Medical Programs

The medical service at Doutta Galla Community Health is committed to providing comprehensive general practice care to all individuals and families in this community. All patient consultations and medical records are kept strictly confidential in line with the Commonwealth and Victorian Privacy legislation.

The Medical Client Brochure and Client Privacy Information is accessible to all clients at reception.

Doutta Galla has a number of medical services vacancies currently listed on our Careers page.

All Medical Practitioners at Doutta Galla have satisfied the training requirements of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. This means we have a commitment to general practice and continuing medical education.

Doutta Galla's fourteen General Practitioners have an interest in: General Medicine, Mental Health, Acute and Chronic Disease, Migrant and Indigenous Health.

We are pleased to welcome

Dr Maithri Wickramasinghe, who will be consulting every Sunday in the After-Hours Clinic as of the 19th May 2013. He completed his General Practice in Eastern Deaney, UK. His special interest is in providing client centred care in general medicine, surgical procedures and sports medicine

Dr Marnie Buckwell will be consulting during the day. Marnie has had previous experience in working in Student, Private, Community Health and Aboriginal Health GP Practices and in recent times has worked at the University of Melbourne Health Service Student Clinic. From January 2004 to December 2004, she volunteered as a Medical Officer in paediatrics, Cape Cost, Ghana, and holds a Diploma of Tropical Medicine 2003.

Dr Nadia Chaves, Infectious Disease Physician

Consulting Sessions: Thursday from 12.30pm to 4pm
Referral process: Requires a referring general practitioner referral

For further information phone reception on 8378 1600

Nadia is able to manage a variety of infectious diseases issues including:

REACH is Australia's first student-run health clinic in partnership with Doutta Galla Community Health offering services in medicine, nursing and physiotherapy.

Managed by University of Melbourne's students and supervised by qualified professionals, REACH operates on Saturdays at Doutta Galla Community Health Kensington site.

REACH caters to all individuals - youth, families, seniors, migrants and refugees.

Download REACH Clinic brochure [PDF 611KB]

You can reach a Medical Practitioner during our After-Hours clinic times:-
6pm - 10pm Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays.
10am - 2pm Sunday

At other times, days or on weekends or public holidays phone the Locum Service on: 13 2660.

Doutta Galla Kensington Site has ramps for wheelchair access and disabled car parking.

If you need to speak to a doctor or nurse about an urgent medical problem, please asked to be directed to a nurse.

Non-urgent messages, please leave a message and they will try to phone you back as soon as possible.

Test results and repeat prescriptions will not be discussed over the phone.

The Day Practice

All clients who are eligible to receive Medicare Benefits will be Bulk-Billed. Please bring your Medicare Care and, if applicable, your Health Care Card with you to each visit. Go to costs within our practice

The After-Hours Medical Service

This is a mixed billing service and bulk billing will be available for eligible clients such as pensioners, health care card holders and clients who may be experiencing hardship.

Bulk-billing is determined at the discretion of the doctor. Clients are required to bring their Medicare Care card and, if applicable, their Health Care card to present to the receptionist at each visit.

Private billing fees are based on the recommended rates for general practice and determined by the complexity and time of the consultation.

You can make an appointment with your doctor at Doutta Galla, by phone or in person.

Daytime Consulting Hours:
8.30am - 6pm Monday to Friday.

After-Hours Consulting times:
6pm - 10pm Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays
10am - 2pm Sunday

You can reach a Medical Practitioner at other times by phoning a Locum Service on: 13 2660.

12 Gower Street, Kensington.
Closed weekends and public holidays.

Urgent medical problems can be dealt with immediately, but emergencies should be dealt with by the emergency departments and services listed below.
For an urgent medical problem Phone: 8378 1600

Home visits are made for those clients who live in Kensington only.

Appointments are made for home visits.

Requests for home visits for regular patients with transport difficulties are best made before 10am

The Royal Women's Hospital holds antenatal clinics each Tuesday morning at Doutta Galla. One of these clinics is held at the Kensington Medical Clinic at 12 Gower Street Kensington and the other is at the Doutta Galla Moonee Ponds site at 7 Chester Street Moonee Ponds. Women are able to attend the clinics for pre-natal care during a pregnancy and then attend the Royal Women's Hospital for the birth of the baby.

Appointments can be made through reception at Kensington on 8378 1600 or reception at Moonee Ponds on 9377 7100.

Doutta Galla is committed to ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of all client information.

Doutta Galla has strict policies about who can see and access a client’s information.

Doutta Galla keeps a client’s name and contact details on their consumer record. Other details such as a client’s care plan and information about their health are recorded each time they visit.

Who else sees client information?

Staff will only access and share information if they are directly involved in the client’s ongoing care. Otherwise, Doutta Galla only releases information about a client if they agree or if required by law, such as in a medical emergency.

Clients have a say in what happens to their information. Doutta Galla relies on the information that the client gives to help provide the right care. If the client decides not to share some of the information or restrict access to their consumer record, this is their right, but it may affect Doutta Galla’s ability to provide the client with the best possible services. The client should talk to Doutta Galla if they wish to change or cancel the consent.

Doutta Galla is committed to protecting the confidentiality of a client’s record. The privacy of a client’s information is also protected by law. Doutta Galla treats client information in the strictest confidence and stores it securely.

Clients can request access to their information and ask for it to be corrected if necessary.

This information is supplied by the Go to Department of Human Services website.

For more information on privacy please Go to our privacy policy page

Emergency medical care is not offered at Doutta Galla Community Health service; but can be offered by phoning the following

Ambulance 000
Royal Melbourne Hospital 9342 7393
Royal Children’s Hospital 9345 5522
Royal Melbourne Dental 9341 1000
Nurse-on-Call (telephone) 1300 60 60 24
Life Line (24-hour telephone counselling care) 13 11 14

Download the medical services brochure [PDF 1.84MB]