T H E U N I V E R S I T Y H E A L T H S E R V I C E

H E A L T H S E R V I C E S T A F F

D O C T O R S

All the doctors are experienced general practitioners

Dr Stephanie Brookman (MBBS, Family Planning Association

Certificate, Workcover Authorised Medical Practitioner) is the

Director of the Health Service, has special interests in

Occupational Health and Travel Medicine.

Dr Sally Gaunson (MBBS, FRACGP, Family Planning

Association Certificate) has an interest in Refugee Health and

Antenatal Care.

Dr Nayan Shah (MBBS, Certificates in Family Planning, Dip

RACOG, FRACGP) has an interest in Women’s health including

all forms of contraception (including Implanon) and asthma.

Dr Michael Schien (MBBS, Dip RACOG, DA, FRACGP) has a

special interest in skin disorders and performs minor

procedures.

Dr Nerida Paterson (BMed, Dip RACOG) has a special interest

in Women’s Health and Paediatrics.

Dr Lucy Gupta (MBBS) Speaks Hindi and has an interest in

preventative medicine.

Dr Kumrun Salam (MBBS, FRACGP) has an interest in

Women’s Health, Preventative Medicine and Paediatrics.

Dr Carolyn Hackworthy (MBBS) has a special interest in

Women’s Health.

Dr Harshul Parikh (MBBS, MD, MRCGP, FRACGP) has interests

in Preventative Medicine, Family Medicine and Chronic

Disease Management.

R E G I S T E R E D N U R S E S

Leanne, Margaret and Alison work closely with the doctors. They

attend most emergencies on campus, treat many minor injuries

and also carry out immunisations and procedures such as ear

syringing and dressings, often following a consultation with a

doctor. Nurses are available for advice both by telephone and

face to face.

O F F I C E C O - O R D I N A T O R

Sue keeps everyone organised and the Health Service running smoothly.

M E D I C A L R E C E P T I O N I S T S

Jodie, Kylie, Nicole and Karren are the friendly faces at the front desk.

D O C T O R S ’ R E G U L A R S E S S I O N S

These may vary, but during semester are usually;

F E E S A N D B I L L I N G A R R A N G E M E N T S

All current staff and students covered by Medicare are bulk billed

and International students who are covered by Allianz Global

Assistance, Medibank Private, ahm or NIB are also directly billed

to their insurer so there are normally no out of pocket expenses

for consultations. However if documentation has not been

processed at the time of the consultation, students are asked to

pay and claim a rebate when their documentation is available. If

this causes hardship, please discuss it with the doctor. No student

will be refused urgent medical care because of inability to pay at

the time of consultation.

Dr Brookman Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon

Dr Gaunson All day Tuesday and Thursday, Wednesday and Friday

mornings

Dr Shah: Monday and Tuesday afternoons, all day Wednesday,

Thursday and Friday

Dr Schien: All day Tuesday and Wednesday

Dr Paterson: Tuesday mornings

Dr Gupta: All day Monday and Wednesday

Dr Salam All day Monday, Thursday and Friday morning

Dr Hackworthy Monday morning and Wednesday

Dr Parikh Monday to Friday (Afternoons only)

Services, such as Medical Examinations, and the cost of many

vaccines/immunisations are not covered by Medicare or

Overseas Student Health Cover and patients will need to pay for

such items. The doctor or staff will advise you of any other costs

that might arise from your consultation.

Current fees are available from reception. Generally, referrals to

specialist in the public hospital system are free. However, private

referrals to a specialist will usually incur a charge. Likewise,

some tests/investigations will incur a charge. Please check re

charges with the specialist or hospital before making an

appointment or having investigations.

T E S T R E S U L T S

If your doctor orders blood tests, X rays or any other

investigations, then please telephone the nurse at the surgery to

discuss the results and any need for follow up/further tests.

Routine tests usually take about 5 days to be reported.

T E L E P H O N E C A L L S

If you need to speak to a doctor and they are unavailable or with a

patient, a nurse may be able to help you. You may, however, leave

a message and the doctor will call you back as soon as possible.As

most doctors work part time they do not regularly access their

University email so patients are advised not to email doctors.

M A N A G E M E N T O F Y O U R P E R S O N A L H E A L T H

I N F O R M A T I O N

All patient health information is confidential. A patient’s personal

information is handled in accordance with this practice’s privacy

policy (available on request) and consistent with the privacy

legislation.

S U G G E S T I O N S / C O M P L A I N T S

If you have any suggestions or complaints about the Health

Service please tell us. All complaints are treated confidentially and

are usually investigated by the Medical Director, Dr Stephanie

Brookman. If you feel unable to discuss your complaint with the

Health Service staff, you may contact the NSW Health Care

Complaints Unit - Telephone 1800 043 159.

Following patient feedback recent improvements that have been

made are a new sound system and making available more

information about our afterhours care arrangements.

A F T E R H O U R S C A R E

The Health Service is normally open Monday to Friday 9.00am to

5.00pm. If you need urgent medical attention outside of these

hours, please telephone on 49216000 and a recorded message

will give you the number of our after-hours service.

This practice provides 24 hour care for our patients through GP

Access After-hours, telephone 1300 130 147, after 6.00pm on

weekdays, on weekends from noon Saturday, and public

holidays. On Saturday mornings you may attend Broadmeadow

Medical Centre, 154 Lambton Rd, Broadmeadow, Telephone

4041 4400.

Alternatively, in an emergency, you may attend the Accident and

Emergency Department of the John Hunter Hospital (Lookout

Road, New Lambton), Newcastle Calvary Mater Hospital (Edith

Road, Waratah), Belmont Hospital (Croudace Bay Road, Belmont)

or Maitland Hospital (High Street, Maitland).

M E D I C A L S / M E D I C A L F O R M S

Special medical examinations and certification (eg pre-

employment, RMS, travel or insurance forms) need to be

specifically booked in advance. It is recommended that you

organise these well before the due date. It is also advisable that

you see your regular doctor for these as the other doctors may not

be able to complete such documentation. It would, therefore, be

helpful for you to discuss these items with the Health Service prior

to making an appointment as there may also be a charge and

they generally require a longer appointment.

R E C A L L S

The Health Service operates a recall and reminder service. If you

do not wish to receive reminders for tests or follow up

consultations, or appointments by mail, telephone, SMS or email,

please tell the doctor or the nurse. But please note that limiting

communications may affect the level of care that can be provided

for you. In order to provide good medical care it would be most

helpful if you could notify the Health Service of any changes to

your address or phone number.

R O U T I N E A P P O I N T M E N T S

The Health Service runs an appointment system and appoint-

ments are routinely booked for fifteen minutes. If you think you

need more time, please tell the receptionist when making your

appointment.

Please try and attend on time. For new registrations, please ar-

rive 15 minutes early in order to complete the necessary docu-

mentation before your appointment.

If you are unable to keep your appointment then please inform

reception staff as soon as possible. In order to reduce missed

appointments the Health Service sends text messages to patients

two days before the appointment on their mobile. Please let Re-

ception know if you do not want to be part of this system.

All the staff are mindful of delays but unfortunately these can

occur. Please let the receptionist know if you are unable to wait

when the doctor is running late so that alternative arrangements

can be made for you.

U R G E N T A P P O I N T M E N T S

Every morning, there is one clinic for urgent problems. These

appointments should be used for problems that are urgent or

cannot wait for a routine appointment and are best booked by

telephone between 8.30—9am as these clinics fill up very quick-

ly. During these clinics, the doctor will deal with the urgent prob-

lem but may ask you to make another appointment for non-

urgent, longstanding or on-going problems. Additionally, some

appointments in the afternoon are kept for emergencies, so if you

feel you need to see a doctor urgently, please discuss it with the

receptionist or nurse.

H O M E V I S I T S

Home visits are available for patients who live in University ac-

commodation or within fifteen minutes travelling time from the

Callaghan campus, are acutely ill and unable to attend the Health

Service because of their medical condition. The need for a home

visit will be assessed by a doctor or nurse.

University Health

Service

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