Your first appointment
An extended consultation at the Spring Hill rooms, or by telehealth for eligible regions. Your scans are reviewed with you on screen, every option is set out including not operating, and nothing is booked on the day.
Greenslopes Private Hospital, Brisbane
Watkins Medical Centre, Spring Hill, or telehealth
A current GP or specialist referral is needed
At a glance
Watkins Medical Centre, Level 10, 225 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill.
Or by telehealth.
Allow an hour. The first appointment is longer than a follow-up.
Referral, all scans, Medicare and fund cards, medication list, someone to listen with you.
A private consultation fee with a Medicare rebate on a valid referral. See fees and health funds.
Before you come
Most of what makes a first appointment useful happens before it: the right referral, the right scans, and a short list of what you want to know.
A current referral is needed for a Medicare rebate: from a GP it is valid for 12 months, from a specialist for 3 months. When the referral is sent, ask that your imaging is released as well, meaning the actual images and not only the written report. Most radiology practices can share images electronically with the rooms if asked, or give you a disc or a link. Dr Tollesson reviews the images themselves at the consultation.
The rooms will contact you to arrange a time once the referral has been received and triaged. If your GP has marked the referral urgent, or if your symptoms change while you are waiting, telephone the rooms rather than waiting to be called.
What to bring
- Your referral letter, if it was given to you rather than sent
- All scans and reports, including older ones that may be useful for comparison
- Your Medicare card and private health fund card, or DVA or WorkCover details where they apply
- A list of your current medications and doses, including blood thinners and supplements
- A list of your questions; it is easy to forget them in the room
- A family member or friend, if you would like someone to listen with you and to help you remember what was said
During the appointment
The consultation is a conversation, not a verdict. It usually runs in this order, though it follows what matters to you.
Dr Tollesson will ask about your symptoms, how they started and how they have changed, and about your general health. He will examine you. Then your scans are brought up on screen and gone through with you, so that you can see what has been found, where it is and why it matters, in language that does not need translating.
Every option is set out, including monitoring and not operating, with the trade-offs of each as they apply to you. If further imaging or tests are needed before a plan can be made, they are arranged. If surgery is one of the options, it is explained in outline, with the risks, and you are given time to think. Nothing is booked at the first appointment.
Questions from family are welcome at every stage. If English is not your first language, an interpreter can be arranged; tell the rooms when you book.
Bring the questions you are afraid to ask. They are the ones the appointment is for.
Watkins Medical Centre, Spring Hill. Consultations in person or by telehealth, Monday to Friday.
After the appointment
You leave with a plan, or with the steps that lead to one, and a letter goes to your GP.
A consultation letter is sent to your referring doctor after the appointment, setting out the findings and the plan, and you can ask for a copy. Where further tests have been arranged, the rooms will tell you when to expect the results and whether you need another appointment to discuss them.
If surgery is proposed, you will receive a written estimate of the surgeon’s fee before anything is booked, and the rooms will explain how to obtain estimates from the hospital, the anaesthetist and any surgical assistant. If the plan is to watch, you will be told the interval for the next scan and the symptoms that should bring you back sooner.
Medical certificates for you and for a carer are provided at no cost when they are needed.
Follow-up appointments
Follow-up consultations are shorter and are used to review scans, results and recovery. Many can be done by telehealth. If a plan changes, or if you want to revisit a decision, ask for an appointment; a plan to watch can be reviewed at your request and not only when the scan changes.
Dr Gert TollessonNeurosurgeon, Brisbane
Ready to talk it through?
A current referral is needed to book. If you do not have one yet, call the rooms on (07) 3870 3708 and they will explain what to ask your GP for.
Request a consultation
Send your details and the rooms will call you to arrange a time. Referrals are triaged as they arrive.
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm. No referral yet? The rooms will explain what to ask your GP for.
Before your appointment
What happens from referral to follow-up, and what it costs.