FREE 1800-022-222 Doctor on-Call 24 Hour Stuff!
Including free keyring and fridge magnets!
Don't go to a Doctor and clog up our health system, and cost taxpayers money for a simple Chlylamidia infection, instead:
Just call 1800022222 for medical help, 24 hours a day, for free!
Tell your friends and neighbours!
http://www.yourhealth.gov.au/internet/yourhealth/publishing.…
http://www.healthdirect.gov.au
Very wrong, 13 Health definitely isn't just VIC, been in QLD for awhile now. Good service, my wife first called it back in 2008 in QLD.
You're right, my bad.
Queensland Health funded service, not Victoria's.
actually - it was funded by julia gillard's government. and organised.
As per info on the website:
"People living in Queensland and Victoria can also access the after hours GP helpline through 13HEALTH and NURSE-ON-CALL respectively."
… 13HEALTH is exactly the same service.
Funded by the tax payers would be more accurate
nothing new, been around for a few years, just 24 medical hotline
Agreed.
Think it's just a name change and fancy advertising now is why people think it's new. But same phone number as the nurses on call that's been around for years.
Sorry to disappoint those who think Abbott is doing anything positive for the country.
Probably attempting to get more people to use it.
Some people will call Nurse-On-Call. Maybe more will call it if it's called Doctor-On-Call.
Melbourne, Australia.
always get an aussie when i have spoken to them.
they are registered nurses from what i understand
When they aren't telling you to goto your GP they are trying to fix your corrupt downloads.
jv loves trolling
Awesome. The fridge magnet will be useful for remembering the number.
I just ordered 12 of the "Man / Female GP" Posters… Thanks…
One for every month eh?
You read my mind…
Don't go to a Doctor and clog up our health system, and cost taxpayers money for a simple Chlylamidia infection
Ya I'd still recommend going to a doctor for this.
Seriously f—- you I accidentally clicked that.
They are pretty bad at medical advice. told me to go to a doctor for a cold.
Why did you call them with a cold?
They have to be overly cautious or else one day they will tell someone with meningitis they will be fine with bed rest. It must be very difficult to diagnose people over the phone sometimes.
Why? To use their service.
If they are so paranoid that they can't help in basic situations what's the purpose of having it?
I agree.
They should be a lot better.
They should always be encouraging you to use Panadol in the first instance, and NOT show up to a Doctor, with wording at the end of the call: "If you happen to get worse within 2 hours after the Panadol, THEN call 000".
A Doctor gives you Paracetamol in 80% of cases.
I agree, the medical advice is pretty useless. Some of the GPs are not much better . We should be able to record their medical advice for quality purposes.
Just record them and place here anonymously.
Call 1300-DOCTORB! The B is for BARGAIN!
Bangladesh or Bangalore depending on what time you call more likely!
Genius!
Don't go to a Doctor and clog up our health system, and cost taxpayers money
Nope, just cost tax payers money making stupid magnets and key rings instead..
Because we don't really know what a 'deal' is, why don't you post your first one and show us what it is.
Medicare is needed ?
No.
Medicare not needed.
Yes it is, otherwise we'd have a health system like the USA…
Not for this phone service.
They don't ask you your Medicare number.
Looks like the GP in poster type A is also the same guy who's in trouble in poster type B.
Why would a Doctor ring himself?
Does this mean he is Self-diagnosing???
Why would a Doctor ring himself?
Medicare Fraud ?
Free magnet?
This hotline is to prevent people clogging up emergency departments after hour.
Yes many things they will still say go see a doctor, but if they can convince you to see your GP the next day rather than heading to emergency department on the spot for a non-urgent complaint, it is money saved for the health system.
Enjoy it while it lasts - knowing Abbott, it won't be long before this becomes 1902 022 222 … only $6.00 per phone call, per minute, higher from mobile phones … usual disclaimer crap here.
"When a person calls the helpline, their call is answered by a registered nurse who triages the caller. If the nurse determines that the patient would benefit from speaking to a GP, the patient is then transferred to a helpline GP. The GP talks with the person, assesses their condition, and provides medical advice." - http://www.yourhealth.gov.au/gphelpline#.U10jx5OSzhc
thanks
Very timely as I had to call this line last night. After the assessment the person I was speaking to recommended I present at a hospital emergency department immediately - bring on the panic!
When I got to the ED I explained my symptoms and the helpline had recommended going to hospital. Everyone I said this too had a chuckle and the response was "oh yeah, they tell everyone to go to ED."
Happy to report there was nothing serious, too. :)
I agree.
They should be a lot better, and encourage you NOT to go to the Doctor.
They should always be encouraging you to use Panadol in the first instance, and NOT show up to a Doctor, with wording at the end of the call: "If you happen to get worse within 2 hours after the Panadol, THEN go to a GP within working hours or call 000 afterwards".
A Doctor gives you Paracetamol in 80% of cases.
The same happened to me. They recommended I go to the emergency department immediately, which caused me to panic. I wasn't panicking before I called them. Ended up waiting at the ED for 4 hours without being seen, then giving up and going home.
Exactly.
If they said "Go to Emergency department immediately", I would ask them "Why immediately?"
Why not tomorrow?
I have to wonder, despite the mantra about sending less people to the ED, how many people they send there who wouldn't have gone otherwise.
I likely would not have gone if I hadn't got the advice from them to do it. Although it was nice to rule out it being anything serious, so in the end I'm glad I went - apart from the whole getting home at 2am thing.
I agree.
They should NEVER send people to Emergency Departments, nor Doctors in the first instance.
That's the whole point of this service!
When she told me to got Emergency immediately, I said "No way. My body. And it is not so serious. I will wait till the morning. So, what's the point of me calling you guys again, dear, if you were going to send me to Hospital anyway?!! I called you NOT to go to Hospital!"
And I went to see the GP in the morning who gave me Panadol, for my headache!
what's the point of calling if you made up your mind already that you weren't going anywhere that night?
The last time I called this line I had a really simple question. After 10 minutes of answering the nurse's irrelevant questionnaire type questions before finally getting my turn to raise my query, l was told to go to a GP for an answer….. kinda defeated the purpose - won't bother again!
Can they authorise blood tests and/or scripts? Or, do you still have to visit your GP for that?
No.
You still need to visit your GP for that.
This phone line should be a lot better, and encourage you NOT to go to the Doctor.
They should always be encouraging you to use Panadol in the first instance, and NOT show up to a Doctor, with wording at the end of the call: "If you happen to get worse within 2 hours after the Paracetamol, THEN go to a GP within working hours or call 000 after hours and go via ambulance".
A Doctor gives you Paracetamol in 80% of cases.
Go to any ED around the country and ask them what they think of this service. As sauron256 stated above, they are highly risk averse and can instil panic or distress where it is not warranted. Please note that the GPs only work from 6pm to 8am whereas the RNs work 24 hours a day. Yes they work to a script which they can not deviate from and so your call may seem lengthy and unnecessary at times but that is not the fault of the RNs or GPs. They are just doing what they are told.
I can confirm that they are all Australian RNs and GPs and they are most certainly located in Australia. They have a decentralised model to reduce admin costs. They use the National Health Directory to identify services in your area - http://www.nhsd.com.au/ - which you can freely do for yourself.
I really cant see the use for a service like this to be honest. Correct me if I'm wrong but if you need medical help from someone over the phone, you arent really sick enough to be clogging up the health system anyway right? On the other hand, anything slightly risky they send you to the Doc anyway, so you may as well go to begin with and cut out some of that waiting time where your condition is getting worse.
Maybe I'm just angry because the ONE time I rang a place like this, they told me to go to the Hospital and would offer no advice other than this. Was I calling that little voice in the back of the head already telling me to do this? Silly service and I cant see the benefits for it at all.
Does it replace 13HEALTH?