Southern Regional Medical Group: general practice in Albany WA
Southern Regional Medical Group is a general practice in Albany, at 32 Albany Highway, opposite the ANZ bank. We are open 8am to 8pm every weekday and 8:30am to 12 noon on Saturdays, and we are closed on public holidays. We keep an on-call doctor available for same-day and urgent appointments. Our practice has been involved in Albany and the surrounding areas for over 50 years. Our facilities are purpose-built, pathology is adjacent, and appointments can be made online or by calling (08) 9845 9000.
Services we provide
We are a general practice, and the list below is what we publish as our service areas.
Service areas
- Chronic disease management and preventative health: individualised management plans for conditions including asthma, diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis.
- Pregnancy care and obstetrics: we have five specialist GP obstetricians, covering family planning, prenatal monitoring, labour and delivery, and postnatal care.
- Women’s health: contraception, menstrual and menopausal care, cervical and breast screening.
- Men’s health, child health and medicine for seniors: including aged care for residents of Albany aged care facilities.
- Mental health: our staff are trained in the recognition and treatment of anxiety and depression and can link patients with psychological services.
- Skin cancer medicine, sexual health and vaccinations: including skin and mole checks and influenza and childhood vaccinations.
- Medicals and assessments: diving medicals, travel health, occupational and corporate health, and firearms authority health assessments for established patients.
- Procedures: vasectomies and carpal tunnel release, under local anaesthetic at the practice or under general anaesthetic at Albany Health Campus and Albany Day Hospital.
- Diabetes education: Janet Rathbone, our diabetes educator, covers pre-diabetes and type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes, under a GP management plan or privately.
- Telehealth: videoconference appointments connecting patients here with medical specialists elsewhere in Australia.
Pregnancy care in detail
A first obstetric appointment is usually scheduled at around eight to ten weeks and covers medical and family history, a physical examination, blood tests and an initial ultrasound. The first-trimester screen normally follows between 11 and 14 weeks. Appointments are typically monthly early on, fortnightly in the third trimester and weekly as the due date approaches, and the 28-week visit includes fundal height and fetal heart rate monitoring, a glucose tolerance test and routine blood tests. Our rooms are equipped with ultrasound, CTG and Doppler. Same-day obstetric appointments are available subject to availability for concerns such as reduced fetal movement or unusual pain. The six-week postnatal check covers physical recovery, emotional wellbeing, breastfeeding and contraception, and the baby’s first immunisations and full examination; please tell reception when you book so enough time is allowed.
Our team and our billing
Our doctors are supported by registered nurses, a nurse practitioner and administrative staff, and each doctor’s qualifications are published on our website. We also teach and support student doctors and doctors finalising their GP specialisation. On billing: we charge private fees in most instances, and we continue to bulk bill valid pension card holders during our Monday to Friday clinics. We do not bulk bill after 5pm or on Saturdays. Valid DVA card holders are normally bulk billed during regular business hours, and we run the Coordinated Veterans Care Program for eligible gold card holders. Patients visiting from outside the Great Southern are privately billed regardless of concession eligibility, and treatment room services attract a private fee. Payment is by cash, EFTPOS or credit card, and Medicare EasyClaim returns the rebate to your account within minutes. We ask for at least two hours’ notice to cancel or change an appointment; a non-attendance fee applies without it.
Contacting us and after hours
Our practice is at 32 Albany Highway, Albany. Call (08) 9845 9000 during opening hours or email [email protected]. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, dial 000. For care outside our opening hours, call 9841 2001, which transfers to our after hours service provider partner, Dial a Doctor. Our practice and staff also support a number of local organisations, among them Albany Community Hospice, the Albany Community Foundation and the Disabled Surfers Association.