How to make an appointment

As this is a specialist medical practice, patients are required to discuss their illness with their general practitioner or other referring practitioner who will determine if a referral to one of the doctors at Respiratory West is required.

Referrals must be received and assessed by the doctors before any appointment can be offered. Referrals can be submitted by e-mail.

You can contact us at the consulting rooms which are staffed from 9.00am to 4.30pm, Monday to Thursday (except public holidays),9.00am to 4.30pm on Friday. You can also contact us by email. We aim to respond to your query before the end of the next working day.

Please note, our doctors are not able to offer email consultations.

Fees

Fees are set up by the individual doctors and they depend on the service being provided. If you have any queries regarding the fees please contact our reception staff who will be happy to run through the fees with you.

Full payment of fees is required at the time of consultation. Payment methods include cash, cheque, eftpos or credit card (Mastercard and Visa only). You may be entitled to a rebate from Medicare following payment of your account, which can be claimed immediately at our reception. 

If you are unable to afford the costs of seeing our doctors, please ask your doctor to refer you to the respiratory service at your local hospital. These are teaching hospitals where our doctors visit occasionally however there is no guarantee that you will be seen by a Respiratory West doctor.

What to bring to your appointment

On the day of your appointment bring any current and old x-rays and a list of your current medications. If you are taking any inhalers, also bring them with you.

You will need to bring a current referral letter, unless one has already been sent to our office. Referrals are the responsibility of the patient, therefore it is up to you to ensure your referral is current and valid. It is a Medicare requirement that you have a valid referral to ensure you receive your entitled rebate. If you do not have a current referral your Medicare rebate will be drastically reduced.

Cancellation policy

If you cannot attend an appointment you need to notify us at least 24 hours before. This enables us to provide an appointment to another patient. If you cancel less than 24 hours in advance or do not attend your scheduled appointment, a $110.00 cancellation fee will apply. This fee is not refunded by Medicare.

If you are having a lung function test

If you are having lung function testing we ask that you avoid having your reliever (Ventolin, Asmol) for 6 hours prior and your long acting reliever (Oxis, Serevent, Seretide, Symbicort) for 12 hours prior. You should continue with all other medications.

COVID Safety

Respiratory West has a COVID safety plan in place which is updated regularly based on local outbreaks and current Department of Health information.

Every precaution has been attempted to keep our patients and staff safe from COVID infection. This may mean at times patients will be asked to return home for a COVID test and quarantine pending results, rebook as a telehealth appointment or reschedule altogether if you have symptoms that may be due to COVID, or you may have been in contact with a potential case. Equally, if lockdowns occur at short notice, we will attempt to change appointments to Telehealth instead and will work on rebooking lung function testing once able.

How long will I be there?

You will usually be seen within 15 minutes of your appointment time. Please arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time to enable us to collect your details. Occasionally our doctors may be delayed because of emergencies, or other patients who arrive late to their scheduled appointment. Appointments will generally be between 15-45 minutes long but it is safest to allow about one hour of your time.

What will happen during my appointment?

On arrival our reception staff will meet you and obtain any required information from you. They will then let the doctor know that you have arrived. On some occasions you will be asked to have a breathing test before you see the doctor. The doctor will then see you and organise any other tests which may be required. You may need to return for a follow-up visit to discuss the results of these tests and treatments.