We do not generally provide after-hours care. After-hours medical services are available through:

Home visits may be arranged infrequently and only by negotiation with your usual GP.

Referrals and prescriptions can be requested after hours or at any time through our website. If these are requested outside of a consultation, a fee will apply.

To avoid unnecessary costs, please make sure you ask for any required referrals, scripts, or follow-up requests during your appointment whenever possible.

We hope not — but there may be pressure.

When practices move to universal bulk billing, they may attract more appointment requests. We are limited by the number of appointments we can safely offer — based on how many doctors are working each day.

We won’t be increasing our intake of new patients, and we ask for your understanding if wait times vary.

This is crucial. Our reception team works hard to help everyone, and sometimes must deliver difficult messages — like when no appointments are available.

We ask all patients to be kind and respectful. Abuse will not be tolerated.

We are doing our best to keep our doors open, our staff safe, and your health care affordable.

The doctors at Queen Street Medical Centre were thoughtful and cautious in considering the new scheme.

They were concerned that:

We believe there’s some truth to all of this — and that clear communication and expectation management is key to protecting both patient care and staff wellbeing.

It is our view that bulk billing does not reduce the quality of care. At Queen Street Medical Centre, we continue to provide a high standard of medical care and access — often above the national average.

That said, we do ask our existing patients to understand that we are not accepting new patients until further notice. Sustaining care for our existing patient base is our priority.

Please also take the time to read our guidance on how to prepare for an appointment and be a good patient — your role matters greatly in helping this model succeed.

Preparation is everything.

While your GP has access to your medical records, medication list, and past history, your appointment will be most effective if you come prepared.

Here’s what helps:

In a standard 15-minute consult, we can typically:

If something needs more time, we’ll arrange a review appointment. Often, chronic problems require investigation, planning, and follow-up — and we’ll guide you through that process.

For chronic condition management, we aim to see you every three months as Medicare allows for structured review and planning.

Some of our doctors also use a pre-visit tool called BetterConsult. You may receive a text or email prompting you to fill in your concerns before the visit — it’s very helpful, but optional, and only used by some GPs.

Coming prepared helps you, helps us, and protects the sustainability of the bulk billing model.

Queen Street Medical Centre — like most general practices in Australia — is a private business. Although we receive funding primarily through Medicare, we are responsible for our own budget, our own staff, and our ongoing viability.

Running a general practice is difficult. There is a nationwide shortage of GPs, nurses, and reception staff. Staffing is our biggest challenge.

That said, we believe we’re doing better than most. We’ve invested in building a strong, supportive workplace culture, and we place great value on training, mentorship, and retention.

The average age of GPs in Australia is 51 years. At Queen Street, we’re proud that we continue to attract and support younger doctors — a sign of renewal and sustainability.

Medical care is far more complex than it was even 10 or 20 years ago. Events like the COVID pandemic revealed how close the health care system was to burnout. It showed just how fragile things can be when staff are pushed beyond capacity.

Today, GPs value flexibility above all else. They want to work in environments that are well-organised, respectful, and adaptive to the challenges they face. If we lose that — we lose them.

The Medicare model, as it stands, is outdated and flawed. It was not built for the kind of care that modern general practice delivers. But it is still the only system we have — until government is brave enough to build something better.

I talk about sustainability because I do not want our staff to burn out or leave because of unrealistic demands. If we lose staff, we lose access. If we lose access, the whole community suffers.

It has taken years — and personal and financial cost — to build Queen Street into what it is. We hope these new reforms help. Because the people of Moruya and the surrounding areas deserve high-quality, accessible, local care.

Somebody has to provide it.