Making Appointments
At Kotara Family Practice all GP and Nurse consultations are by appointment only.
For your convenience appointments can be made by calling the practice on 4956 0888 or via our online booking system.
Standard consultations are generally booked into a 15 minute appointment. Most of the time you will only need a standard consultation, but if you think that you will need a longer consultation, please let the receptionist know at the time of booking.
Long consultations are available for patients who may have multiple concerns to discuss with their GP, a complex concern, or a mental health care concern. For new patients, when you attend the practice for the first time, you will be booked in for a long appointment so that the doctor can gather all the necessary information and background medical history required to begin your care.
You can use the following BOOK NOW link to access the web portal OR alternatively you can download the HOTDOC APP from the App Store onto your smart phone to have easy access to appointment booking as well as your past and future appointment history.
BOOK NOW
Emergency Appointments
We understand that there will be times when you need to see a doctor for an urgent medical need. For this reason, all doctors at KFP keep several appointments free every day for those urgent care needs. If you feel that you or a family member needs to see a doctor on the day, please inform our reception staff at the time of calling, giving a brief explanation of your concern so that we can provide you with a timely appointment.
We will try to book you in with your preferred GP, but if this is not possible we will offer you an appointment with another clinician. Please remember, however, that these “on-the-day” appointments are reserved for the URGENT medical needs of children, adults and elderly patients who are acutely unwell.
Help Your Doctor Run On Time
When you are feeling unwell the last thing you want to do is sit in a waiting room for an hour. Your doctor will always try their best to run on time, but there are a few things that you can do to help…
- Remember that in a standard consultation you have 12-15 minutes to discuss your health concern with your GP. If each consultation takes just 4 minutes longer then by the end of the morning or afternoon session your doctor would be running an hour late. If you think you will need more time than a standard consultation allows for please let your receptionist know so that they can book you a longer appointment time.
- Tell your doctor all the things you want to discuss at the start of your appointment – that way your doctor will be able to address your most important health concerns first and ask you to return for any non-urgent needs that may require more time.
- Be responsible with your medications – don’t leave it to the last minute to get a script. It is very hard for doctors to write repeat scripts from phone requests – often your doctor will want to check how you are going on your medication before issuing a new prescription.
From time to time appointment delays are unavoidable. This may be because an earlier patient has had an emergency need for extended care. We understand that waiting for your appointment can be frustrating and inconvenient, however we ask that you respect the needs of other patients and appreciate the care your doctor provides to everyone. If you think you will be unable to wait, please speak with our reception staff and they will arrange an alternative appointment for you.
Unable to Attend Your Appointment?
If you will not be able to make it to a booked appointment, please let us know as soon as possible on 4956 0888 so that we can offer your appointment time to another patient. Please note that failure to attend your appointment, or provide sufficient notice of cancellation, may result in a non-attendance charge.