If you or the person you look after has a medical emergency, go to your nearest emergency department or call 000.
But what if it is not an emergency otherwise you’re undecided? Sometimes you possibly can’t wait until 9 a.m. or Monday morning to see a health care provider or access health care.
You can have a fever that will not go away, a sprain that might indicate a fracture, a painful urinary tract infection, or a distressing situation that requires immediate mental health support.
Here are your options for accessing timely health care, in-person and virtual – including some freed from charge.
Medicare Urgent Care Clinics
Medicare Urgent Care clinics provide paid care led by a general practitioner (GP) for non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries.
Patients can are available without an appointment or referral and have access to other services comparable to blood tests and X-rays. There aren’t any out-of-pocket costs.
You can find a neighborhood clinic Here.
Search engines to seek out an appointment with a family doctor – in person or online
Health service search engines like google and yahoo comparable to Health engine AND HotDoc can enable you to find GPs and book appointments.
You can filter your search results by service type and telehealth availability, including “GP Telehealth on Demand within 15 Minutes” on Hotdoc.
Many of those will involve out-of-pocket costs.
Home visits
Personal visits to your GP for urgent, episodic illnesses or injuries may also be arranged through options comparable to: 13 Nationwide service for SICK home doctors, Doctor Doctor, Welcome to the house doctor website, Sidmed, 13 TREATMENT AND OnCallDrs.
They are sometimes billed collectively.
Talk to a nurse or doctor
New 1800MEDICARE hotline is a free service available 24 hours a day, 7 days every week where you possibly can refer to a registered nurse about any health concerns you might have.
They will hearken to your concerns, assess your symptoms and advise you on next steps. This may mean taking good care of yourself at home, getting help out of your primary care doctor, or visiting an urgent care clinic, pharmacy or emergency room.
If an 1800MEDICARE nurse recommends an appointment along with your GP inside 24 hours, your 1800MEDICARE GP may give you a telephone or video call. These GPs can issue prescriptions via text message.
Virtual emergency departments for non-life-threatening situations
Virtual Emergency Departments are free online emergency departments that treat non-life-threatening conditions comparable to pain, sprains, infections, respiratory illnesses, gastroenteritis, hypertension, pain, infections, minor burns and rashes.
Examples include:
Another similar option is My emergency doctorwhich provides patients with access to emergency medicine specialists via video call or telephone 24 hours a day, seven days every week. However, this service costs $150.
Medicines and pharmacists
Some pharmacies operate with prolonged working hours, including 24 hours a day. You can find your nearest pharmacy at: this linkwith the flexibility to filter by “extended hours”.
In some circumstances, pharmacies may issue the so-called a small amount of drugs for those who run out.
In some states and territories, pharmacists can provide medicines comparable to antibiotics for easy urinary tract infections with no prescription.
For those living in distant Australia, the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) runs: Medical boxes program. First aid kits stock pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical supplies, including prescription-only medicines that RFDS doctors can prescribe after a telephone consultation.
Pregnancy, childbirth and youngsters
Pregnancy, childbirth and baby is a free nationwide service providing support to expectant parents and oldsters of youngsters from birth to 5 years of age.
You can speak to our mother and baby community nurses by telephone on 1800 882 436 or video call about you or your child, from 7:00 a.m. to midnight, seven days every week.
Screenshot of giving birth while pregnant
CubCare is one other virtual urgent care option that gives access to pediatric emergency medicine physicians for a fee.
Dental care
The Australian Dental Foundation provides free support 24 hours a day, 7 days every week Emergency dental hotline which may enable you to determine how urgent your problem is and what your next steps are.
National emergency dentist is a personal health service that connects patients with emergency dentists who offer same-day or after-hours appointments for a fee.
Mental health telephone support
Mental health support will rely on your individual needs and background. You can access after-hours mental health support through these telephone services (some also offer online chats):
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13 Yarn: A 24-hour crisis support hotline operated by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
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Safe’N’Strong yarn: 24/7 support available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals who need to refer to someone about their wellbeing
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Brother to brother: A 24-hour crisis line providing telephone support for Aboriginal men, staffed by Aboriginal men, including older people.
- QLife: telephone and online chat available within the afternoons and evenings seven days every week to support LGBTQIA+ people.
Communication assistance
The National Translation and Interpreting Service offers support to non-English speaking people by way of consultations. This service is generally free, covers 150 languages and is offered after business hours. Register Here.
The National Relay Service provides assistance to individuals with hearing or speech problems during medical consultations.
