Services at Gum Medical
General practice covers most of medicine and health, so there are many ways in which we can assist. Care at Gum Medical is led by Specialist General Practitioners, doctors holding specialist registration in general practice with the Medical Board of Australia.
All services are available at each site. If you are unsure what you might need, reception can help.
How to book
Booking online is simple. Click the booking buttons above. You can also click the phone numbers above to call from your mobile device.
A standard appointment is 15 minutes and can properly cover one or two issues. Please respect our time and yours by booking the appropriate appointment type, and making sure you understand our billing policy.
We are more than happy to answer any questions about our services at any time. Please get in touch or ask when you are in the clinic.
A teaching practice, and proud of it
Training the next generation of doctors is a service we provide to the community, and it works in your favour too. Registrars and doctors in training choose to come to the Hills, they arrive with recent hospital experience, and every case is backed by supervision from our senior doctors. You get fresh knowledge and an experienced second opinion in the same visit, and the Hills gets its future GPs. It is a win-win.
Everyday and family health
Coughs and infections, aches and injuries, scripts and referrals, results and check-ups, children’s health, and the “it’s probably nothing but” appointments that are the everyday work of general practice.
- Standard consultations. One problem, a script renewal with a review, a referral, results. Book online or phone. Standard appointment. Fees follow the published time-tiered table.
- Children’s health. Childhood illness, development and behaviour concerns, growth checks. Book online or phone; tell reception it is for a child. Babies’ first immunisations need a longer appointment.
Men’s health
Prostate and testicular concerns, heart and metabolic risk, and the check-up that keeps getting postponed. A standard appointment may get things started, but a proper conversation about health may take more time.
- Weight and nutrition. Practical, sustained support rather than a quick fix, working with you on what fits your life. Book a longer appointment to start.
- Preventive care and check-ups. Full check-ups need a longer appointment. If you have not seen a doctor in years, say so; that is useful information, not a confession.
Chronic conditions and health assessments
It is well known that planned care and regular monitoring lead to better health. Rushed care isn’t satisfying, no matter which side of the desk you are sitting on. By undertaking a health assessment and creating management plans together, we can give your conditions the time they need, spot changes early, and adjust as your life changes. Medicare funds this kind of care properly: these appointments are longer, planned around you, and bulk billed.
- Chronic condition management plans. A structured plan for conditions like diabetes, asthma, heart disease or arthritis, built with you and reviewed on a schedule. Can include referrals to Medicare-subsidised allied health. Phone reception to book; these are longer appointments, often with our nurse first. Bulk billed.
- Health assessments. Structured preventive assessments for groups Medicare has identified as benefiting most, including older patients. Phone reception; a nurse appointment is usually part of it. Bulk billed.
- Diabetes and asthma care plans. Condition-specific structured care, as above. Bulk billed.
The Heart Health Check. An hour well spent.
One hour, across three short visits, and a clear estimate of your risk of heart attack and stroke.
A Heart Health Check estimates your risk of heart attack and stroke before anything has gone wrong, using your blood pressure, cholesterol, family history and lifestyle, and turns it into a plan you have agreed to. It runs across three short visits: a 15 minute appointment with a doctor to check your eligibility and organise the tests, a 15 minute nurse visit for measurements (a little longer if an ECG is needed), and a follow-up with your doctor to walk through your results and what they mean for you.
The Heart Health Check is bulk billed for patients who are eligible. It is designed for adults 45 and over, or 30 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who have not already been diagnosed with heart disease. Your doctor checks your eligibility at the first visit and will tell you then what applies.
The Heart Health Check runs at both Gumeracha and Lobethal. Phone (08) 8389 1009 or (08) 8389 6364 to book the first visit.
Women’s health and reproductive care
- General women’s health. Periods, menopause, breast concerns, bone health, and anything you would rather discuss with a doctor you know. Book a standard appointment, or longer if there is more than one thing.
- Cervical screening. Five-yearly screening for most women aged 25 to 74, with self-collection an option for many. Book online or phone.
- Contraception. Advice across all the options, and our doctors are accredited to insert and remove the full range, including implants and hormonal and copper intrauterine devices (IUDs). Start with a standard appointment to plan; the procedure is booked separately by phone. Procedure fees apply, so ask when you book.
- Pregnancy care. Early pregnancy care, antenatal shared care and the paperwork and referrals that go with it. Phone reception; book a longer appointment.
Mental health
You do not need to be at breaking point to ask for support. A conversation with a GP is a reasonable first step for stress, low mood, anxiety, sleep problems, or feeling flat and not knowing why.
Mental health appointments are longer appointments, so phone reception or choose a long appointment online. A Mental Health Treatment Plan, prepared with your doctor, can give you access to Medicare rebates for a set number of sessions with a psychologist or other mental health professional; preparing and reviewing the plan is a longer appointment with your GP.
If you are in crisis now, do not wait for an appointment. Call the SA mental health triage service on 13 14 65 (24 hours), Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 000 if life is at risk.
Skin surgery, infusions, implants
- Skin cancer checks. A focused check of a spot that worries you fits a standard appointment; a full-body skin check needs a longer one. If a spot needs attention, we plan the next step with you.
- Minor surgery. Removal of skin lesions, biopsies, and stitching cuts. Booked by phone after a doctor has assessed the spot. Procedure fees apply based on complexity and materials, so ask when you book.
- Cryotherapy. Freezing treatment for suitable spots and lesions, often done in a standard appointment.
- Iron infusions. For some people, iron tablets are not tolerated or are not enough. Your doctor assesses whether an infusion is appropriate and goes through the benefits and risks with you first. On the day it is a proper procedure, not a quick jab: a doctor places the drip, and our nurses monitor you closely through the infusion and for an observation period afterwards. Allow about 90 minutes at the practice. The fee reflects that doctor and nurse time; ask reception for the current fee when you book.
Immunisations and travel medicine
- Immunisations. Childhood immunisations on the National Immunisation Program, flu and COVID vaccinations, shingles, whooping cough for grandparents-to-be, and catch-ups. Some vaccines are free under the National Immunisation Program and some are not; reception can tell you which. Book online or phone. Babies’ first immunisations need a longer appointment.
- Travel medicine. Where you are going, what you are doing there, and what that means for vaccinations and precautions. Book well before you fly; some courses take weeks to complete. Phone reception; bring your itinerary.
Occupational and driver medicals
- Driver’s licence medicals. Standard licence medicals fit a standard appointment; heavy vehicle licence medicals need a longer one. If your licence depends on a chronic condition, consider a chronic condition management plan as well: it gives the condition the attention a form cannot, and it is bulk billed. For drivers 75 and over, we like to pair the annual licence medical with an annual health assessment, so please discuss it with our reception team. Bring your paperwork and your glasses if you wear them. Licence medicals are generally not covered by Medicare, so ask about the fee when you book.
- Work-related medicals and return-to-work. Pre-employment medicals, ReturnToWork SA consultations and certificates. Occupational medicine is a particular strength here: One of our doctors is dual-qualified as a GP and a specialist occupational and environmental physician. Phone reception and say what the medical is for; the paperwork determines the appointment length.
Nursing, monitoring and diagnostics
Our nurses do a lot of the careful, unhurried work of the practice, usually alongside your GP appointment.
- ECG. A tracing of your heart’s rhythm, done at the practice, usually within a nurse appointment.
- Holter monitoring. A 24-hour heart rhythm monitor you wear at home. Fitted and returned at the practice; your doctor reviews the result with you.
- Spirometry. Breathing tests for asthma and other lung conditions.
- Wound care and dressings. Nurse-led wound care, on your doctor’s plan. We charge a fee for certain dressings, so ask reception when you book.
Where these are part of a care plan, health assessment or Heart Health Check they are usually bulk billed as part of that item; otherwise the standard fee structure applies. Ask reception if you are unsure.
Pathology and Clinpath collections
Both sites have a Clinpath collection centre. Collections run 8.30am to 12 noon on all collection days at both sites.
- Gumeracha: Monday to Saturday, no appointment needed.
- Lobethal: Monday to Thursday by appointment (phone either site on (08) 8389 1009 or (08) 8389 6364 to book), and Friday as a walk-in clinic.
Clinpath is a separate organisation with its own staff and its own hours, which can change independently of ours. Questions about a collection go to Clinpath on (08) 8366 2000, or our reception team can help as a second port of call. Your doctor will usually talk you through your results at your follow-up appointment.
Fees, in plain terms
Gum Medical is a mixed-billing practice with time-tiered fees: the fee follows the length of the appointment, and the full table is published on our appointments and fees page. Bulk billing means the doctor accepts your Medicare rebate as full payment for the visit. For a standard consultation the rebate now covers less than half our fee, because rebates have not kept pace with the cost of providing care. So we bulk bill where Medicare funds care properly and charge a gap where it does not, and we would rather explain that than hide it. The longer story is in our newsletter.
The practical part: most people who need regular visits qualify for chronic condition management plans and health assessments, which are bulk billed, and we can structure your care around them to reduce your out-of-pocket costs; ask your doctor. There is no automatic bulk billing by age or concession card, and if paying for care is hard, ask; a doctor may be able to reduce a fee where there is real hardship.