1. Our Story 

Believe it or not, we began as a humble, one-doctor home visiting service a long time ago.

It didn’t take long for it to become apparent that a home visit was not always the right service. And so, we added a general practice, specialty service and expanded our hours of operation as went along. 

Today Cairns 24 Hour Medical Centre provides an extremely well set-out service that sets out to provide;

• All the services of a developed general practice;
• All the benefits of being part of a team 
• Specialty services such as Employment and Pre-Employment Medicals – with a 24-hour business turnaround time as required;
• A specialty skincare service, which includes regular examinations, dermoscopy, cryotherapy, shave, punch and excision biopsies, and skin-flap surgery as required.

• To the best of our own ability, we set out to be all things to all people, even if it is challenging at times.

  If there is a particular service you are looking for, there is a good chance we provide it. Please let us know.

2. Billing

We are  a Bulking Billing medical practice.

That means we do not charge our patients. Instead, we accept the Medicare rebate from the government as full payment for the services we provide.

In order to be Bulk Billed;

• Our patients must have a valid Medicare Card or Number. 
• A Medicare rebate must apply to the service we provide.

We can check your Medicare details when you arrive.

Unfortunately, Medicare will not pay for everything.

Common exceptions, which we cannot Bulk Bill for, include commercial driver's license and pre-employment medicals, some specific procedures, and medical reports.  

We privately bill:

• Patients who do not have a valid Medicare Card.
• Patients with Work-Related Injuries unless the underlying paperwork is completed in our presence, or we have a valid Work Cover claim number, or alternate arrangements to work with. 
• Special arrangements, which include paying a Gap-Fee only, apply to patients with Allianz or BUPA Insurance.

We are committed to providing the highest level of care.

We are also committed to maximizing your access to healthcare, which includes making our service cost-effective from your point of view.

If there is a manner we can improve the service, please let us know.

We accept Cash, EFTPOS, Visa, or MasterCard when payment is required. A small surcharge for credit cards applies. 

3. Team

There are as many people working behind the scenes, as there are highly-trained health care professionals to help you on the day.

Our team is dedicated, devoted, and provided an effective medical service to Cairns, Townsville, and Airlie Beach for the past 25 years.

Does not believe in junior or senior. The leadership is always willing to welcome others who will step up to the plate.

Our team has a medical director, CEO, HR manager, Compliance Officers, Practice Manager, Assistant Practice Manager, Medical Practitioners, Registered and Enrolled Nurses, Allied Health care service providers and client liaison officers to help.

Above and beyond everything else, our team believes in care and the concept of team.

4. Doctors

Doctors at Cairns 24 Hour Medical Centres are all highly-trained Vocationally Registered medical practitioners registered with the Australian Health Professional Regulation Agency (AHPRA). We work together as a team. Areas of interest include;

• Giving children the best start to life;
• Preventative Health Care;
• Women’s Health;
• Men’s Health;
• Indigenous Health Care;
• Sports Medicine, Occupational Health, Workplace Injury Management;
• Pre-Employment, Employment, Drivers License, Commercial Drivers License, Rail, Coal Board, AMSA, Recreational and Occupational Scuba diving medicals;
• Implanon and Mirena insertion and removals;
• Mental Health Care. Preventative and Ongoing Care.
• Better Care for the Elderly

Nurses are available for Women’s Health Checks, Cervical Screening, Health Care Assessments, Wound Management, GP Management and GP Mental Health Care Plans, Team Care Arrangements, immediate and ongoing care.

5. Appointments

Please tell the receptionists if:

• You need to see a doctor urgently. We will try our best to get you in as soon as possible.
• You think you may need a longer than normal appointment (approx. 15-mins or more).

We make every effort to see you on time and appreciate our patients taking the same care. Sometimes, due to emergencies or extended consultations, the Doctors may run late. We appreciate your patience when this happens.

A Doctor is always available on-call after hours for any medical issues you may have. To access the after hours service, dial 4044 0444 and follow the recorded telephone instructions. Dial 000 immediately for emergencies.

We are committed to preventative healthcare. Occasionally we may send you a reminder offering preventative health services appropriate to your care. At other times, we may need to let you know by SMS or email that there are medical results we should both deal with as well.

Visits to your home or hotel can be arranged where appropriate. We try our best to arrange for a Doctor to attend to you in the quickest time possible. However, these visits are scheduled according to the Doctors appointment availability. As we might not have all the necessary equipment and time.

A Private Fee is charged based on the length of time, complexity, and testing that is attached to the service.

Occasionally, the doctor may arrange for you to receive results over the phone..

Non-medical staff do not give treatment, advice, or results over the telephone.

Please make an appointment to see a Doctor for your prescription needs, so that we can make sure we’re providing you with the most up-to-date medications and healthcare available.

We prefer to be responsible for managing your healthcare, and as a result, it is often necessary to organize follow-up appointments so that we can monitor treatment appropriate to your care.

Many people do not realize that “shopping around” from medical centre to medical centre may be a disadvantage to you/your family’s health. If you have visited other Doctors in the past, it is easy for us to obtain your medical records from the appropriate source. This way we can continue to give you the best medical attention possible. If you would like your medical records transferred, please see our receptionist for a Consent Form.

We try to keep interruptions during a consultation to a minimum as they can be very distracting to both the Doctor and patient. Receptionists are not medical professionals and are restricted from discussing or disclosing your results or condition. Most queries are best dealt with by consultation, so our general response to a medical matter over the phone is to come in and see the Doctor.

All electronic communication including secure and encrypted emails, faxes, or SMS correspondence is conducted with appropriate regard to the National Privacy Principles and the privacy and confidentiality of your health information. All significant electronic contact is recorded in your personal health record.

We work with as many allied health care service providers as we can.

Medical practitioners and allied health care service providers work as a multidisciplinary care team.

Allied health care service providers operate to the same exacting standards expected of other health care professionals.

Allied health care professionals, of all sorts, who would like to work with us, should feel free to fill in the contact form on our website and get in touch.

6. Facilities

For your convenience, our pharmacy, day surgery and pathology services are located onsite.

The pharmacy is operated by Ramsay Pharmacy 

Day Surgery is operated by Ramsay Health

Pathology is QML Pathology