Clinic Info

Accredited by QPA

Thanks to the team’s hard work and dedication here at the clinic, we have now successfully achieved Accreditation with Quality Practice Australia (QPA).
What is Accreditation, you might ask?
It means that our clinic has been vigorously assessed through surveyors, reviews, and interviews
against the nationally recognised RACGP 5th edition standards and we passed!
What does this mean for you?
It means that we meet the highest standards for the quality of care that we provide to you as the patient. It means our equipment, systems and procedures are all top notch and that you, as the patient can rest assured knowing that St Marys Skin Cancer Clinic and Medical Centre will continue to provide quality care whilst endeavouring to improve our services to you each and every day.

Appointments

Our practice runs off an appointment system. Your appointment will generally go for 15 minutes for skin checks and minor procedures. Longer consultations are saved for surgeries and in some instances can be available upon request. Please let the reception staffs know when making your appointment that you require a longer consultation.
Emergencies will always be given priority and our reception staff will attempt to notify you of any unforeseen delays to your treatment.
If you need interpreting service, please let the receptionist know when you make your appointment.

Walk-in’s
We generally do not accept walk-ins. However, if it is urgent, we may be able to arrange an appointment later on the same day or the following day. If you walk in requiring a wound check or removal of stitches from a procedure performed at our practice, we can usually accommodate your request.

Test Results

All test results are strictly confidential and in order to protect your privacy, this practice does not give results to patients over the telephone/email. This is to avoid breach of relevant privacy laws, and to avoid a situation where patient may be unable to understand the implication of any findings.
The doctor will advise you at the time of testing when you can expect your results to return. All urgent results will be followed up with the patient directly.

Management of Your Personal Health Information

Your personal health information is collected and used directly in association with your health care. It is a confidential document and it is the policy of this practice to maintain the security of medical records at all times.
We will ensure that your information is only available to authorised staff or we will seek your permission before disclosing it to any third party.
The patient’s right to privacy is respected at all times. We abide by the Australian Privacy Principles. If you have any concerns about your health information privacy, please let your doctor or reception staffs know.

Reminder System

Our practice is committed to providing you with the best preventative care possible. Practice staff will seek your permission to be included on our reminder system and may issue you with a reminder notice on occasion.
If you do not wish to be a part of this system, please let your doctor or practice staffs know.

Cultural Background and Ethnicity

It is the commitment of our practice to provide the best preventative care. To ensure that your care is tailored to your needs, staffs at this practice encourage patients to identify their cultural background and/or ethnicity on their medical record.
If you identify with a particular cultural background, please let you doctor, or reception staff know.

Patient Rights – Complaints and Feedback

If you have a problem with your health care or have had a negative experience when visiting our surgery, we would like to know.
Please feel free to discuss any problems you may have either with your Doctor, or with the Practice Manager Kathleen. This can be done in person, over the phone or by emailing us at stmarysskincancerclinic@gmail.com.
Alternatively, you may want to write to us or use one of our complaint feedback forms kept at reception. Complaints can also be made to the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (Locked Bag 18, Strawberry Hills NSW 2012). All complaints are taken seriously, and you can remain anonymous if you wish.

PRIVACY

At St Marys Skin Cancer Clinic and Medical Centre, we have advanced technology for data security. We keep your data secure through a comprehensive set of policies, processes and infrastructure including access controls, firewalls, data encryption, intrusion detection, system redundancy, and more. We have uncompromising policies and procedures in place to maintain the security of your personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is available only to authorised members of staff. Your medical records, including your medical history and test results, cannot and will not be shared with anyone outside the Centre, regardless of their relationship to you, without the express consent and authorisation of you, the patient. In certain restricted circumstances the information may be used for the purposes of in-house research, practice meetings and quality assurance but only in a form where the patient cannot be personally identified.

REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS AND REFERRALS

If and when you require a repeat prescription for medication, we request that you make an appointment to see your regular doctor at the Centre. If you wish to be referred to a specialist, you must see a doctor in person first. The reasons for this are that a specialist cannot see a patient without a referral from a General Practitioner, and the General Practitioner must first evaluate the patient’s needs to judge whether a referral is needed and whom to best refer the patient to. In most cases the doctor will be happy to refer you to the specialist you wish to see. Medicare does not allow backdated referrals.

MEDICAL CERTIFICATES

Medical Certificates are legal documents. They can only be issued for genuine medical conditions that require the patient to take time off from work or study. To obtain a medical certificate you must first attend a consultation with a doctor. It is illegal for doctors to back-date medical certificates.

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday: 8:00 am – 5:00pm
In case of an emergency, please dial 000
For a Doctor after hours please call 13 SICK (13 7425). This is a bulk billed service for Medicare Card holders, where a Doctor will come to see you in your home.

*For all patient related information, please click this link to obtain a Patient Information Sheet here