Welcome To The Blackburn Specialist Centre

Contact Us
 
Contact Us

Welcome to the Blackburn Specialist Centre

We pride ourselves on a high level of professionalism whilst offering a warm and caring environment to our patients, staff & Specialists.

We have a broad range of highly regarded consulting Specialists and Allied Health Professionals.  Most of our Specialists require a referral from your GP, but many Allied Health Professionals do not need a referral.  Please telephone us on 9875 1161  if you are unsure whether you need a referral.

COVID-19 VACCINATIONS

Please check this page regularly for updated information regarding Covid-19 Vaccinations – please DO NOT PHONE THE CLINIC to ask about COVID-19 Vaccinations, we will communicate new information as it becomes available on this page of our website.

General information about Australia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-Out Strategy is available here.

The Australian Government has recently made adjustments to the Covid 19 vaccination program.  As stated by ATAGI, “While Australia currently has very low or no community transmission of COVID-19, this could change, particularly in the context of high global transmission rates, including of new variants of the virus. The risk of serious disease and death in Australia remains, even as borders controls and other measures continue.”

Patients aged 70 and over

Currently, ALL patients over the age of 70 are eligible for a vaccine.

Patients aged 50-69

We  have special permission from the Department of Health, to vaccinate our patients aged 50 and over against Covid -19.   If you are aged 50-69 you can book ONLINE with Blackburn Clinic to attend our weekend Covid vaccine clinics. If you need a weekday appointment please phone the clinic instead.

For the over 50s, if you are

  • On warfarin or have a bleeding disorder;
  • Immune suppressed or on immune suppressing treatments;
  • Have a history of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) or heparin induced thrombocytopaenia (HIT)
  • Have a history of anaphylaxis; or
  • have questions about the Covid vaccines,

then you should book a regular appointment with your GP to discuss these issues prior to booking a Covid vaccine (do not book online).

Australian medical experts strongly recommend the Astra Zeneca vaccination for all patients over the age of 50. The Pfizer vaccination is the preferred vaccination for the under 50s, although the Astra Zeneca vaccination is available for General Practice patients, following a discussion of benefits and risks with your GP. The side effects are generally mild in intensity and mostly settle in a day or two. The most likely reactions include injection site pain and tenderness, fatigue, headache, muscle pain and fever. Booking for your vaccination implies that you are prepared to consent for this. If you have questions, please book a regular appointment instead.

Patients aged under 50

SOME patients under the age of 50 are eligible. If you are under the age of 50 then please check the following eligibility checker.

https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility

If you are eligible and wish to be vaccinated at Blackburn Clinic with the Astra Zeneca vaccine, we request that you do not book online. Please make an appointment to discuss vaccination with your regular GP. Alternatively, to enquire about Pfizer vaccination for the under 50s in the 1a or 1b cohorts, please click on the link below:

https://www.emphn.org.au/news-events/news/access-to-the-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine

If you would like more information to understand the benefit and risks of vaccination, please click on the link below.

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/covid-19-vaccination-weighing-up-the-potential-benefits-against-risk-of-harm-from-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca

IMPORTANTLY, if you are

  • Pregnant;
  • On warfarin or have a bleeding disorder;
  • Immune suppressed or on immune suppressing treatments;
  • have a history of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) or heparin induced thrombocytopaenia (HIT)
  • Have a history of anaphylaxis;
  • Are under 50 years of age; or
  • have questions about the Covid vaccines,

then you should book a regular appointment with your GP to discuss these issues prior to booking a Covid vaccine (do not book online).

Australian medical experts strongly recommend the Astra Zeneca vaccination for all patients over the age of 50. The Pfizer vaccination is the preferred vaccination for the under 50s, although the Astra Zeneca vaccination is available for General Practice patients, following a discussion of benefits and risks with your GP. The side effects are generally mild in intensity and mostly settle in a day or two. The most likely reactions include injection site pain and tenderness, fatigue, headache, muscle pain and fever. Booking for your vaccination implies that you are prepared to consent for this. If you have questions, please book a regular appointment instead.

 

New Patients of any age

NEW PATIENTS are unable to book online (due to software limitations) and are asked to complete a NEW COVID VACCINE PATIENT REGISTRATION FORM by clicking here. Please print out, complete the form, scan and email it back (to the email address on the form), or follow the alternate instructions on the form.

Existing patients who have not consulted with us for more than 2 years will need to phone our reception team to request an appointment.

CORONAVIRUS TESTING

Blackburn Specialist Centre is not able to test for COVID-19. Please CLICK HERE to view the Department of Health and Human Services MAP OF COVID-19 TESTING SITES or speak with your GP. Some sites require a referral from your GP.  Click on the site you are interested in attending to get further information about their service.

COVID-19 VACCINE ELIGIBILITY CHECKER

If you are 70 years or older (55 years or older if Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander) you are automatically eligible for a vaccine in Phase 1b of the rollout. Other ages may be eligible due to occupation (critical & high risk workers or health care workers) or due to underlying medical conditions including disability – please use this link to check which phase of the COVID-19 Vaccine rollout you fit into: https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility

Blackburn Clinic GPs at Blackburn Specialist Centre

A site of Blackburn Clinic.

Please go to our News Page to find out how we can continue to meet your healthcare needs during the Coronavirus pandemic.

We have a proud history of over 60 years providing excellence in General Practice with five Blackburn Clinic GPs practicing at this site.  We are a private billing clinic:
  • Comprehensive range of family medicine services
  • Licensed Travel Vaccination Centre
  • A medical training practice accredited with the RACGP
  • Childhood immunisations
  • Diabetes Clinic
  • Men’s Health Checks
  • Women’s Health Checks
  • Health assessments for Over 75s
  • Aviation Medicals

How to book for your COVID vaccine using our online booking system:

IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY.

  • Click on the Online booking button and enter your Medicare number and date of birth and click “log in”.
  • Use the calendar icon to select a date on Saturdays, Sundays. We are already booked up to 8 May 2021, so search from that date onwards.  We are only running COVID vaccine clinics on weekends at this stage.
  • Choose any of the “COVID VACCINATOR”s that appear in the list of available appointments. If no appointments are showing on the window then that date may be fully booked. Keep selecting other Saturday or Sunday dates (eg. the following weekend) until appointments show on the screen.
  • Ignore the gender of the COVID Vaccinator as this cannot be guaranteed. You cannot book to have a COVID vaccine with your normal GP. We have a team of qualified immunisers who are trained specifically to administer COVID vaccines.
  • Press “Select & Continue”
  • Tick that you agree to the Terms & Conditions (tick box is just below the wording in Red). Fill in your email address if you’d like to receive a confirmation of your booking.
  • Click on the “Yes, Book this Appointment” blue button at the top left hand side of the screen.
  • Appointments made online for individual GPs will be normal face to face appointments for other matters. If you are having difficulties with booking online, then you may like to firstly ask for assistance from a family member. Our reception team can arrange help if you are still requiring some assistance.

If you are under 50 you must bring confirmation of eligibility to your vaccine appointment if you are in either of the groups below:

  • occupational eligiblity (proof of this)
  • medically eligible and NOT one of our regular patients (you need a letter from your regular GP confirming your eligibility).

The TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) has determined that COVID vaccines are both safe and effective. The side effects are generally mild in intensity and mostly settle in a day or two. The most likely reactions include injection site pain and tenderness, fatigue, headache, muscle pain and fever. Booking for your vaccination implies that you are prepared to consent for this. If you have questions please book a regular appointment instead.

Further information

It is very important that you attend at your check-in time. You will be greeted by a patient support worker and organised into a group of 4 and asked to sit in our waiting room. You will then be escorted to a consulting room to await the administration of your vaccine. You will then return to our waiting room for a period of 15 minutes (COVID vaccine protocol requires that you stay under observation for 15 minutes) after which time you may leave. The total time in the clinic is 30 minutes.

When you receive your first dose of COVID vaccine, you will be provided with an appointment time for your booster (second) dose, which is scheduled to occur 12 weeks after your initial dose, generally at the same time and day of week.  This booster appointment can only be changed in exceptional circumstances due to stock control and vaccine supply issues.

Please contact us promptly if you need to cancel your booking due to illness. Please do not come to the clinic if you have a fever, cough or other respiratory symptoms or have been in a hot spot area or have had contact with a confirmed COVID case.

We are extremely proud to be part of the first cohort of general practices around Australia that have been nominated to participate in the vaccine rollout.

If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine or are undecided about whether to have it, please book an appointment to discuss this with your doctor.

It is very important that you attend at your check-in time. You will be greeted by a patient support worker and organised into a group of 4 and asked to sit in our waiting room. You will then be escorted to a consulting room to await the administration of your vaccine. You will then return to our waiting room for a period of 15 minutes (COVID vaccine protocol requires that you stay under observation for 15 minutes) after which time you may leave. The total time in the clinic is 30 minutes.

When you receive your first dose of COVID vaccine, you will be provided with an appointment time for your booster (second) dose, which is scheduled to occur 12 weeks after your initial dose, generally at the same time and day of week.  This booster appointment can only be changed in exceptional circumstances due to stock control and vaccine supply issues.

Please contact us promptly if you need to cancel your booking due to illness. Please do not come to the clinic if you have a fever, cough or other respiratory symptoms or have been in a hot spot area or have had contact with a confirmed COVID case.

We are extremely proud to be part of the first cohort of general practices around Australia that have been nominated to participate in the vaccine rollout.

If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine or are undecided about whether to have it, please book an appointment to discuss this with your doctor.

For statements from the Chief Health Officer, please click on the following link:  https://www.health.gov.au/news/response-latest-atagi-advice

Click on the topics below for more information:

If you would like more information about the Astra Zeneca vaccination in general (including the rare incidence of clotting) please click on the link below:

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/covid-19-vaccination-information-on-covid-19-astrazeneca-vaccine

Or to understand the benefit and risks of vaccination, by comparing the rate of intensive care admission due to Covid with the rate of clotting due to the vaccine, please click on the link below.

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/covid-19-vaccination-weighing-up-the-potential-benefits-against-risk-of-harm-from-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca

The Government also allow patients to complete an ELIGIBILITY DECLARATION FORM (click here to access) if necessary. Patients may bring a completed Eligibility Declaration Form on the day of vaccination if they are unable to provide other evidence of occupational or medical eligibility.  Please note that if you are eligible due to underlying medical conditions, it is important you have discussed the efficacy and safety of the vaccine with your doctor prior to the day of vaccination.

FLU VACCINATIONS

Flu vaccination bookings can be made by telephoning our reception team. Please be aware that your Flu and COVID vaccinations need to occur at least 2 weeks apart.

FLU VACCINATIONS CANNOT BE BOOKED ONLINE.