UPDATE: 9pm Wednesday 1 April 2020
Another week on, and the information has grown steadier and more consistent, with the key take-home being – more clearly than before – ‘stay home’.
We are grateful to those members of our community who are doing their bit to slow the spread and to protect those essential workers on the ‘front line’ by keeping themselves and their families at home. We are especially grateful to them as healthcare workers ourselves; our number one priority at Premier Health Partners continues to be the safety and wellbeing of our staff and patients. By staying at home, you are helping us to achieve this.
We are also continuing to implement measures within the clinic to ensure COVID-19 doesn’t make its way to us. We are continuing with extra sanitisation and cleaning precautions (including wiping all chairs, door handles, and high-touch areas with a 75% methylated spirits solution), and we have installed a screen at reception to reduce the chances of air transmission. Our reception team are also encouraging all patients to pay with card (using touch/tap), wherever possible.
We understand this is a very stressful period for everyone in our community. The pressures and anxiety that come with a time of such uncertainty can be overwhelming.We ask that you all look out for one another as well as yourselves. If you – or anyone you know – needs additional support due to isolation or any other particular difficulty, please reach out. We are here for you, and it’s important to us that we continue to support our community through this extremely challenging time.
We have included some important new information, as well as reiterations of critical messages, below.
If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with us on 03 9329 7077 or info@premierhealthpartners.com.au.
NEW: Telehealth Appointments
We are now able to provide telephone consultations with our passionate GPs. Telehealth appointments take place via telephone or video (using the Zoom meeting app), which is available free from your device’s app store. Patients requiring a Telehealth consultation can book these appointments online; we ask that you do so by selecting ‘GP: Telephone Consult’ as the service you are booking. We also ask that you contact the clinic in advance of the meeting, notifying us that it will be a video (remote) consultation so that Jane can set up the video meeting. Please note Dr Jane Habib is currently the only practitioner offering this video service – Alan is also providing telephone consultations as well as face-to-face appointments.
Our paid subscription to the Zoom software provides message encrypting for your privacy. You will not need to pay for the Zoom software, and if you don’t already have an account, you won’t need to activate one. Jane will simply send you an email with an invitation link and you can enter the meeting instantly from there.
Can I still attend the clinic?
Yes, in line with the latest advice and recommendations from the federal and state health departments, we are still open and you may still book appointments online. Currently, we are only taking face-to-face bookings for Osteopathy (with Paul or Annabelle) and GP (with Jane or Alan). If you are unsure how to book, please get in touch.
- We want to reiterate the importance of not attending the clinic if you – or anyone in your immediate family – answers yes to any of the questions below. Have you returned from anywhere overseas in the past 14 days?
- Have you been in contact with anyone who has tested positive to COVID-19?
If you answer yes to either of the questions above, DO NOT attend the clinic, instead, call the COVID-19 HELPLINE (1800 020 080).
If you answer no to all of the above questions but have respiratory symptoms, you MUST call the clinic before arriving. In the event that you do, we will advise you to enter via a separate entry where you will be provided with a mask and gloves and met by a GP. This will help us to ensure the safety of any other staff or patients in the clinic.
Can you test me for COVID-19?
At PHP, we are not screening for the COVID-19 virus. The five Melbourne hospitals that have been established as screening locations are: Austin Hospital, Box Hill Hospital, The Alfred Hospital, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Monash Clayton.
Patients who have symptoms compatible with COVID-19 may present to any one of these clinics.
Will there be more updates?
As you are aware, this situation is unprecedented and we are monitoring updates and advice very closely and taking this very seriously.
We will continue to update you where relevant, but we encourage our community to keep themselves educated and updated via reliable sources, circumstances are changing HOURLY (please note the time and date on this update). We have included the dedicated DHHS and Federal Government pages below as well as the COVID-19 hotline number, which you may call with any questions or concerns about coronavirus.
- https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
- https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert
- COVID-19 Hotline: 1800 020 080
