After hours GP helpline fact sheet

Printable version of the After hours GP helpline fact sheet (PDF 3822 KB)

As a General Practitioner (GP), you are the first point of contact for most Australians when they seek health care. However, people often find it difficult to access GP care during the night and on the weekends.

As part of its National Health Reform, the Australian Government is committed to improving access to after hours care, particularly in those areas where people currently struggle to get the care they need, when they need it.

After hours GP helpline

From 1 July 2011, a new after hours telephone-based GP medical advice and diagnostic service will be available through healthdirect Australia. People who require after hours medical advice, who cannot access their usual GP and are not sure what they should do, will be able to speak to a GP over the telephone, when necessary.

To access the new helpline, patients can call healthdirect Australia on 1800 022 222.

The new service will be an add-on to the existing 24-hour nurse telephone triage and advice service currently operating in your state/territory. If they choose to, patients will still be able to access existing after hours services in the same way they do now.

The new after hours GP helpline will not replace face-to-face after hours care for those who need it. It provides an additional option for you, as a GP, to deliver quality care to your patients.

The helpline is intended for people who require urgent but not acute medical assistance and are unsure of the health treatment they require. Depending on their condition, the caller may be provided with self-care advice by the telephone-based nurse or GP, or may be referred to the most appropriate health services in their local area.

The after hours GP helpline is not intended for patients with life-threatening conditions. Patients with such conditions should dial ‘000’ and/or attend an emergency department without delay. If the caller requires immediate emergency attention, the call will be transferred to ‘000’ with the nurse or GP staying on the line. The new service is not intended for patients with non-urgent conditions that can effectively be treated by the patient’s usual GP during normal working hours.

Benefits for GPs

The new helpline will provide GPs with another option for delivering quality care to their patients after hours.

Once their practice is closed for the day, GPs will have the opportunity to refer patients requiring medical advice to call the helpline in the first instance.

The new service will support continuity of care for patients. With the caller’s permission, GPs who provide face-to-face after hours services, as well as the patient’s GP, will be able to obtain a record of the consultation with the telephone GP.

In rural and remote areas where face-to-face GP services are not always available, the after hours GP helpline will be particularly important for delivering after hours primary care.

Using the new helpline

When a person calls the new service, their call will be answered by a registered nurse who will triage the caller. If necessary, the nurse will transfer the person to a GP on the telephone. The GP will talk with the person, assess their condition, make a diagnosis and provide medical advice.

Upon calling the service, patients will be asked to provide a range of personal information that will be used by the nurse and/or GP to provide health advice and information. All personal information will be collated into a health record which will be stored securely.

Patients may be able to manage their condition at home or at least until they can see their usual GP during normal business hours. Where self-management is not possible and a patient’s condition cannot wait until the next day for treatment, they will be directed to the most appropriate after hours health service in their local area.

If at any point during the caller’s conversation with either the nurse or the GP, the call is deemed to be an emergency, the caller will be immediately transferred to ‘000’ with the nurse or GP staying on the line.

If the patient’s condition needs to be monitored, the triage nurse and/or the GP will call them back during the after hours period.

The role of Medicare Locals

Medicare Locals – the Australian Government’s new network of primary health care organisations – will decide at a local level which face-to-face after hours services they will support and fund, based on how well these services meet the local community’s needs.

The after hours GP helpline and any face-to-face after hours services funded by Medicare Locals are intended to support the patient’s normal GP in providing after hours care. They will not remove the responsibility for providing access to after hours medical care from general practices.

The Practice Incentives Program (PIP) After Hours Incentive will cease from 1 July 2013. From this date, funding previously allocated to this program will be redirected through Medicare Locals to support after hours services.

Grants under the General Practice After Hours (GPAH) Program will no longer be offered after 1 July 2012. Until then, grants under the program will be available only in those regions where Medicare Locals have not yet been established and funded. All existing GPAH grants will be honoured.

Medical providers will continue to be able to access existing Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items for after hours services, which will remain unchanged.

At a glance

• Phone number: 1800 022 222
• Calls from a landline are free. Mobile charges may apply.
• Operating times:
  6pm to 8am Monday to Friday
  6pm Friday to 8am Saturday
  12 noon Saturday to 8am Monday
  All day on public holidays
• On 1 July 2011 the helpline will be available in the following states and territories:
  Australian Capital Territory
  New South Wales
  Northern Territory
  South Australia
  Western Australia
• For people living in Tasmania, access to after hours GP telephone advice is available through GP Assist – call 1300 780 011.
• The service will be available to people living in Queensland from early 2012 through 13HEALTH.
• People living in Victoria can continue to access Nurse On Call for after hours health information and advice from nurses.

All information in this publication is correct as at July 2011