now a registered clinic to administer the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. Appointments will be available on Thursdays.
To book your COVID-19 vaccine, please call the clinic or go to our HotDoc portal.
Financial Support
If you are experiencing financial pressure from the COVID-19 situation, please talk to us about options to continue your health care.
