Sydney Medical Service Co-operative Ltd was formed in 1966 by the amalgamation of two existing services into one company; this subsequently became a Not-For-Profit Co-operative. It was one of the very first medical deputising services in Australia and the very first deputising service to be incorporated under the Co-operatives Act, New South Wales.

In recent years the service has introduced an additional contact number with an improved slogan, 1300 HOME GP (1300 466 347), assisting patients and GPs when making enquiries.

Since our inception, the service has been governed by a board of General Practitioners, all of whom are vocationally trained. We continue to be Australian owned and operated. Through the ongoing support of our GP members, the service has thrived and continues to develop.

When your patient calls our service via direct contact or where phones have been diverted by your practice to the call centre, our staff will arrange a home booking where appropriate.

Telehealth consults are available if your practice is registered with our service and if the patient has had a face to face visit with their regular doctor within the previous 12 months.

The booking will be sent to our locum practitioner on duty in the patient’s area via our software program.

Where the patient deteriorates, we ask that they contact the office to discuss an alternative course of action if needed, or, if the condition is life threatening, to call 000 immediately for assistance.

Our membership works to provide patient care outside normal opening hours. General Practitioners provide their after-hour contact details, as required under the RACGP guidelines, should an urgent need arise during attendance.

Following the attendance of our locum practitioner, a report of the consultation will be sent to the patient’s usual General Practitioner on the following working day by fax or email.

Our booking line is open from 6pm weekdays and from 12pm Saturday then 24 hours Sunday and Public Holidays.

Our hours of operation are:

Weeknights: 6pm to 8am
Saturday: from 12pm
Sunday & Public Holidays: 24 hours

Sydney Medical Service – 1300 HOME GP will provide a home visit by a qualified general practitioner during the hours we are operational.

Please telephone 02 8724 6300 during the hours listed to arrange a booking.
Alternatively, you may download the smart phone App or book online via the online booking form.

A $10.00 share to the co-operative for new members.
We have implemented ZERO FEES SUBSCRIPTION POLICY therefore no ongoing costs.

Membership is restricted to Medical Practitioners registered in the State of New South Wales. The Service is managed by a Board of Directors, all of whom are general practitioners, elected by fellow members.

Sydney Medical Service will attend to your patients in the after hours period so you are able to maximize your leisure time and rest assured that your patients are in good hands.

Detailed patient reports are created by our locums and sent directly to your surgery the next working day. A copy is also kept on our database. Should you have special instructions in relation to the treatment of your patient, this can be entered into the patient file for all locums to view. We will also attend to any urgent pathology in the after hour period. The service utilises a state of the art wireless communications system which permits the rapid transfer of patient data to the locum’s computer at the patient’s bedside.

Sydney Medical Service does not provide medical advice over the phone.

We have been accredited to the standards required by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). This accreditation process demonstrates we:

• Respect the rights and needs of our patients.
• Are committed to improving patient outcomes.
• Have efficient practice systems.
• Have quality communication between patients, doctors and the Service.
• Are committed to ongoing education.

Careful selection of locums as a basic policy of Sydney Medical Service has resulted in being able to offer a team of qualified personnel who diligently accept responsibility when working for us. Our locums consult with and are monitored by our Medical Directors. This assures your patients will be in competent hands at all times.

Our locums are Independent practitioners, maintain general registration with APHRA (Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency) and are appropriately qualified and supported by our service through training and mentoring. Public liability insurance for an amount not less than twenty million dollars ($20,000,000.00) per claim, along with medical indemnity insurance for an amount not less than ($10,000,000.00) on an occurrence basis, are held with recognised insurance companies that are licensed by Australian Law.

CPD (Continuing Professional Development) is maintained with either the RACGP (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners or ACRRM (Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine).

Each practitioner carries a medical bag equipped to RACGP standards.

We are requested to attend a patient to confirm death. Where the General Practitioner surgery is a member of our service, our practitioner will verify that all vital functions have ceased and issue a life extinct form.

This allows the patient to be moved to the funeral home of the family’s choice. The full death certificate will then be completed by the patient’s GP next working day.

Non-urgent results will be sent to surgery on the next working day. Where urgent pathology is received during the after-hour period, our Medical Director will review the results and advise the appropriate treatment. A report of the treatment administered and a copy of the results will be sent to the patient’s General Practitioner.

Confirmation will be required from the patient’s regular doctor after receiving urgent and non-urgent results of having reviewed the results and discussed with the patient by signing our confirmation form, which is then uploaded to the patient’s file.

Patients contact the service via telephone, staff will use the identifier policy to maintain the Privacy Act 1988. Requests for electronic communication are to be emailed with staff confirming all patient details before commencing communication. Consent with electronic communication will be obtained from the patient before sending health information electronically. Patients are to understand that there are risks involved with methods of electronic communications and that personal sensitive information will only be communicated face to face by our doctor or medical director unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Patients will receive screen notification of their communication being received by the service when using our website communication fields or when emailing the service.

We offer home visits for treatment of illnesses requiring attention when your doctor is closed such as urinary tract infections, gastroenteritis, migraine and acute headache, earache, fever and, for our elderly, ailments such as falls, acute delirium, cellulitis or respiratory tract infections.

Telehealth consults are available if your practice is registered with our service and you have had a face to face visit with you regular doctor within the last 12 months.

Our booking line is open from 6pm weekdays and from 12pm Saturday then 24 hours Sunday and Public Holidays.

Our hours of operation are:

Weeknights: 6pm to 8am
Saturday: from 12pm
Sunday & Public Holidays: 24 hours

Sydney Medical Service – 1300 HOME GP will provide a home visit by a qualified general practitioner during the hours we are operational.

Please telephone 02 8724 6300 during the hours listed to arrange a booking. 
Alternatively, you may download the smart phone App or book online via the online booking form

Phone calls to our call centre staff are recorded for training and quality assurance purposes. Our qualified staff will create a patient record and confirm the patient’s details with Medicare at time of booking with information required such as:

• Patients full name
• Date of Birth
• Ethnicity
• Next of kin and emergency contact details
• Allergies
• Medicare or Department of Veteran Affairs Gold card number
• Family general practitioner or surgery details
• Phone contacts
• Address where visit will take place
• Authority to send GP record
• Complaint / Illness / Reason for doctor for visit

The booking will be sent to our locum practitioner on duty in your area. While we try to attend within three hours from the time our practitioner starts in your area, unforeseeable delays may occur and, if necessary, an update of the doctor’s expected time of arrival is sent via text message.

If the patient deteriorates, we ask that you contact the office to discuss an alternative course of action, if needed. If you consider the condition to be life threatening, please call 000 immediately for assistance, and if the patient is transferred to hospital, please call us to cancel our visit.

Sydney Medical Service – 1300 HOME GP covers a vast area within the Sydney Metropolitan region and Sydney’s Greater West. To confirm if your area is within our geographical boundaries please contact the office on (02) 8724 6300. An online map is also available to view.

A medical report of each visit is forwarded to your doctor. Where appropriate eg hospital admission, death or special circumstances, your nominated doctor is contacted the next working day advising the details. Pathology results will be forwarded to the patient’s GP to follow up. For abnormal results the GP will be contacted by phone immediately or referred to one of our Medical Directors to organise for the appropriate follow up.

All patients that hold a current Medicare or Gold DVA card are bulk billed. Patients who do not have a valid Medicare or Gold Veteran Affairs card are charged a fee at the time of consultation. The fee is advised at the time of the booking. A receipt is issued for your insurance claims where accepted.

Your medical record is a confidential document. It is our policy to maintain the security of personal health information at all times and to ensure this information is only available to authorised members of staff and your doctor. Patient reports are completed by the locum at the time of the consultation and sent to your nominated doctor the following working day.

Click here to Download Patient Feedback Survey Form
or copy this link https://www.sydmed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Practice-Improvement-Patient-Survey.pdf

If you have a problem you would like to discuss please feel free to talk to our office staff.
We take your concerns, suggestions and complaints seriously.

You may also send a written complaint to our Chief Executive Officer who will complete an appropriate investigation and inform the complainant of the outcome.

However, if you wish to take the matter further you can contact the:
Health Care Complaints Commission Locked Bag 18 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Telephone: (02)9219 7444

We are often requested to attend a patient to confirm their passing. The locum doctor verifies that all vital functions have ceased. This allows the patient to be moved to the funeral parlour of the family’s choice. The full death certificate will be completed by the patient’s GP the next day.

If you or a family member require an interpreter, please call the Translating and Interpreting Service first on 131 450.

Website: www.tisnational.gov.au

Or you can let us know when you telephone our office.

Following your home visit or telehealth consult a detailed medical report will be sent to your nominated regular General Practitioner via electronic communication.