Is Dr Sue Comerford leaving?
Dear Valued Patients,
It is with difficulty that I am writing to let you know that I will be leaving Inverloch Healthcare in April 2025, with my last day being on 15th April 2025.
As many of my patients will be aware, in the last two years I have taken on a role as a senior lecturer with Monash University, and am excited by the opportunity to be involved in the education of the next generation of doctors. Unfortunately, this role has limited the time I have available to dedicate to my general practice. It is with mixed emotions that I have made the decision to take some time out from general practice to focus on my university teaching.
I have loved being part of the incredible team at Inverloch Healthcare and greatly valued the relationships I have with the staff and patients of the clinic. It is important to me that you can access continuous healthcare.
Inverloch Healthcare is pleased to announce that Dr Scott Freeman has joined the team as of February 2025 and is available to take on new patients. Scott is a GP registrar who will be completing his training at the clinic. Many of you have already transitioned your care to other GPs in the clinic with my previous reduction in hours.
In the event that you decide to transfer your care to a different clinic, your new clinic may send an authority form signed by you to Inverloch Healthcare, to transfer your records to them.
Thank you again for the trust you have placed in me during my time at Inverloch Healthcare.
Best wishes for your future health.
Kind regards,
Dr Sue Comerford (March 2025)
How can I get a Shingles (Shingrix) vaccine?
We have plenty of vaccines available currently. To orgnaise a vaccine please book an appt with your regular GP.
Shingrix will be available free for:
People aged 65 years and over
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and over, and
Immunocompromised people aged 18 years and over with the following medical conditions: haemopoietic stem cell transplant, solid organ transplant, haematological malignancy (blood cancer) or advanced or untreated HIV.
The vaccine requires 2-doses with the second dose given 2-6 months after the first.
Please note- While the vaccine is free for eligible people, usual fees will apply for a consultation fee for the visit.
Can I get the Shingrix vaccine if I’ve already received Zostavax? Yes, but there are some conditions:
People who have already received a free Zostavax shingles vaccine can’t get a free Shingrix vaccine for at least 5 years after they have had Zostavax
People who have already received Zostavax vaccine privately can receive Shingrix free under the program if they are eligible. An interval of at least 12 months is recommended between receiving Zostavax and a subsequent dose of Shingrix. A 2-dose schedule of Shingrix will still need to be completed.
Do I still need to get vaccinated if I’ve already had shingles?
Vaccination is still recommended for those who have had shingles infection in the past. However, you should wait at least 12 months between an episode of shingles and having the vaccine. Discuss this with your doctor. As the risk of further infection is higher in immunocompromised people, Shingrix can be given from 3 months after illness.
please seen Shingles fact sheet for further information on this program
What is my medicare?
On November 1st 2023 the federal government introduced a program called my medicare. This program aims to improve health outcomes by registering with your GP and GP practice.
Once registered you will have access to more medicare rebates including access to longer telephone consultations. Futher information about registering is available using the following link My Medicare
Inverloch Healthcare remains a private billing clinic with the decision to bulk bill being at your GP’s discretion.
Help… I think I have covid!
If you are aged 60 or over, or under 60 and have significant health issues please call the clinic ASAP and speak to our nurse about your eligibility for anti viral medications.
If you feel unwell with any symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) you should test yourself. If you have any fever, chills, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, and loss of sense of smell or taste - stay home, don’t go in to work, don’t go shopping; and don’t visit friends and family. If you do need to go out PLEASE WEAR A MASK. You can test with a rapid antigen test (RAT).
Please contact call the clinic to speak with our nurse if you have any concerns.
For the safety of all our staff, doctors and other patients please do not enter the clinic if you have any respiratory symptoms or if you have had covid 19 in the last 7 days.
Please call the clinic for an appointment or book through our website.
Inverloch Healthcare is not delivering Covid19 immunisations or boosters.
When can I get a flu vaccine?
2025 Flu vaccines are not yet available. We will let our community know when these have arrived.
Annual vaccination is the most important measure to prevent influenza and its complications. It is recommended for all people aged 6 months and over (unless contraindicated).
Those eligible for government funded vaccinations are:
All people aged 6 months to less than 5 years (this cohort is newly eligible in 2020)
All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 6 months and over
Pregnant women (during any stage of pregnancy)
All people aged 65 years and over
People aged 5 to 64 years with medical conditions which increase the risk of influenza disease complications eg- asthma, COPD, heart disease and other chronic health issues.
Local chemists will also be able to give flu vaccination please contact your chemist directly to discuss this.
What is telehealth? Can I get a rebate on a telephone or video consult?
As of March 2021 the federal government advised that patients needed to have been seen face to face by their usual GP ( or another GP within the same clinic) within 12 months to be eligible for a medicare rebate on their telehealth appt. While the rules around telehealth have changed a number of times over the last 2 years our staff will check your eligibility when making an appointment for you and let you know if you are not eligible.
Our normal billing policy applies for all telehealth consultations.
Telehealth allows you to catch up with your usual GP ( or another GP if your provider is not available) to discuss any issue that you would have previously discussed at a face to face consultation. These appointments can either be done over video conferencing or over the phone. You stay at home rather than coming to the clinic.
During your telehealth appointment your GP will be in their normal consultation room at the practice to ensure privacy and confidentiality is maintained. The GP will have access to your electronic health record. The consultation notes will be taken in accordance with our usual practice policies. If required your GP may recommend a referral for testing or a prescription, please be aware that these documents will contain some personal information and will need to be sent to the appropriate organisations. In the case of scripts, these can be sent to your nominated pharmacy or smart phone.
For some specific plans video calls must be used. These include GP management plans, mental health plans, mental health reviews and health assessments. We are committed to ensuring we continue to proactively assist you to manage your health and overcome any access barriers you may have.
If you feel that you will require a face to face appointment, please call the clinic directly and we will arrange this for you. If during your telehealth consultation your GP feels you need a face to face consultation they will book this for you. Both telehealth and face to face consultations will be billed as per our usual fees.
Book an appointment here or by calling the clinic directly on (03) 5674 2700.
Are you taking new patients?
YES - Dr Martin Hodgson and Dr Scott Freeman are both accepting new patients. Please book on hotdoc or call the clinic.
At this stage our other GPs are not accepting new patients.
Why don’t you bulk bill?
The reason behind this decision relates to the “rebate” also known as the MBS (Medicare Benefits Scheme). The MBS is a list of items that our Federal Government pay a rebate for to assist patients with the cost of their medical services. Medicare rebates do not, and were never intended to, cover the full cost of medical services. When a patient is bulk billed the practice receives only the rebate from the government for the service the GP has provided.
The costs of running our private business continue to rise, and your patient Medicare Rebate now represents about half of the full cost of your GP care. We would encourage you to discuss any concerns you have about your Medicare Rebate with your Federal Member of Parliament.
To assist in offsetting your costs, we encourage all our patients to register for the Medicare Safety Net. This can help to lower your out-of-pocket costs once you have reached your Safety Net threshold. For more information, please refer to https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/medicare-safety-nets
The importance of community…keeping you updated.
We will be keeping this page and our Facebook page updated to keep our community informed.
Look out for each other and stay safe.
How will I get my results?
Your treating GP will advise you of how your results will be made available to you. Our practice nurse plays an important role in communication of this information after your results have been checked by your GP.
Non Attendance
If you are unable to keep a scheduled appointment we ask that you please phone or email to cancel as soon as possible. Failing to attend or a late cancellation may incur a fee.
Communicating with you and listening to your feedback.
While we love keeping you informed of what we are up to, our practice does not respond to social media posts on its Facebook page. It is our policy not to respond to email requests for appointments or personal information. Our Clinical Team will communicate personal information via secure email if consent is provided to do so.
Doctors will not take telephone calls from patients while consulting. In some cases the receptionist or nursing staff may be able to assist with your enquiry. Telephone messages may be left with reception staff to the attention of the Doctor and will be dealt with as soon as practicable.
Thank you for your feedback through our 2024 ‘Voice of the patient survey’ It was great to receive your suggestions on how we can improve our services. This is what you would like to see improve;
Doctors running late- This is a challenge for all of our doctors at times and we all understand how frustrating this can be. Please make a longer appointment if you have a number of issues to discuss. Keep our doctors on time by making a list of your issues and prioritising which of these is most important. Our reception staff will notify you if your doctor is running late and keep you updated of wait times as accurately as possible while you are waiting.
Getting an appointment time that suits you - We try hard to ensure we can get you an appointment time as close to your request as possible but admit this can be difficult at times of high demand. We suggest that,if possible, you book ahead for non urgent matters. We have a cancellation list for each of our doctors and if the matter is urgent please ask to speak with our nurse. You can also keep an eye on on hotdoc for an appointment which may suit your time schedule.
Help I need an appointment now! We have a number of appointments allocated each day for those needing to be seen urgently. Our nurse will triage and book these however these may not be with your ususal doctor. PLEASE let our staff know if you feel you need a more urgent appointment.
After Hours Medical Care
Inverloch Healthcare does not provide afterhours care. If you need medical attention outside of our usual opening times please refer to the following options .
In cases of a medical emergency please call 000
For 24 hour medical advice please contact nurse on call – 1300 606 024
Health Access -1800 272 767 telehealth afterhours GP care. (free service funded through Gippsland PHN) Operating from 6-10pm weeknights, 12-10pm Saturdays and 8am-6pm Sundays and public holidays. GPHN after hours services
Virtual ED- 24 hours online emergency dept run by the Northern Hospital Melbourne - Virtual ED
For urgent emergeny medical care please contact either
Bass Coast Health Wonthaggi, 235 Graham St, Wonthaggi, 5671 3333
Leongatha Hospital Urgent Care, Koonwarra Rd, Leongatha, 5667 5555.
Your privacy
Your privacy is a high priority at Inverloch Healthcare. It is our policy to maintain the security of personal health information. We abide by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017 and the Victorian Health Records Act (2001).