Berwick Medical Centre closed permanently 28 February 2020

Correspondence should be addressed to

Berwick Medical Centre,

PO Box 196, Berwick 3806

Transfer of medical records to a nominated doctor or practice should be requested in writing, signed and dated individually; and accompanied by $10 cheque for secure postage and handling.

Normal consulting  hours will be  maintained  until Friday 28 February 2020.

The surgery will be  open for a nostalgic  last look Saturday 29 February 2020  9-12 am.

Dr Cathy Robinson has  relocated to Beaconsfield 

Drs. Stephen Moody and Agnes  Brosz will be at Berwick Healthcare

Dr Lesley  Dean is retiring 

Dr Wes Jame will be consulting to  his long  standing regular patients on a limited basis They  will be  advised of his availability.

The practice  does  not  support  My Health Record but  encourages  you to have  a current  health summary  to facilitate health care in emergencies or when attending another GP or health professional.  It  is  also good  practice to have  your  own reminder of routine reviews like Pap Smears  , gastroscopy & colonoscopy  Please ask for a copy your   health  summary and  reminders at reception .

The  practice will facilitate transfer of  your  medical record to another nominated   practice or GP  on written request  at  reception or by writing to Berwick Medical Centre , PO Box 196 Berwick 3806.

             Please watch for  notification of change on our  website www.berwickmedical.com.au or       on this news sheet

 General Practice in Australia – some interesting facts

One  third of GP’s are aged 55 + yo , 13% are 65 or older. And 15% of GP’s plan to retire  within the next 5 years and 32% within 10 years . Only 21% of general practices are owned by  GP’s and 21% of these plan to retire within 5 years… There  has been no increase in  registrars training  for  general practice  in the past 2 years.

90% of Australians see a GP once a year and 86% a  twice a year or more.  . An average GP’s workload is 73% face to face and 27% phone calls , paperwork and results review afterward which is generally unpaid.

A $1 billion dollar  reduction in funding for GP services  occurred over the past 4 years , currently GP services cost  around $375 / person pa whilst  public hospital expenditure is $2606 / person pa.

There are 114 GP’s / 100,000 in Australia  . There are 143 specialists /100,00 in Australia.

Practices exclusively Bulk Billing all services  has decreased from 29% (2017) to 18% (2019)  the  remainder have mixed billing  arrangements. The oft  quoted “87% services are  bulk billed “is a total inclusive of  GP services and associated  pathology and radiology items most of which are bulk billed.

Heart Foundation Walking   – a  network with over  55,000 walkers exercising sola  or as a group – search Walk Finder  online to locate a local group and details for registration  Registration  allows you to maintain an online profile , record  your  exercise , recognize exercise milestones provides certification ,  incentives and discounts as well as  giving  a timetable  location of  walks.

Active in Parks – search the name on line  for  a guide  to  a variety of outdoor activities sports , exercise  , tours social activities including dog parks , farmers markets  meditation  and meditation for  all adult  ages including adolescents.

Meetup  – a website platform for linking  people  with  similar interests diverse  fitness activities from cycling to paddle boarding Registration   allows for  activity  search by locality and activity type. Search meetup

Life!Program – a  lifestyle  modification  program to reduce the risk of diabetes and improve  cardiovascular  risk . search for the website on line

In Australia all vaccines are safety tested firstly on animals, then in  3  human phase trials .

Phase 1 healthy human adult volunteers to establish they cause no harm

Phase 2 on a larger  group of hundreds  to establish that  adequate immunity is  generated.

Phase 3 on thousands to ascertain effective  community immunity is established without  late side effects

The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration  monitors  the process as it does  for  all medical  devices and medication.