Slow start for after hours clinic

The more people who get to hear about the new service, the more people who will start using it, medical providers believe.

A new service will offer Katherine residents and visitors after-hours consultations with a doctor at no charge.

Most Katherine residents are forced to attend the hospital’s accident and emergency clinic since funding for an after hours clinic in town ran out several years ago.

Residents and visitors in postcode areas 0850 (Katherine township) and 0853 (Tindal) can now access a doctor after-hours via phone or video.

This service is funded by the NT Primary Health Care Network to be free and is available:

To access the After-Hours HealthNow service, call 1800 931 165 (toll-free).

The telehealth service is not intended as a substitute or replacement for a patient’s regular GP care.

A spokesman for the NT Primary Health Care Network said the trial has started well with positive local resident and stakeholder support.

There is ongoing engagement with local health service providers through the Trial Reference Group which includes ambulance, hospital, general practice, Aboriginal health service and Northern Territory PHN (NT PHN) representatives.

NT PHN has invited a community representative to the Trial Reference Group meetings to add additional local knowledge to the reference group activity.

“Numbers from the first three weeks of the trial are encouraging for the cohort size and amount of promotional activities that have commenced.

“We expect to see these numbers increase over the upcoming months as awareness grows.”

The spokesman said information on the sort of ailments that people are seeking help for is not currently available.

“NT PHN and the service provider have commenced the process of engaging external evaluation to assess the impact of the service and how it meets the needs of the community.

To access the After-Hours HealthNow service, call 1800 931 165 (toll-free).

For more information, please visit the HealthNow website: www.healthnow.io/telehealth

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