All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
Cervical screening, contraception, menopause, breast health and fertility — the whole picture, in one place. Female GPs are available; ask for who you would prefer when you book.
Australia's screening programs start at different ages and run on different clocks, which is why things get missed. Move the slider to see what generally applies.
General information for the Australian population, not a personal screening plan. What is right for you depends on your own history — that is the conversation to have in the room.
Since 2022, everyone eligible for cervical screening in Australia has been able to choose self-collection. You take the sample yourself, from a swab, in private. There is no speculum and no examination by the doctor.
Both samples are checked for HPV and both are accurate for screening. There is one practical difference worth knowing up front: if a self-collected sample comes back positive for a type other than HPV 16 or 18, you will be asked to return for a clinician-collected sample, because the cell-check part of the test cannot be run on a self-collected swab. Most people never need that step.
Human papillomavirus. HPV is a common virus — most people who have ever been sexually active will have had it, and in most cases the body clears it without anything happening. A small number of infections persist, and it is those that can slowly change cervical cells over many years. Testing for the virus rather than for cell changes is what allows a five-year interval.
People with a cervix aged 25 to 74, every five years, if your previous results have been normal. You should still be screened if you have had the HPV vaccine, if you are no longer sexually active, and if you have gone through menopause.
Self-collection is for screening — for people without symptoms. If you have unusual bleeding, bleeding after sex, pain or an abnormal discharge, that is not a screening situation and needs to be examined properly. Follow-up after an abnormal result may also need a speculum examination.
It depends which type. If HPV 16 or 18 is found, you are referred straight for colposcopy, where the cervix is looked at closely.
If another oncogenic type is found and you collected the sample yourself, you will be asked to come back within about six weeks for a sample taken by a clinician — the cell-check part of the test cannot be done on a self-collected swab. That second result then decides between a repeat test in twelve months and a colposcopy referral.
Finding HPV is not a cancer diagnosis. It is the system working as designed, years earlier than it used to.
The consultation is bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. The laboratory test is covered under the National Cervical Screening Program for eligible participants.
Most people know two or three methods and choose between them. There are more, they work in quite different ways, and the one that suits you at 22 is often not the one that suits you at 38.
The things worth weighing are how long it lasts, whether you have to remember it, what it does to your bleeding, how quickly fertility returns, and whether it can be used alongside your other health conditions. That is a conversation, not a menu.
The long-acting reversible methods — intrauterine devices and the implant — are the most effective because they remove the possibility of human error. Nothing has to be remembered daily or repeated on time.
Return of fertility after stopping is generally prompt for most methods. The injection is the exception — it can take longer for cycles to return afterwards, which is worth knowing before you choose it rather than after.
Ask when you book. Insertion of an intrauterine device is a procedure that requires specific training and equipment, and where it is not done on site we will arrange it. Either way the assessment, the discussion and the follow-up happen here.
Some methods reduce bleeding and pain substantially and are used for that reason as much as for contraception. Others do not. Which is which depends on the method and on what is causing the pain, so it is worth raising both at once.
Most methods remain suitable, but the calculation changes — blood pressure, migraine history, smoking status and clot risk all carry more weight. Contraception is still needed until menopause is confirmed.
A small device placed in the uterus, and among the most effective methods there is. Effective for up to eight years as contraception.
For many people it makes periods lighter or stops them altogether — but where it is being used mainly for heavy bleeding, it is replaced at five years rather than eight. We will tell you which applies to you.
Hormone-free, which matters to some people. Highly effective and long lasting.
It can make periods heavier or more painful, particularly in the first few months, so it suits some people and not others.
A small rod placed under the skin of the upper arm under local anaesthetic. Very effective, and nothing to remember.
Bleeding becomes unpredictable for many people — lighter for some, irregular for others. Ask when you book whether insertion is done on site or arranged for you.
Taken every day. Effective when taken consistently, and less so when it is not, which is the main practical difference between it and the long-acting methods.
Some types are unsuitable if you have migraine with aura, high blood pressure, or a clot history — which is why it is a conversation rather than a repeat script.
Seek help urgently for calf pain or swelling, chest pain, breathlessness, a sudden severe headache or a change in your vision.
Inserted and left in place for three weeks, then replaced. Nothing daily to remember.
Similar considerations to the combined pill, so the same history questions apply.
Given every twelve weeks. Effective and private, with nothing to store at home.
Return of fertility can take longer than with other methods, sometimes many months. Worth knowing in advance if pregnancy is on the horizon.
Available from a pharmacy without a prescription, and it works better the sooner it is taken. It does not protect you for the rest of the cycle, so ongoing contraception is still needed. Guidelines describe a copper IUD fitted within five days as the most effective option — if that is what you want, ring us the same day and we will tell you where it can be done in time.
Your consultation here is bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. The device or medicine itself, and any insertion or removal procedure, may carry a separate cost depending on what you choose and where it is done — ask for the figure before you go ahead.
Perimenopause commonly begins in the forties and can run for several years before periods stop. Because cycles are still happening, the symptoms often get attributed to stress, work or age rather than to hormones — sleep that has broken up, mood that has shifted, brain fog, joint aches, heavy or unpredictable bleeding, and hot flushes that may or may not turn up at all.
Since July 2025 there has been a Medicare-funded health assessment specifically for perimenopause and menopause, including premature ovarian insufficiency and early menopause. It is a longer, structured appointment covering symptoms, bone and heart health, contraception if it is still needed, and the management options with their risks and benefits laid out properly.
Usually from the pattern rather than a test. Blood hormone levels fluctuate so much during perimenopause that a single result is often unhelpful, and can be actively misleading. Your age, your cycle changes and your symptoms tell us more.
They range from sleep, exercise, alcohol and weight through to non-hormonal treatments and menopausal hormone therapy. What is appropriate depends on your symptoms, your history — particularly clot, heart and breast history — and what matters most to you. That is precisely the discussion the assessment is designed to make room for.
Usually yes, for a period after your last period. Fertility falls but does not stop neatly, and how long to continue depends on your age. Worth asking rather than assuming.
Both change after menopause, which is why the assessment includes them. Blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, activity and bone health are all easier to act on early.
Please do. Symptoms are easier to describe from a written list than from memory, and it makes a long appointment far more productive.
Period pain that keeps you home from work or school, bleeding you plan your week around, and cycles that never settle — these are reasons to look, not things to wait out. On average it takes years for endometriosis to be diagnosed in Australia, and much of that delay is the assumption that severe pain is normal.
The same is true of heavy bleeding. It is common, it is often dismissed, and it is a frequent cause of iron deficiency — which produces its own exhaustion, breathlessness and poor concentration long before it shows up as anaemia.
Pain that starts before the bleeding and outlasts it, pain with sex, pain opening the bowels or passing urine around your period, and fatigue. Pain that is not controlled by ordinary pain relief is the part that should not be accepted as normal.
Polycystic ovary syndrome affects around one in ten women. Irregular or absent periods, acne, excess hair growth and difficulty with weight are common features, and it carries longer-term implications for diabetes risk and fertility that are worth managing early.
A history, an examination, blood tests including iron studies and thyroid, and often a pelvic ultrasound. There are effective treatments — several of them are things you may already have considered only as contraception.
If your periods are heavy, or you are tired in a way that sleep does not fix, iron studies are a reasonable request. Low iron without anaemia is common and is treatable.
Any bleeding once your periods have stopped for twelve months is always investigated, even a single spot. It is usually caused by something benign, but it is the one symptom that is never left to see how it goes.
A preconception appointment is one of the most useful and least used appointments in general practice. There are several things that only work if they are done beforehand — folate before conception, checking immunity to rubella and chickenpox in time to vaccinate, and reviewing medicines that may need changing.
It is also the moment to sort out the ordinary things: iron, thyroid, blood pressure, cervical screening if it is due, weight, alcohol and smoking. None of it is complicated. It is simply easier before than during.
At least a month before conception and through the first trimester. It reduces the risk of neural tube defects, and it works before most people know they are pregnant — which is exactly why it needs to be started in advance.
Bring everything, including over-the-counter and supplements. Some medicines need changing before pregnancy, some are fine to continue, and some conditions are more dangerous untreated than treated. Do not stop anything on your own — bring it in.
Generally worth investigating after twelve months of trying, or after six months if you are over 35. Investigation involves both partners, and there is more that can be done locally than most people expect before any referral is needed.
Postnatal checks for you and the six-week check for your baby happen here, along with immunisations, feeding support and an honest conversation about how you are actually going.
Standard consultations are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. Some pathology and imaging carry costs depending on the item — you will be told before anything is ordered.
Cervical screening including self-collection
Contraception including implants and IUD referral
Perimenopause & menopause care
Medicare menopause health assessment
Period pain & heavy bleeding
Endometriosis investigation & referral
Preconception & pregnancy planning
Shared antenatal care
Postnatal checks
Sexual health testing
Breast concerns & referral
Iron studies
Cervical screening including self-collection
Contraception including implants and IUD referral
Perimenopause & menopause care
Medicare menopause health assessment
Period pain & heavy bleeding
Endometriosis investigation & referral
Preconception & pregnancy planning
Shared antenatal care
Postnatal checks
Sexual health testing
Breast concerns & referral
Iron studies
Cervical screening including self-collection
Contraception including implants and IUD referral
Perimenopause & menopause care
Medicare menopause health assessment
Period pain & heavy bleeding
Endometriosis investigation & referral
Preconception & pregnancy planning
Shared antenatal care
Postnatal checks
Sexual health testing
Breast concerns & referral
Iron studies
Yes. Dr Zahraa Hussein is a female GP at Muswellbrook Doctors. Ask for her when you book — if she is not available on the day you want, reception will tell you when she is.
No. Everything on this page is general practice care and you can book directly. Referrals are written by us where a specialist opinion is needed.
Standard consultations are bulk billed for everyone with a valid Medicare card. Some devices, procedures and privately purchased items carry a cost — reception will quote you before anything goes ahead.
Yes, at any point, for any examination, without giving a reason. Our practice nurse can be in the room and you can also bring someone with you.
Yes. Self-collection is available to everyone eligible for screening and is offered here as standard. It is the same test and it is accurate for screening.
A standard consultation runs about ten minutes. Contraception, menopause, period problems and anything with more than one issue need a long appointment — say what it is about when you book.
Yes, but tell reception so the time is allocated. Four problems will not fit into ten minutes, and the important one usually ends up last.
We refer to gynaecology and other specialties as needed, with your history and results attached so the appointment starts from something. Read more about how referrals work.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
Prefer to meet us first? Meet the doctors →
Heart checks, cancer screening, skin, sexual health — and the ones nobody raises first.
Australia's screening programs and routine checks start at different ages and run on different clocks. Move the slider to see what generally applies.
General information for the Australian population, not a personal screening plan. What is right for you depends on your own history — that is the conversation to have in the room.
Coronary heart disease remains a leading cause of death for Australian men, and a large share of the risk is made up of numbers that take about twenty minutes to collect — blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, weight and waist, smoking status and family history.
Put together they produce an estimate of your risk over the next five years. That number is not there to frighten anyone. It exists because it changes the conversation from a vague sense that you should do something to a specific list of the two or three things that would move it most.
A history including your family, blood pressure, height, weight and waist, and usually a blood test for cholesterol and glucose. An ECG is often done on the same visit, here in our treatment room, and read while you are still in the room.
Often yes for cholesterol and glucose, so ask reception when you book. It is frustrating to arrive having eaten and be asked to come back.
For most adults, under 120 over 80 is ideal, and treatment thresholds depend on your overall risk rather than the number alone. One high reading is not a diagnosis — it is a reason to measure it again properly.
Then you have found it before it found you. Most of what follows is unglamorous and effective: blood pressure, cholesterol, activity, sleep, alcohol, smoking and weight, in whatever order gives the biggest return for you.
No. Chest pain, pressure or tightness happening now — particularly with sweating, nausea, or pain into the arm, neck or jaw — is a 000 call. Do not drive yourself and do not wait for an appointment.
Australia runs national screening programs for bowel and lung cancer, and both are funded or subsidised if you are eligible. Skin is different — there is no program, which puts it on you and on us.
Prostate is different again. There is still no national screening program, but the Australian guideline was updated in 2026 and it now recommends that GPs raise PSA testing with all men aged 50 to 69 and offer a test every two years after an informed discussion. A baseline test can also be offered at 40 to men who want one. In other words, we will bring it up — you do not have to.
It depends on your history, your skin type and how much sun you have had. A full check needs a long appointment. Between checks, anything new, changing, or not healing after a few weeks is worth bringing in on its own.
A systematic look at your skin, head to toe, in good light, often with a dermatoscope. Come without makeup, remove nail polish, and point out anything that has changed or that worries you.
The Australian guideline was revised in 2026 and now recommends that GPs offer two-yearly PSA testing to men aged 50 to 69, after a discussion about what a result would and would not mean. A baseline test at 40 can be offered to men who want one.
It is still a decision made together rather than a test done automatically, and family history, your age and your own view of the trade-offs all matter. The difference is that raising it is now our job, not yours.
It is mailed to you automatically from 50 to 74. From 45 you can request your first kit. If yours is lost or out of date, raise it at your next appointment.
It depends on your age and your smoking history — how much, and how recently. Ask us and we will work it out with you.
A test kit is mailed out at no cost from 50 to 74, every two years. From 45 you can request your first kit rather than waiting for it to arrive.
It is done at home, it takes minutes, and it is the screening test men are most likely to leave in the drawer.
A national screening program began in July 2025 for people aged 50 to 70 with a significant smoking history who have no symptoms.
Eligibility depends on how much and how recently you smoked. Ask whether you qualify — it is a low-dose CT scan, not a chest X-ray.
Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and men over 50 are the group most often diagnosed late — usually because the spot was somewhere they could not see.
There is no national program. It relies on someone noticing. Anything new, changing, or not healing after a few weeks is worth bringing in.
There is no national screening program, but the 2026 Australian guideline recommends GPs offer two-yearly PSA testing to men aged 50 to 69 after an informed discussion.
A baseline test can be offered at 40 to men who want one. Family history matters, and so does your own view of the trade-offs.
These usually arrive at the end of an appointment, on the way out the door, prefaced with “while I am here”. Men are less likely than women to see a GP about mental health, and around three in four suicide deaths in Australia are men.
There is no special way to raise it. “I have not been sleeping” or “I have been drinking more than I used to” is a perfectly good opening sentence, and it is one we hear regularly. Book a long appointment and say it first rather than last.
A longer appointment where we go through what has been happening and write a plan together. It gives access to a number of Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist, and it is reviewed after a few sessions to see whether it is working.
Australian guidelines suggest no more than ten standard drinks a week and no more than four on any one day. Most people underestimate a standard drink considerably, so it is worth counting honestly for a week before deciding.
Yes. Fatigue is one of the more useful symptoms to bring in because the causes range widely — sleep apnoea, iron, thyroid, mood, alcohol, diabetes, shift work. Several of them are simple to test for.
Yes. What you tell your doctor stays in your medical record and is not shared with your employer. Work medicals are separate, and even then the employer receives a fitness opinion, not your history.
Call Lifeline on 13 11 14, any hour of any day. In an emergency, or if someone's life is at risk, call 000.
Sexual health testing is straightforward, confidential and considerably more routine than most people expect. Many infections have no symptoms at all, which is the entire reason testing exists.
Erectile difficulty is worth raising for a reason beyond the obvious: it is sometimes an early sign of blood vessel disease, and it can be the first indication that a heart risk assessment is overdue. It is a medical symptom, not an embarrassment.
Usually a urine sample and a blood test, sometimes a swab. It is quick, and results come back to us within a few days.
The consultation is bulk billed with a valid Medicare card, and most tests are covered. If anything carries a cost you will be told before it is ordered.
No. Your record is confidential. If a notifiable infection is found there are public health processes for partner notification, and they are explained to you and can be done anonymously.
Sometimes, but it is frequently requested for symptoms that turn out to have another cause — sleep, weight, alcohol, mood or thyroid. Testing is done in line with Australian guidance, which means at the right time of day and repeated before anything is concluded.
Investigation involves both partners and there is more that can be done locally than most people expect. Generally worth looking after twelve months of trying, or six if your partner is over 35.
Pre-employment medicals, job evaluations and insurance reports are all done here. They are longer than a standard consultation, they are not a Medicare service, and they attract a private fee — quoted before you book so there are no surprises afterwards.
The report answers one question: can this person do this job safely. Your employer receives a fitness opinion and anything they are legally required to be told. They do not receive your medical history.
Considerably longer than a standard appointment — allow the better part of an hour, more if audiometry, spirometry and drug screening are all required.
Photo ID, the employer's form or reference number, your glasses or contacts, hearing aids if you wear them, and a list of your medicines. Wear clothing you can move in.
Yes. An undisclosed history that surfaces later causes far more trouble than one declared up front, and it can affect a future claim.
Often the employer pays directly. Check with them first and tell reception what the arrangement is when you book.
No. Work and insurance medicals are not Medicare services. You will be quoted the fee before the appointment.
Heart health checks
Blood pressure & cholesterol
Diabetes risk assessment
ECG on site
Bowel screening kits
Skin cancer checks
Prostate discussion & PSA
Sexual health testing
Mood, sleep & alcohol
Weight and lifestyle support
Pre-employment medicals
Spirometry on site
Heart health checks
Blood pressure & cholesterol
Diabetes risk assessment
ECG on site
Bowel screening kits
Skin cancer checks
Prostate discussion & PSA
Sexual health testing
Mood, sleep & alcohol
Weight and lifestyle support
Pre-employment medicals
Spirometry on site
Heart health checks
Blood pressure & cholesterol
Diabetes risk assessment
ECG on site
Bowel screening kits
Skin cancer checks
Prostate discussion & PSA
Sexual health testing
Mood, sleep & alcohol
Weight and lifestyle support
Pre-employment medicals
Spirometry on site
Most of what a check-up looks for has no symptoms in its early stages — blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and early bowel changes among them. Feeling fine is the point at which these things are easiest to deal with.
A long appointment. A proper check involves history, examination, and usually blood tests, and it does not fit into the ten minutes a standard consultation runs to.
Often yes for cholesterol and glucose. Ask reception when you book so you do not arrive having eaten.
Yes. There are male GPs at the practice — say who you would prefer when you book and reception will do their best to match it.
Standard consultations are bulk billed for everyone with a valid Medicare card. Work and insurance medicals, and some procedures and privately purchased items, carry a fee that is quoted first.
Often, yes — that is part of the reason ECG, spirometry and pathology are here in the same building. Tell reception what you want covered so enough time is allowed.
We refer with your history and results attached so the appointment starts from something. Read more about how referrals work when the specialist is in Newcastle.
Book a long appointment and say it has been a while. Nobody is going to lecture you. We will start with the numbers, work out what matters most, and go from there.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
Prefer to meet us first? Meet the doctors →
“I have not been sleeping” is a perfectly good opening sentence. So is “I have been drinking more than I used to”. Book a long appointment and say it first, not last.
Most people wait far longer than they needed to. Not because the difficulty was small, but because it arrived gradually and they adjusted around it. These are the signs worth bringing in — in yourself, or in someone you are worried about.
No, and most people are not. Coming in earlier means more options and an easier path than waiting until things are severe.
That is extremely common and it is not a problem. “Something is not right and I do not know what” is a completely workable place to start.
Yes. You can book to talk about how to help a family member, and to look after yourself while you do it.
Many people expect tears. Far more common is a greyness — nothing is terrible, nothing is enjoyable either.
Short fuse at home while holding it together everywhere else is a very common early pattern.
A mind that keeps running the same loop, especially at night, and cannot be reasoned out of it.
Believing others would be better off without you is a sign to be seen soon, not something to sit with.
Falling asleep fine and waking in the early hours, unable to get back, is a classic pattern worth reporting.
Exhaustion that a good night does not touch. Worth checking physically as well — thyroid, iron and sleep apnoea look similar.
Withdrawal into sleep can be as significant as not sleeping at all.
Anxiety is physical. It is still worth having the physical causes checked, which we can do here.
Eating noticeably more or less, or losing interest in food, often shifts before mood does.
Persistent physical symptoms with no clear cause are a common way that stress presents.
Quietly dropping sport, friends or hobbies is often the first outward sign.
Especially if it has become the way you get to sleep or wind down. Worth raising early.
Screening calls, leaving messages unanswered, finding reasons not to go.
Missing deadlines, mistakes that are not like you, or dreading Monday from Friday.
Withdrawal from the people who usually hear from them is worth a direct question.
Settling affairs, giving away possessions or saying goodbye-shaped things needs acting on immediately.
If several people have independently said the same thing, that is meaningful.
Ask directly if you are worried about someone. Asking about suicide does not plant the idea — it usually comes as a relief.
A Mental Health Treatment Plan is a longer appointment where we go through what has been happening and write a plan together. It gives access to a set number of Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist or other mental health professional in a calendar year, and it is reviewed after a few sessions to see whether it is helping.
A set number per calendar year, with a review partway through. Reception can tell you the current number when you book.
The planning appointment is bulk billed here with a valid Medicare card. Psychologists set their own fees and many charge a gap above the Medicare rebate — ask when you book with them.
No. A plan is one option. Some people do better with medication, some with both, and some with neither — we talk it through rather than assume.
Yes, in your confidential medical record like anything else. It is not shared with employers or insurers without your consent.
In your words. There is no test to pass and nothing you have to prove.
Sleeping through the night, getting back to sport, being less short with the kids. Specific beats general.
Your GP, a psychologist if that suits, and anyone else you want included.
Written down while you are well enough to think clearly, which is exactly when it should be decided.
Booked in from the start, to check whether it is actually working.
You take it with you. So does the psychologist, so you do not start from scratch.
Four steps, and the first one is the hardest.
That is fine. Plenty of people come in for something else and raise this at the end. We would rather you said it at all than said it on time.
Yes. Many people find it easier with a partner, parent or friend in the room, at least at the start.
Ring reception and say it is urgent if it is. Same-day slots are held each morning.
Mental Health Treatment Plans
Subsidised psychology sessions
Anxiety & low mood
Sleep problems
Alcohol & other drugs
Grief & loss
Stress at work
Longer appointments available
Referral to psychology & psychiatry
Mental Health Treatment Plans
Subsidised psychology sessions
Anxiety & low mood
Sleep problems
Alcohol & other drugs
Grief & loss
Stress at work
Longer appointments available
Referral to psychology & psychiatry
Mental Health Treatment Plans
Subsidised psychology sessions
Anxiety & low mood
Sleep problems
Alcohol & other drugs
Grief & loss
Stress at work
Longer appointments available
Referral to psychology & psychiatry
Say it plainly and say it first. “I want to talk about how I have been feeling” is all it takes.
Yes. What you tell your doctor stays in your medical record. It is not shared with your employer, and work medicals are entirely separate.
Standard and long consultations, including treatment plan appointments, are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card.
No. Book directly with us. We write the referral if you go on to see a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Not automatically. Medication is one option among several, and it is discussed rather than assumed.
Yes, and it is worth asking for. Not having to retell the story every visit matters here more than almost anywhere.
Older teenagers can be seen alone and confidentiality is taken seriously within the usual limits around safety.
Lifeline 13 11 14, any hour. In an emergency call 000 or go to Muswellbrook Hospital.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
Prefer to meet us first? Meet the doctors →
Getting older is not a diagnosis. But it does mean more medicines, more interactions, and more things that get quietly put up with when they could be fixed.
From 75 onward, an annual health assessment is available through Medicare. It is a long appointment, usually with the practice nurse and then the GP, and it covers the things a ten-minute consultation never gets to: balance, memory, hearing, vision, continence, mood, nutrition, medicines and how you are actually managing at home.
It often produces the most useful outcome of any appointment — not a new diagnosis, but two or three practical changes that keep you independent longer.
No. It is most useful when you feel fine, because that is when problems are small enough to fix easily.
Yes, with a valid Medicare card.
A pharmacist visits you at home, goes through every medicine, and reports back to your GP. It is very good at finding duplicates and interactions.
Including a simple walking and balance test.
Doses, duplicates, interactions and anything that could be stopped.
Both are commonly missed and both are worth knowing about early.
Two of the biggest causes of isolation, and both often fixable.
Rarely raised, frequently treatable, and life-changing when sorted.
Steps, lighting, rails, cooking, driving and who is nearby.
Most of what limits people as they get older is not one dramatic event. It is a slow accumulation of things that never quite got mentioned.
Forgetting names and where you put things is common. Getting lost somewhere familiar, repeating the same question in one conversation, or struggling with tasks you have done for decades is worth assessing.
Yes. One fall roughly doubles the chance of another, and most causes — blood pressure, medicines, vision, footwear, strength — are treatable.
Depression in older adults often shows as tiredness, pain and withdrawal rather than sadness. It is not a normal part of ageing.
One fall roughly doubles the risk of another. Nearly always worth investigating.
A quiet adaptation that signals a fixable balance or strength problem.
Often blood pressure medicines. Frequently adjustable.
Leg strength is trainable at any age, and it protects independence.
Within one conversation, rather than across a week.
Different from forgetting a name. Worth assessing.
Depression in older adults often looks like tiredness and pain rather than sadness.
Both a symptom and a cause. Worth untangling.
Untreated hearing loss is strongly linked to isolation and to memory decline.
Also one of the biggest falls risks.
Unintentional weight loss always needs a reason.
Very common, very rarely raised, and often treatable.
A packed or dated pack solves this, and a review may reduce the number.
Better discussed early and honestly than after an incident.
Nutrition drives strength, healing and mood.
None of these are inevitable. Most have something that can be done about them.
Health assessments are booked as a long appointment, usually starting with the practice nurse.
Around an hour in total, often split between the nurse and your GP.
Yes, and it usually helps. A second perspective often fills in what gets minimised.
Yes. We can make the referral for an assessment and support you through it.
75+ health assessments
Falls prevention
Medication reviews
Memory concerns
My Aged Care referrals
Home Medicines Review
Bulk billed
Continuity with your GP
75+ health assessments
Falls prevention
Medication reviews
Memory concerns
My Aged Care referrals
Home Medicines Review
Bulk billed
Continuity with your GP
75+ health assessments
Falls prevention
Medication reviews
Memory concerns
My Aged Care referrals
Home Medicines Review
Bulk billed
Continuity with your GP
An annual Medicare-funded long appointment covering the whole picture — balance, memory, medicines, senses, mood and home.
Yes, with a valid Medicare card.
About an hour, usually with the practice nurse and then your GP.
Yes, we can make the referral and help with the process.
A pharmacist reviews all your medicines at home and reports back to your GP.
Yes. One fall is a strong predictor of another, and most causes are treatable.
Book a long appointment. Assessment is worth having — some causes are entirely reversible.
Ring and ask. It depends on circumstances and doctor availability.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
Prefer to meet us first? Meet the doctors →
Most sexually transmitted infections cause no symptoms whatsoever. That is the entire reason testing exists — and it is why a normal-feeling body is not evidence of anything.
Sexual health care here covers testing for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B and C, plus contraception, emergency contraception, vaccination, and any symptom you are worried about. Most testing is a urine sample, a blood test, or a swab you can often take yourself.
Chlamydia is the most commonly notified sexually transmissible infection in Australia and most people who have it have no idea. Untreated it can affect fertility. It is also cured with a short course of antibiotics, which is a good reason to find it early.
No, and most people do not have any. Testing is recommended based on your circumstances, not your symptoms.
Annually if you are sexually active and under 30, or more often with new or multiple partners. We will talk through what fits you.
Yes. Consultations are confidential, and certain infections are notified to health authorities without your name being made public.
Usually a urine sample or a self-collected swab. Quick and painless.
A single blood test covers these together.
Hepatitis B and HPV vaccination are both available here.
Every option, from the pill to long-acting methods, discussed properly.
Time-critical. The emergency contraceptive pill is available from any pharmacy without a prescription — get it there first if you cannot be seen today, then book with us. A copper IUD is the most effective option and can be fitted up to five days after.
Most infections are cured simply. Partners need testing too, and there are anonymous ways to let them know.
Symptoms are not required. But when they do appear, they should not be waited out.
Testing a couple of weeks after a new partner is sensible and completely routine. No explanation is needed.
Yes, and that is the majority of testing that happens.
Come in. You may need treatment even before your own results return.
From the genitals or anus, with or without odour or itch.
Common with both infections and urinary problems. Worth distinguishing.
Including painless ones. Painless is not reassuring — early syphilis is often painless.
Sometimes the first sign of HIV or another infection.
Always worth assessing, whatever the likely cause.
New pain, particularly with discharge or fever, needs checking.
Especially with fever — pelvic infection needs prompt treatment to protect fertility.
Often not an infection at all, but worth sorting rather than self-treating repeatedly.
Sudden severe testicular pain is an emergency, not a wait-and-see.
Even small amounts, and even if it settles.
On the penis, scrotum, or around the anus.
A test a couple of weeks later is routine and sensible.
Come in — you may need treating before your results return.
Testing, emergency contraception if relevant, and — where HIV exposure is possible — preventive treatment, which must start within 72 hours.
No trigger, no symptoms, no explanation required.
You never need a reason beyond wanting to know. Reception will not ask why.
Say you would like a sexual health appointment when booking. Reception will not ask for details.
Yes, always. Say who you would prefer when you book.
Young people who understand the care being offered can consent to it themselves, and consultations are confidential. We would encourage involving a trusted adult, but it is your decision.
Book a follow-up, in person or by telehealth. We contact you directly if something needs treatment.
Confidential STI testing
No symptoms needed
Male & female GPs
Contraception advice
Emergency contraception
Vaccination & prevention
Bulk billed
Young people welcome
Confidential STI testing
No symptoms needed
Male & female GPs
Contraception advice
Emergency contraception
Vaccination & prevention
Bulk billed
Young people welcome
Confidential STI testing
No symptoms needed
Male & female GPs
Contraception advice
Emergency contraception
Vaccination & prevention
Bulk billed
Young people welcome
Yes. Consultations are confidential, including for young people.
No. Most infections cause none, which is exactly why testing exists.
Standard consultations are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card.
Usually a urine sample, a blood test, or a self-collected swab.
Annually if under 30 and sexually active, or more often with new partners.
Yes. It is also available from any pharmacy without a prescription, so get it there first if you cannot be seen today. A copper IUD is more effective again and can be fitted up to five days after.
Yes. Say so when you book.
Come here, go to Muswellbrook Hospital, or ring the NSW Sexual Violence Helpline on 1800 424 017. You do not have to report to police to get care.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
Prefer to meet us first? Meet the doctors →
Family planning covers both directions: choosing contraception that fits the life you actually live, and getting a body ready when you decide you do want a pregnancy.
Contraception is not one decision made once. It changes with age, with relationships, with whether you have finished having children, and with how much you want to think about it day to day. The most effective methods are the ones you do not have to remember.
Preconception care is the other half. Folate started at least a month before conception reduces the risk of neural tube defects, and iodine is recommended too. Checking immunity to rubella and chickenpox, reviewing medicines that are unsafe in pregnancy, and getting long-term conditions stable all work better before conception than after.
Long-acting methods — implants and intrauterine devices — are the most effective, because they do not depend on remembering anything.
Yes, with every method. All are reversible except sterilisation, and fertility returns after removal.
About three months before trying. Folate should be started at least a month before conception.
A small rod in the upper arm, lasting up to three years. Most effective category.
Placed in the uterus. Approved for five or eight years for contraception depending on which device is used, and five years when used for heavy bleeding. We will tell you which applies to yours.
Hormone-free, effective for up to ten years, and usable as emergency contraception.
Effective when used consistently. Suits people who want more day-to-day control.
For those certain they have finished. Referral to a specialist, and a decision worth taking time over.
Folate and iodine, immunity checks, medication review and getting conditions stable.
Contraception appointments are longer than a standard consult, because the decision is worth talking through.
Ring and ask. Some procedures are done in the practice and some require referral, depending on the method and doctor availability.
Consultations are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. Devices themselves may have a cost — you will be told before anything is arranged.
It varies by method. Most return to normal quickly; the injection can take longer. We will explain what applies to yours.
Contraception advice
Every method compared
Implants & IUDs
Emergency contraception
Preconception care
Folate & iodine
Bulk billed
Male & female GPs
Contraception advice
Every method compared
Implants & IUDs
Emergency contraception
Preconception care
Folate & iodine
Bulk billed
Male & female GPs
Contraception advice
Every method compared
Implants & IUDs
Emergency contraception
Preconception care
Folate & iodine
Bulk billed
Male & female GPs
Long-acting methods — implants and IUDs — because they do not depend on remembering.
Ring and ask. Some are done here, some referred, depending on the method and doctor.
Consultations are. Devices may have a cost, which you will be told beforehand.
Yes, and the sooner the better. The emergency contraceptive pill is available from any pharmacy without a prescription, so get it there first if you cannot be seen today. A copper IUD is the most effective option and can be fitted up to five days after.
At least a month before conception, and continue through the first trimester.
It is worth having, especially if you take regular medicines or have a long-term condition.
Yes. Say so when you book.
It depends on the method. Most return to normal quickly; the injection can take longer.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
Prefer to meet us first? Meet the doctors →
Newborn checks, immunisation, development and growth, and the everyday coughs, ears, rashes and fevers. Same-day appointments are held each morning for children who cannot wait until next week.
Vaccines on the National Immunisation Program are funded for eligible children, and the schedule is built around the ages at which each illness is most dangerous — which is why timing matters more than people assume.
If you have fallen behind, catch-up is bulk billed and it is routine. Nobody is going to be told off. Bring the blue book or the immunisation history statement and we will work out what is outstanding.
Catch-up schedules exist for exactly this and the vaccines remain funded. There is no penalty and no lecture — bring what records you have and we will map out what is needed.
Commonly a sore arm or leg, a mild fever, and a grumpy child for a day. Serious reactions are rare. You will be asked to wait a short time afterwards, which is a precaution rather than a sign of concern.
A mild cold with no fever is usually fine. A significant fever generally means postponing by a few days. Ring reception and ask rather than guessing.
Childcare and school enrolment require an up-to-date immunisation history statement. We can tell you what is outstanding, and the statement comes from your Medicare online account or the Medicare app.
Annual, and funded for children aged six months to under five years, along with several other groups. It is separate from the childhood schedule and worth booking before winter.
Newborn checks, the six-week check, and the reviews that follow are about more than weight. They cover feeding, growth, hips, eyes, hearing, movement and the milestones that indicate development is on track — and they are also a scheduled moment to ask how the parent is going, which matters just as much.
If something is not tracking as expected, finding it early is what changes the outcome. Hearing and vision are checked routinely because both can look like inattention or delay, and both are straightforward to address.
A structured review before school — growth, vision, hearing, speech, behaviour and immunisation status. It is a good moment to raise anything you have been wondering about, because there is time set aside for it.
No. Speech is one of the areas where early input makes the most difference, and a hearing test is often the first step. Waiting to see is rarely the better option.
Plotted on a chart over time, which tells us far more than any single measurement. The direction of travel matters more than the number on the day.
Please do. Postnatal mental health is part of these appointments by design, and it is asked about because it is common, treatable, and frequently unspoken.
Yes, when a specialist opinion is needed. We send the history and any results so the appointment starts from something rather than nothing.
Most childhood illness is viral, resolves on its own, and needs fluids, rest and time rather than antibiotics. What a doctor is really doing at these appointments is checking that this is one of those, and not one of the few that is not.
That is why parents should never feel they have wasted an appointment by bringing a child in who turns out to be fine. Being told it is fine, by someone who has actually looked, is the point.
How the child looks matters more than the number on the thermometer. Drowsiness, difficulty waking, poor feeding, fewer wet nappies and any breathing difficulty all matter more than the reading.
A fever in a baby under three months is the exception and is always urgent — that needs an emergency department, not a GP appointment. The one qualification is a mild fever in the day or two after vaccinations; ring and ask rather than guessing.
Difficulty breathing, blue or very pale skin, a rash that does not fade when pressed with a glass, a stiff neck, a seizure, or a child who is floppy, unrousable or will not wake properly. Call 000 — do not wait for an appointment.
Because most of these illnesses are viral, and antibiotics do nothing to a virus while still producing side effects and contributing to resistance. When they are needed, they are prescribed without hesitation.
Coughs commonly outlast the illness by weeks, particularly in winter. A cough that is getting worse rather than better, comes with breathing difficulty, or persists beyond a few weeks should be reviewed.
Very common, and it needs the ear looked into — which is one of the things that cannot be done over the phone. Book to be seen.
Asthma and eczema are among the most common long-term conditions of childhood, and both are managed far better with a written plan than without one. A plan sets out what to use every day, what to use when things flare, and the point at which you should seek help.
Around here there is an additional reason to have one current. Smoke seasons and dust are a routine part of life in the Upper Hunter, and they are reliable triggers — we have written about smoke, dust and lungs separately.
At least once a year, and after any flare-up or hospital visit. Children grow, doses change, and plans go out of date quietly.
Almost always. Puffers used without a spacer deliver considerably less to the lungs in young children. Spacers are inexpensive and make a real difference.
Colds are the most common trigger in children. Smoke, dust, pollen, exercise, cold air and pets are all frequent. Knowing your child's own pattern is more useful than the general list.
It is a barrier problem, which is why moisturiser is treatment rather than cosmetic and needs to be used generously and regularly, not only during flares. Steroid creams are used properly when needed — under-treating a flare is more common than over-treating one.
If a reliever is not working, if your child is struggling to breathe or speak in full sentences, or if they are becoming drowsy — call 000.
While you wait for the ambulance, give four puffs of the blue reliever through a spacer, one puff at a time with four breaths after each, and repeat every four minutes. That is the standard first-aid step and it is safe to do.
A few practical things that make the visit easier — most of them learned from parents telling us what did not work.
The main one is time. A child who is scared, tired or mid-tantrum takes longer than the ten minutes a standard appointment runs to, and being rushed helps nobody. Tell reception what it is about and they will book accordingly.
The blue book if you have it, or your child's immunisation history statement. Any medicines they are on, including puffers and creams. And your own list of questions — it is very easy to walk out having forgotten the one you came for.
Each child needs their own appointment, because each is a separate consultation. Tell reception and they will book them back to back so it is one trip.
Yes. Standard consultations are bulk billed for everyone with a valid Medicare card, including children. Your child needs to be on a Medicare card — their own or a parent's.
Where possible, and it is worth asking for. Continuity matters more with children than with almost anyone else, because the person who saw them last knows what has changed.
Say so. This comes up more often than you would think, particularly with older children, and it can be managed.
Forms for school, childcare, sport and support funding are all done here, but they take longer than a standard appointment and they need to be brought with you. A form filled in properly is worth considerably more than one filled in quickly.
Referrals to paediatrics and other specialties are written with the relevant history and results attached, so the appointment does not start from scratch.
Longer than you expect. Some require examination and measurements, some require reviewing the record. Book a long appointment and bring the form itself, not a photo of page one.
Some do. Forms and reports for third parties are not always a Medicare service. Reception will tell you before the appointment.
A standard GP referral runs twelve months from your first appointment with the specialist. Read more about how referrals work.
Assessment for children is offered here by Dr Zahraa Hussein. It takes more than one appointment and it is privately billed rather than bulk billed — see ADHD assessment for what is involved.
Bring it in and we will tell you honestly whether it is something general practice can complete or whether it needs a specialist or allied health report.
Childhood immunisation
Newborn & six-week checks
Development and growth reviews
Same-day appointments for sick children
Asthma action plans
Eczema management
School and childcare forms
Hearing and vision concerns
Paediatric referral
Four-year-old health checks
Childhood immunisation
Newborn & six-week checks
Development and growth reviews
Same-day appointments for sick children
Asthma action plans
Eczema management
School and childcare forms
Hearing and vision concerns
Paediatric referral
Four-year-old health checks
Childhood immunisation
Newborn & six-week checks
Development and growth reviews
Same-day appointments for sick children
Asthma action plans
Eczema management
School and childcare forms
Hearing and vision concerns
Paediatric referral
Four-year-old health checks
A number of slots are released each morning and held for problems that cannot wait. Ring reception or check HotDoc from 8am. They are not for routine reviews.
That is urgent. Go to the emergency department at Muswellbrook Hospital straight away, or call 000 if your baby is floppy, hard to wake, breathing fast or looks unwell. Do not wait for a GP appointment.
Standard consultations are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. Some forms, reports and privately purchased vaccines carry a fee, and reception will tell you first.
Yes, with your consent. Let reception know, and send the Medicare details and any relevant history with them.
Yes, including the six-week check for baby and the postnatal check for the parent, usually in the same visit.
We refer to paediatrics and other specialties as needed, with the history attached. Waiting times vary, and it is worth asking about cancellation lists.
Yes. Older teenagers can be seen alone and confidentiality is taken seriously, within the usual limits around safety. It is often the reason a young person comes in at all.
Both are checked routinely at development checks, and both are worth raising at any time — they are common, easily missed, and often mistaken for inattention or delay.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
Prefer to meet us first? Meet the doctors →
Wondering whether ADHD explains what you have been dealing with? Here is what ADHD actually is, the signs people most often notice, and what an assessment with us involves.
ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It is a neurodevelopmental condition, which means it is part of how a brain has developed rather than something caused by upbringing, screens, sugar or a lack of effort. It begins in childhood, even when it is not recognised until much later.
Yes. It is a recognised neurodevelopmental condition with defined diagnostic criteria, and it is one of the most studied conditions in child and adult mental health. It is not a label for laziness, poor discipline or bad parenting.
No — the criteria require that the difficulties were present in childhood. What often happens is that they were compensated for successfully for years, and only became a problem when the external structure fell away: leaving school, a new job, a promotion, a baby, or a change in shift work.
It is diagnosed more often in boys, but that gap is thought to reflect how it presents rather than how common it is. Girls and women more often have the inattentive presentation, which is quieter and easier to overlook, so many are not identified until adulthood.
The quiet end. Losing track, drifting off, forgetting, disorganisation. No disruption at all — which is exactly why it gets missed, particularly in girls and women.
Restlessness, interrupting, acting before thinking. More visible, so more often picked up in childhood. In adults it is often internal rather than obvious.
Features of both, and the most common pattern. The balance between them often shifts with age — hyperactivity tends to soften, inattention tends to stay.
It is difficulty directing it. The same person can lose an afternoon to something absorbing and be unable to start a ten-minute task that does not interest them.
Even when nobody names it until much later. Many adults were simply managing it — until a new job, a baby or a change in shift work removed the structure that was holding it together.
Australian estimates suggest around one in twenty people. Plenty of adults start wondering only after a child, sibling or partner is assessed.
ADHD is neurodevelopmental. It is not created by discipline, routine or anything a parent did or did not do.
Both get blamed. Neither causes ADHD, though poor sleep — whatever the reason for it — makes every symptom harder to live with.
Most people with ADHD are working considerably harder than those around them to produce the same result. That effort is invisible, and it is exhausting.
ADHD is diagnosed against defined criteria by looking at the whole picture over time — not from a list like this one.
Most adults who come to us have not suddenly developed a problem. They have been managing something for a long time, often with a lot of effort, and something has finally tipped it over — a job that got harder to hold together, or a child being assessed and the questionnaire sounding uncomfortably familiar.
Starting tasks is harder than doing them. Losing the thread mid-conversation or mid-page. Reading something three times without it going in. Losing hours to something interesting while the urgent thing sits untouched.
Underestimating how long things take. Deadlines that arrive suddenly. Paperwork, bills and renewals that pile up. A house or car that swings between chaos and a burst of total reorganisation.
Walking into rooms and forgetting why. Losing phones, keys and wallets often. Intending to reply to a message and realising a fortnight has passed.
The task is not difficult, but beginning it feels impossible — until a deadline makes it urgent, and then it gets done in one burst.
Words go in and straight back out. It happens most with things you have to read rather than want to read.
Deep, effortless focus on something absorbing, while the urgent thing sits untouched. This is part of the pattern, not evidence against it.
You realise you have missed the last thirty seconds, and have to reconstruct it from context.
Everything takes longer than you estimated. Deadlines seem far away and then arrive all at once.
Bills, renewals, forms and appointments accumulate — not because you do not care, but because opening them is the hard part.
Long stretches of mess punctuated by a burst of reorganising everything at once, usually at an odd hour.
Keys, phone, wallet, glasses. Often several times a day, and often somewhere you have already looked.
The thought was there on the way, and gone at the door.
You read the message, compose the answer in your head, and a fortnight passes.
Vivid recall for detail nobody else retained, alongside no memory of an appointment made yesterday.
Difficulty doing nothing. Sitting through a film or a long meal takes real effort.
Interrupting, finishing sentences, or saying the thing and hearing it at the same time as everyone else.
Purchases, plans and commitments made quickly. The appeal is real in the moment and gone by morning.
Out of proportion for a few minutes, then genuinely over — while everyone else is still upset.
A small correction can flatten the day. Many people describe this as the most wearing part.
Managing it is possible, but it costs more effort than it seems to cost other people — and that is exhausting.
No single item here means much on its own — everyone loses their keys. What matters is the pattern: how far back it goes, whether it shows up in more than one part of your life, and whether it is genuinely costing you something.
In children the difficulties usually show up at school before anyone puts a name to them — not because school causes it, but because school asks for sustained attention, sitting still and following multi-step instructions all day.
Losing track of instructions. Work started but not finished. Careless errors in work the child clearly understands. Fidgeting, calling out, leaving their seat. Reports that repeatedly say “capable, but needs to apply themselves”.
Homework that should take twenty minutes taking two hours and ending in tears. Needing to be asked many times. Getting distracted halfway through getting dressed. Big emotional reactions that pass quickly.
Interrupting games or changing the rules. Difficulty waiting for a turn. Falling out with friends easily, then not being sure why.
A three-step instruction arrives and only the first step survives. Not defiance — the rest did not stay.
Books full of half-completed tasks, often on topics the child clearly understands.
Mistakes in things they can plainly do, usually because attention moved before the task ended.
The same comment on reports year after year is worth taking seriously rather than accepting.
Fidgeting, calling out, wandering. More visible in boys, which is part of why girls are diagnosed later.
Twenty minutes of work stretching into two hours and ending in tears, several nights a week.
Getting dressed stalls halfway. It reads as ignoring you, and it usually is not.
The same sequence every day, and every day it needs the same amount of supervision.
Intense frustration or upset that resolves faster than anyone expects.
Interrupting games, changing rules, or dominating play without meaning to.
Easy to make, harder to keep, and the child often cannot explain what went wrong.
Reads the room a beat late, then over-corrects.
No disruption at all — just somewhere else. Inattentive presentation is the one that gets overlooked, particularly in girls.
Effort that goes unseen often gets relabelled. Many adults were called one of these three as children.
A child who masks all day may release it the moment they are somewhere safe.
The criteria require difficulties in more than one setting — which is why we ask for school reports and a teacher's observations alongside what you see at home.
There is no blood test and no scan for ADHD. It is diagnosed by building a picture over time: how the difficulties show up now, how far back they go, whether they appear in more than one setting, and what else could explain them.
A long conversation. How things are now, what school was like, what you have already tried, and what it is costing you. There is no test to pass and nothing to prepare beyond the things listed above.
Sleep and sleep apnoea, thyroid, iron, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, alcohol and other drugs, and the effects of shift work. Several of these are common around here and several are treatable in their own right.
No, and that is the point of assessing rather than assuming. An assessment can conclude that the criteria are met, that they are not, that something else explains the difficulties, or that a specialist opinion is needed. All four are real results.
Assessments here are carried out by your own GP, in the practice you already attend, with your history already on file. That continuity is the difference between an assessment that ends with a letter and one that ends with a plan.
Because it is a substantially longer process than a standard consultation — multiple long appointments, questionnaires, information gathered from elsewhere and correspondence — and the Medicare rebates for general practice do not cover that time.
A rebate may apply to part of it depending on what is billed. Reception will explain what applies before you begin.
Say so. There may be a public referral pathway that suits your situation better, and it is a reasonable thing to ask about without embarrassment.
Standard GP consultations here are bulk billed for everyone with a valid Medicare card. ADHD assessment is the one exception — it takes several long appointments, so it is privately billed. We would rather you knew that now than found out later.
No obligation, and no need to book first. Reception can talk you through the fee, what is included and how the appointments usually run.
ADHD assessment for adults
ADHD assessment for children
Inattentive, hyperactive and combined presentations
Other causes considered first
A structured, multi-appointment process
With Dr Zahraa Hussein
Privately billed — fee quoted before you begin
Referral where a specialist opinion is needed
ADHD assessment for adults
ADHD assessment for children
Inattentive, hyperactive and combined presentations
Other causes considered first
A structured, multi-appointment process
With Dr Zahraa Hussein
Privately billed — fee quoted before you begin
Referral where a specialist opinion is needed
ADHD assessment for adults
ADHD assessment for children
Inattentive, hyperactive and combined presentations
Other causes considered first
A structured, multi-appointment process
With Dr Zahraa Hussein
Privately billed — fee quoted before you begin
Referral where a specialist opinion is needed
If the pattern has been there since childhood, shows up in more than one part of your life, and is genuinely costing you something — at work, at school, with money, or in relationships — it is worth asking. A standard appointment is a fine place to start that conversation.
Dr Zahraa Hussein. She is a general practitioner, not a specialist psychiatrist or paediatrician. Ask for her when you book and say what the appointment is about so enough time is allowed.
No. ADHD assessment is privately billed. Standard GP consultations at this practice remain bulk billed with a valid Medicare card.
Yes, both. What we gather differs — school reports and a teacher's observations carry particular weight for children.
No. Assessment comes first, and it takes more than one appointment. Anyone offering a diagnosis and a prescription in a single short visit is moving faster than the evidence allows.
Then it should say what is going on instead, or what to look at next. That is a genuine and useful outcome, and often the more helpful one.
Your assessment and any diagnosis form part of your confidential medical record, like anything else. Reports go to you and to anyone you ask us to send them to, and to nobody else.
It varies. Expect a long first appointment and at least one follow-up, with information gathered in between. Assessments that need sleep, mood or another condition sorted out first take longer.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
Prefer to meet us first? Meet the doctors →
Shared antenatal care means most of your pregnancy appointments happen here in Muswellbrook, with the hospital seeing you at the key points. After the birth, both of you get looked after — not just the baby.
Shared care means your GP does the routine antenatal visits locally and the hospital or midwifery team handles the scans, the specialist reviews and the birth. For families in Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter that means far less driving during a pregnancy that already involves plenty of it.
Afterwards, the six-week check covers both of you: how you are healing, how feeding is going, contraception, mood, and the baby's growth, hips, eyes, hearing and first immunisations.
As soon as you know. Early appointments cover dating, blood tests, folate and iodine, and referral into the maternity service.
Most local families birth at a Hunter New England hospital. We will discuss the options and refer you into the service early.
Yes. Shared care is exactly that — shared. You will have appointments with the maternity service as well as here.
Blood tests, dating, folate and iodine, and referral into maternity care.
Early screening options are explained so you can decide what you want.
Blood pressure, growth, urine, and how you are actually feeling.
Recommended in every pregnancy, usually between 20 and 32 weeks.
Growth, position, blood pressure and planning for the birth.
For both of you — healing, feeding, mood, contraception and the baby's development.
Pregnancy comes with a long list of normal discomforts and a short list of things that need attention the same day. Knowing which is which means fewer sleepless nights and faster help when it matters.
Any change in your baby's usual pattern of movement should be checked the same day, not the next morning. Ring the maternity unit.
Mild swelling of feet and ankles is common. Sudden swelling of the face or hands, with headache or visual changes, needs assessment urgently.
A few unsettled days is very common. Persistent low mood, anxiety or intrusive thoughts beyond two weeks is not something to push through — it is treatable, and asking early makes it easier.
Not just fewer kicks — different is enough. Same-day assessment, every time.
At any stage of pregnancy, this needs to be assessed rather than watched.
Especially with swelling of the face or hands. This can signal pre-eclampsia.
Different from the stretching and twinges that come and go.
Infections in pregnancy are treated promptly rather than waited out.
Rather than gradually lighter. Passing large clots needs assessment.
Caesarean or perineal wounds that become more painful, red or discharging.
Mastitis is common, treatable, and worth seeing someone about quickly.
Clots are more likely after birth. This is a same-day problem.
Both are common and both usually fixable with the right support.
The early unsettled days usually lift. Persistent low mood does not have to be endured.
Frightening thoughts about harm coming to the baby are more common than people admit and respond well to help.
Not a character failing. It is a symptom, and it is treatable.
A useful early signal that something more than tiredness is going on.
Perinatal depression affects partners as well. It is worth raising.
This is a guide, not a diagnosis. If something feels wrong, ring — that is exactly what we are here for.
Visits start roughly monthly and become more frequent towards the end.
Antenatal and postnatal appointments are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card.
Yes. Say who you would prefer when you book.
Given here, on the National Immunisation Program schedule, starting at six weeks.
Shared antenatal care
Local appointments
Postnatal checks
Six-week check
Baby immunisations
Breastfeeding support
Perinatal mental health
Bulk billed
Shared antenatal care
Local appointments
Postnatal checks
Six-week check
Baby immunisations
Breastfeeding support
Perinatal mental health
Bulk billed
Shared antenatal care
Local appointments
Postnatal checks
Six-week check
Baby immunisations
Breastfeeding support
Perinatal mental health
Bulk billed
Your GP does the routine visits locally, and the hospital maternity team handles scans, specialist reviews and the birth.
As soon as you know you are pregnant.
Yes, with a valid Medicare card.
Yes. Say so when you book.
Yes. It is recommended in every pregnancy, usually between 20 and 32 weeks.
Both of you are checked — your recovery, mood, feeding and contraception, and the baby's growth and development.
Yes. Feeding problems are common and usually solvable. Bring it up early rather than struggling on.
Please raise it. Perinatal depression and anxiety are common and treat well, and asking early makes it easier, not harder.
General information onlyThis page is general health information for anyone who finds it useful. It is not advice about your own situation and it does not replace a consultation with a doctor who knows you. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call (02) 6530 7404. In an emergency, call 000.
Bulk billed with a valid Medicare card · Mon–Fri 8:00am–5:00pm · Muswellbrook Fair, Rutherford Road.
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