Albany Medical Centre: A General Practice on Middleton Road, Albany WA
We are the Albany Medical Centre, a general practice in Albany WA at 189 Middleton Road, Mount Clarence. The practice was established around 1988, and we manage most health issues associated with family medical care. We are open Monday to Friday and closed on weekends and public holidays.
Our doctors, and who is taking new patients
Five doctors work at the practice: Dr Mark Victor, Dr Karin Nel, Dr Maida Akhtar, Dr Zeeshan Khan and Dr Herman Kruger. Availability differs between them, and we say so openly on our own website rather than leaving you to find out at the front desk. At the time of writing, Dr Zeeshan Khan and Dr Herman Kruger are taking new patients, Dr Maida Akhtar is taking new patients by request only, and Dr Mark Victor and Dr Karin Nel are not currently taking new patients. That can change either way, so it is worth asking when you ring.
Bronnie and Sabine are our nurses. Janelle manages the practice, and Suzie, Sharon, Melissa, Lauren and Carolyn look after reception.
Treatment rooms and nursing care
We keep fully equipped treatment rooms, staffed by our nurses. Work done there includes treating skin cancers, performing ECGs and lung function tests, dressing wounds, and a range of other minor procedures. It means a number of things can be handled here in the one visit rather than sending you elsewhere for them.
The medical services we provide
What the practice offers
- Family medical care: most health issues associated with looking after a family.
- Women’s health: listed as a distinct area of the practice’s work.
- Mental health: also listed as a distinct area.
- Palliative care and nursing home care: care provided outside the consulting room.
- Skin cancer assessments and treatment: assessment and treatment, including in the treatment rooms.
- Vaccinations: childhood, work and travel.
- Travel advice: for patients planning to go overseas.
- Recreational diving medicals: a useful one to know about on this stretch of coast.
- Employment, driving and mining examinations: medicals for work and for a driver’s licence.
What we publish about fees and billing
Our own fees page states that we are a fully bulk-billing medical centre. On it we say that all patients who hold a valid Medicare card are eligible for bulk-billed consultations, with no out-of-pocket expense for a standard GP appointment, and that this covers routine consultations, including general medical assessments, chronic disease management, care plans, mental health plans and preventive health services, where clinically appropriate.
Some things sit outside that. Travel vaccines, certain medical reports and third-party medicals such as insurance, employment or licensing forms may not be covered by Medicare and could attract a private fee. Billing arrangements are the sort of thing that can change, so treat this as what the practice currently publishes rather than a guarantee, and ring us if the cost matters to your decision. Our reception team is happy to clarify any potential cost before your appointment.
Appointments, prescriptions and after hours
We are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm, and closed Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Appointments can be made by phoning (08) 9841 8455, or booked online through the link on our website. Our fax number is (08) 9842 5561 and our email address is [email protected].
Repeat prescriptions are handled by appointment rather than over the counter. Our own advice is that it is in your best interest to see a doctor whenever a script needs renewing: ring reception to book a script appointment or a telehealth consult, allow two to three weeks notice for a repeat, and note that if you have not been seen at the practice in over 12 months a face-to-face appointment is required. We also state plainly that our practice does not prescribe drugs of addiction, which is worth knowing before you ring.
On privacy, we are bound by the Federal Privacy Act 1988 and maintain the security of personal health information at all times. A written privacy policy statement is available at reception on request. If something has not gone well, feedback and complaints can be made verbally or in writing, or by email to [email protected]. You can also take a complaint to the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office if you would rather raise it outside the practice.
Outside our hours, our advice is the same as we publish on our own site: you can either attend Albany Health Campus or present to the after hours GP clinic, both of which are on Warden Avenue in Spencer Park. If you are looking for a regular GP in Albany, ring us and ask which of our doctors has room at the moment.