My First Consultation

My First Appointment

Your first appointment is likely to last at least 30 minutes. If you need an appointment for medico-legal, workers compensation or insurance claim purposes, you need to make the Practice staff aware of this at the time of booking.

At your first consultation you will be asked to complete a new patient questionnaire, this will allow the practise to register you, if you prefer, you can download the Patient Registration Form and email it to us ahead of time.

Please bring with you:

• your Medicare Card
• If relevant, your Private Health Insurance details
• Copies of any Medical Imaging (X-Rays, CT scans, MRI scans etc) that you have had done
• And an up to date referral from your GP or healthcare provider. (Can I come without a referral?)
• It is also advisable to wear appropriate clothing, to allow exposure of the body part in question. For example, if you have a knee problem shorts or very loose pants that can be easily pulled up to expose the knee are better than tight jeans.

We do our best to allow the necessary amount of time for each patient appointment and we aim to keep to time. Occasionally, Dr. Thornton-Bott may be held up due to a delay in morning surgeries or a patient before you can take longer than expected. You are very welcome to call on the day of your appointment to check if the clinic is running to time.

Will I Need Surgery?

After your consultation with Dr. Thornton-Bott, and after the necessary investigations, he will recommend one or several treatment options. These may include Non-Surgical management or Surgical management.

The decision to have surgery will only be made after discussion with Dr. Thornton-Bott who will ensure that you are satisfied that you are well informed about what surgery can achieve for you and what you can expect as your outcome.

Choosing a date for surgery

Patients in the Public system will be subject to the Waiting List restrictions and may wait up to 1 year for their surgery.

For patients in a fund, DVA, Workers Comp or Self Funding, we can usually find you an early surgery date which means you don’t have to wait in pain for too long.

Many patients will need to make arrangements with family or arrange time off work and typically we will find a surgery date to allow for this, about 1-2 months away. There is absolutely no pressure to have surgery until you feel ready. Some patients will require urgent surgery and Dr Thornton-Bott will be able to arrange an operation for you at short notice if necessary.

For All After Hours Consulations/Referrals Call  .

You Will Be Answered And Seen Within 24 Hours.