Practice Policies

Certificates for sickness or carers leave requires a medical consultation. This is a requirement of the medical board and certificates cannot be backdated.

The supply of medication without a consultation is potentially hazardous. In the interest of patient health & safety
prescriptions will only be issued after a medical consultation.
Please book an appointment with your doctor when your last repeat has been filled.

You may notice that sometimes we run a little late.
Usually this is due to a patient extending their consultation over the scheduled time. Keep in mind that a normal consult is around 10-12 minutes with a few minutes for the doctor to enter notes. If you feel that this is not enough time for you, please ask for a double consultation when booking your appointment. Please be aware that medical emergencies may extend a patient’s appointment.
Patient’s are welcome to ring the clinic to check whether their doctor is running on schedule.  We can give an estimate by advising how many patients are waiting to be seen.

Please notify us if you are unable to attend an appointment so that we can make that time slot available for another patient. While we understand that emergencies and unforeseen circumstances arise from time to time, a fee will be charged for appointments not attended.

Given the high demand for appointments, it’s often not possible to speak directly to your doctor via telephone. The best way to make contact with your doctor is to make an appointment for a consultation.

To obtain results patients must make an appointment as advised by their treating doctor. If your results are urgent, your doctor will call you directly.

Medical records are kept for 7 years from your final attendance as required by law. Please advise our reception staff should you require your records to be forwarded to another health care provider. Your medical record is a CONFIDENTIAL document. It is practice policy to maintain the security of personal health information at all times. Access to information is only granted to authorised persons.

We request that mobile phones be switched off or placed on silent while in the waiting room. If you choose to answer your phone while speaking with the doctor, they may choose to immediately end your consultation.

Seaford Heights Medical Centre is committed to providing the most appropriate and medically sound advice and at all times. This means, that on occasion, if you are not known to a particular doctor, and have a request for certain medications, your request may be denied. This includes medications that fall into the category of drugs of dependence. i.e.
Benzodiazepines (and other sleeping tablets)
Morphine-based medications
Oxycodone, Oxycontin, Tramadol and Panadeine Forte
Any other strong pain medication or sedative
Please know that this practice policy is for the safety of our patients and to ensure that appropriate care is given. It is against the law for our doctors to prescribe some of these medications without appropriate authority to any patient. If you have further questions regarding your medication scripts, please contact DASSA 1300 13 1340.

Doctors at Seaford Heights Medical Centre do not prescribe ADHD medications for new patients.

You are welcome to provide us with feedback about your experience at Seaford Heights Medical Centre. This can be done
by contacting the practice on (08) 8185 7160, info@seafordheightsmc.com.au or via our online Enquiry Form