Doctors can perform minor surgery. We use sterile or disposable instruments. Doctors can perform joint injections, suturing of wounds, insertion of hormone implants and IUDs. Nurses and doctors can perform ECGs, respiratory function tests, antenatal fetal heart monitoring and basic vision tests. We can do pregnancy, blood sugar and blood clotting tests for patients on Warfarin. Doctors use dermoscopy for examining skin lesions, and use a DermDoc skin scanner to photograph sun spots.
We have long standing relationships with local hospitals, local and distant specialists and community health services such as district nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, dieticians and diabetic educators. After hours medical care for the residents of the Bangalow and Byron areas. Residents of Bangalow can easily be admitted to Byron Bay Hospital, under the care of Bangalow doctors, to treat a range of conditions. Patients can have infusions/transfusions and procedures performed at Byron Bay Hospital.
The doctors and staff provide Medicare Chronic Disease Health Plans, Team Care Arrangements and other Medicare items associated with General Practice. We have a sound knowledge of the structure and function of the Medicare, State and Private health care systems.
Graham trained in London and has lived In the area nearly 30 years, he specializes in men's and children's health, immunizations, skin damage and skin cancer assessments, preventative health, travel medicine and general and emergency medicine. He uses the DermDOC scanning system to scan and record moles and their changes. Graham has also been assessing and treating people for sleep apnoea for over 5 years.
He and his wife have 2 children and live in the local area. Graham enjoys bush regeneration, surfing, bush walking and spending time with his family.
Jemma was raised in the Northern Rivers and is excited to have returned to the area and to work closely with the Bangalow and broader Northern Rivers community.
She completed her post-graduate MBBS medical training at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle WA following a Degree in Health Sciences at Griffith University QLD. Jemma has worked in Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology in WA in addition to General Practice.
Jemma has interests in well being and preventative health, sexual and reproductive health and women’s and children’s health. Jemma is able to support women in their pregnancy care including guidance with genetic testing, engaging with fertility services, early pregnancy including support and facilitation of termination of pregnancy and shared obstetric care. Jemma is passionate about supporting women in their postnatal journey through matrescence and motherhood. Jemma offers Implanon insertions and removals and Mirena IUD removals.
Originally from South East Queensland, Clint completed a degree in Psychology before commencing medicine at the University of Queensland.
During his training, he fulfilled the John Flynn Placement Program, with a rural posting in Far North Queensland. In 2010 he completed his internship and started work at the Cairns Hospital, with further postings in the Torres Strait and Atherton Tablelands. Thereafter he completed the Australian College for Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine Certificate at Logan Hospital. Clint achieved fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2016 whilst working in Cairns.
He and his partner settled in the Northern Rivers late 2016. He currently holds a VMO position at the Byron Central Hospital. He has developed a special interest in skin cancer medicine and surgery, having completed further education with the Skin Cancer College of Australasia, The Australian College of Cutaneous Oncology and Healthcert Education.
Clint enjoys playing guitar, working the veggie patch and surfing.
Dr Sasha Morris was born and bred in Port Macquarie and completed her medical degree at the University of Newcastle in 2015. Her love of general practice grew from her experiences as a medical student in the Aboriginal Medical Services on the Mid-North Coast.
In 2016, Sasha undertook her internship and residency in Western Sydney, before moving to the Central Coast for a year working in the emergency departments of Gosford and Wyong. During this time, Sasha completed a Diploma in Child Health (DCH) and decided to commit to general practice training on the beautiful Northern Rivers.
She spent her first 12 months at Bangalow Medical Centre and has now returned after a year working in Murwillumbah, having completed GP training. Sasha enjoys the continuity of care, challenge and variety of general practice, particularly in regional and rural areas.
Alistair completed his undergraduate degree in Liberal Studies at the University of Sydney, and after a year apprenticeship as an auto-mechanic decided he would enjoy fixing humans as well as cars. He went on to study medicine in Sydney and Melbourne through the University of Notre Dame.
He completed the majority of his junior doctor training at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, Lismore Base Hospital, North West Regional Hospital in Tasmania and Bega Hospital in NSW. The following ten years, he has practiced in Anaesthetics, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine before deciding to pursue a career in General Practice. He has also recently completed a Graduate Diploma in Child health.
Alistair has an interest in dermatology/skin cancer, musculo-skeletal disorders, sexual health, men’s health, and palliative care, as well as general health.
Having grown up near Bangalow, Eloise is very excited to be back living in this wonderful area and working as a GP at Bangalow Medical Centre.
Eloise completed her medical degree through UNSW and the UNSW rural clinical school in Coffs Harbour. Her early medical training was through Royal North Shore Hospital. Since then underwent a year of Paediatric speciality training at Sydney Children’s Hospital before deciding that becoming a rural GP was her true calling.
As a registrar, she has a broad area of interest in GP practice however Eloise has a keen interest in working with children, teenagers and their families.
Caitlin grew up in the Northern Rivers and after many years of training and working, she is excited to return to the area to be closer to family and work in her local community.
She completed her medical degree at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, WA, attending rural clinical school in Kalgoorlie and later working in Perth and the Kimberley after graduating from medicine in 2017. Most recently she has worked in The Tweed and Murwillumbah Emergency Departments whilst starting work as a General Practitioner in the area.
Caitlin enjoys all aspects of general practice including preventative health, general family medicine, sexual health and emergency medicine. Caitlin has an interest in women and children’s health completing the Women’s Health Certificate and Diploma of Children’s Health in 2020.
When not at work she enjoys swimming laps, walking over the closest headland and attempting to make sourdough bread.
Patrick grew up on the NSW Central Coast. He completed his medical degree at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney. Following graduation, Patrick completed his internship and residency on the Central Coast, before spending a few years in specialist physician training at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.
Ultimately, he was attracted to a career in General Practice due to the opportunity to provide holistic, lifelong care to his patients, prevent illness and promote health.
Patrick enjoys all aspects of general practice, with a particular interest in preventative medicine, chronic disease management, Men’s health, cardiovascular and respiratory medicine and endocrinology.
Patrick’s interests outside of medicine include surfing and spending time with his young family.
After travelling and working around Australia in a caravan Dr Lydia Hubbard, with her husband and two dogs, have returned to the Northern Rivers.
Originally from Newcastle Dr Lydia trained at the Gold Coast University Hospital, The Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital and The Byron Central Hospital, before completing her GP training in the Northern Rivers.
She has a strong interest in preventative health, women’s health, palliative care and emergency medicine having completed her ACEM Emergency Medicine Certificate in 2017.
Emily moved to Bangalow in 2018 to complete her post-graduate medical degree at Lismore Base Hospital. After graduating with her MD from The University of Sydney and her residency years at Lismore Base, she now combines her work as a GP registrar at BMC with shifts in the emergency department.
Emily grew up in a small country town near Newcastle and, following a career as a newspaper journalist in Sydney, made the switch to medicine in part as an excuse to return to country life.
Emily enjoys the community involvement that comes with working in general practice and her special interests include women’s health and paediatrics.
In her spare time she likes yoga, reading, horse-riding and spending time with her three gorgeous children.
Cam Studied Post Graduate Medicine at the University of Sydney after Undergraduate Science and Arts at UNSW. He made the decision to switch to Medicine whilst working as a conservation volunteer in Papua New Guinea. His past life as a Marine Biologist and SCUBA instructor had taken him to the North Coast for the first time way back late in the last millennium, and he has loved the area ever since. In the over 20 years since he has found a way to return in order to help raise his young family, build tree houses, and if he has time tinker with old pushbikes.
He has also done his utmost first as a medical student then as a hospital doctor to integrate into the area & understand the lives of his patients and their communities. He has lived and worked on call in the Northern Rivers for much of the last decade - including with time in Anaesthetics, ICU, Palliative Care and Surgical Assisting and hospital cover, which has great insight into the medical services in this and adjacent regions. Fortune has also given him the opportunity to have worked in remote regions of Australia (Arnhem Land, Torres Strait & Cape York as well as Rural NSW ) but the beauty of this area and its people keeps him coming back.
Achieving his RACGP Fellowship when he was a registrar at Bangalow, Cam has since gone on to cement his skills, experience and training in a variety of settings. He is interested in Musculo-skeletal problems, skin cancer surgery, Men's health and cancer and palliative care. Acknowledging all aspects of general practice are important it is perhaps even more important to acknowledge the patient who is present is also a person with their own specific Ideas, Concerns and Expectations.
I consider myself extremely lucky to have grown up and studied in the Byron shire.
I am a mother of an 8 year old daughter and lover of all things outdoors.
My background is in surgical nursing, however I now consider myself passionate about preventative health care and enjoy working alongside the doctors and nurses at BMC.
I am an immunisation accredited health care provider and am currently studying my post graduate in acute care nursing.
I am a strong believer in patient centred care and look forward to providing education and assistance on your next visit to BMC.
Katie was born in Manly, NSW and moved to the Byron Shire when she was young, growing up and studying in the area.
She is immunisation accredited and has worked as a practice nurse for the last four years. Prior to this she was working in Darwin as a surgical nurse which she enjoyed thoroughly. She is passionate about wound care and chronic disease management.
Katie enjoys spending time with her family, gardening and watching cricket. She will welcome her first child into the world early this year.
Rhonda has been employed at BMC since 2001 has been a registered nurse since 1979. Rhonda is also immunization accredited.
Rhonda was previously employed by Sullivan and Nicolaides as a pathology collection nurse in this area and visited many of our current patients in this position.
She is married and has one daughter. She lives locally on her property, which grows macadamias, custard apples and avocados.
Sharon joined the Bangalow Medical Centre team in 2009 working on reception and office admins she also manages the complex.
She is a long term local of Bangalow and helps husband, Nick run their plumbing business and raise their 5 children on the family farm.
Sharon enjoys camping and keeps up the family tradition of involvement with the Bangalow Soccer Club and Bangalow Show.
Sherese joined the Bangalow Medical Centre in 2008. She was born at Lismore Hospital and has lived at Bangalow for over 30 years. She had lived in Brisbane for 5 years before travelling extensively overseas. After her big adventure overseas, Sherese moved back to Bangalow to be closer to family.
Sherese has 2 lovely girls and she is heavily involved in the Bangalow Bluedogs Soccer Club. All her family have played soccer for Bangalow. Sherese also has a Hairdressing diploma and certificates in Nannying and child care.
I’m lucky enough to have grown up in this beautiful area. I love going to the gym and on weekends you’ll find me at the beach with my beautiful 3 kids and of course my dog Frank.
After working as a florist for 5 years, I’ve found my way to this lovely little practice and am very happy to be here.
Sandra and her husband settled in Bangalow in 1993 where they have raised their 4 children.
Sandra has a diploma in business, and has an extensive hospitality background, having worked in various business enterprises. Sandra joins our team on a part time basis.
Sandra enjoys cooking for family and friends, adventure holidays and keeps busy with her family alongside involvement in the Bangalow Show and within the community.
June joined our team in 2007. Born in Sheffield in the UK, she lived in Europe before moving to Australia in 1973.
June has worked in the Army Reserve and spent 8 years working on cruise ships. She moved up from Sydney to the North Coast in 2000. She enjoys living with her cat and restoring furniture, gardening, dressmaking and reading.
A standard consultation lasts 15 minutes. Please tell the receptionist if your problem is urgent and you will be seen that day, or the problem discussed with the doctor and resolved. Sick children will always be seen on the day. If more than one person in your family need to be seen please ask for an appointment for each of them.
Our practice is committed to preventative care. We may issue you with a reminder notice from time to time offering you preventative health care. If you do not wish to be part of this service, please inform your doctor.
Please understand that as illnesses are unpredictable conditions, appointment times cannot always run on time. Our doctors, nurses and receptionists make every attempt to keep appointments running to their scheduled time however, unforseen circumstances may create occasional delays.
If you are unable to make your appointment, please call to let us know in advance. We can then arrange another appointment time.
There are occasions when you will need to book a longer appointment, such as when your health problem is complex and needs longer than 15 minutes. Similarly for work or insurance medicals, counselling for emotional difficulties, or when seeking a second opinion from a different doctor.
Our doctors provide home visits and see residents of nursing homes. These will be provided for those seriously ill, or who have transport problems. Your problem may be discussed with a doctor, and it may be decided that, for the benefit of your health, it would be better that an ambulance be called. Home visits are carried out during working hours, usually between 1PM and 3PM.
Bangalow Medical Centre is a private medical practice. All fees are to be paid at the time of consultation by either cash, EFTPOS, credit card or cheque. For your convenience we now have a direct link to Medicare and your rebate can be credited back to you at the same time as payment is made. A valid Medicare or other concession card must be shown to access discounted fees.
Consultation fees are payable at the time of consultation, and can be made by either Cash, Visa/Mastercard or EFTPOS. For your convenience, internet permitting, we will process the credit of your Medicare rebate to your nominated bank account at the time of payment. The rebate will clear to most commercial bank accounts by close of business on the day of consultation.
We appreciate that some people may find it difficult to pay their medical bills. To enable fair access to our services we offer bulk billing to children, disability support and aged pensioners. Veteran's affairs patients are also bulk billed.
Your medical file is handled with the utmost respect for your privacy at all times. Strict storage policies are observed within our practice and your records are only accessed by staff granted a security password.
You can access our Privacy Policy here. A copy of such can also be viewed in our waiting room at any time during opening hours.
Our practice is committed to preventative healthcare. Please advise your GP if you do not wish to have recalls appropriate to your circumstances (eg. Age, medical history) added to your file.
We send reminders via SMS, phone or by letter. Please be sure to update any contact detail changes with reception staff.
Bangalow Medical Centre requires an appointment time with your doctor for all discussions regarding results.
It is our policy that results are not given out over the phone. If a result is returned abnormal, or a review is necessary once these are received, you will be recalled for a follow up appointment by your doctor.
Patients must make an appointment with their regular doctor (where possible) for script and referral renewal requests.
We try not to interrupt your GP whilst in consultation. If our reception or nursing staff cannot assist you with your query, depending on the circumstances they will either arrange an appointment time for you, or pass on your message. Your GP will then contact you at the end of their consulting session.
Urgent matters will always be dealt with immediately following our triage policy.
In line with privacy and confidentiality concerns, Bangalow Medical Centre chooses not to send results or sensitive information using email.
Although we have a high standard of internet security within our practice, email has risks that other forms of communication do not.
With your informed consent only will we consider this as an option.
Please notify reception staff if an interpreter is required for an appointment.
We welcome your feedback as it helps us to improve the services we can offer to you.
There is a suggestion box in our waiting room where you can anonymously leave your suggestion.
Please direct all complaints initially to our practice manager:
Sharon Rudgley - [email protected]
If we are unable to resolve the problem together, you may also contact:
NSW Health Care Complaints Commission
Locked Bag 18
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
We acknowledge the continuous custodians of this land, The Arakwal people of the Bundjalung nation and pay our respect to elders past, present and emerging as the traditional carers of land, sea & sky.
IN AN EMERGENCY - Dial 000 or go directly to Byron Central Hospital. 02 6639 9455
For an emergency consult, please visit our clinic. (Monday - Friday: 9am - 10am) This is offered on a first come, first served basis so best to be early as the clinic concludes strictly at 10am and is only for quick appointments ie scripts and referrals.
Our doctors participate in the Byron Bay Accident & Emergency Dept after hours roster and are Visiting Medical Officers attending to their own inpatients.
We're accredited with AGPAL & ACRRM
This privacy policy is to provide information on how patient’s personal information (which includes health information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.
When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this.
Our practice will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).
The information we will collect about you includes your:
You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do.
Our practice may collect personal information in several different ways:
In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:
We sometimes share your personal information:
Only those who need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.
Our practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms.
Your patient electronic record can only be accessed by those given permission to access using individual logins and passwords Bangalow Medical Centre.
As part of staff employment and contractors engagement at Bangalow Medical Centre, individuals must enter into a confidentiality agreement with Bangalow Medical Centre and a discussion around its importance takes place during orientation to our policies.
Any older paper records are kept in a secure area, only accessed by approved staff.
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.
Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to request this information in writing and our practice will respond within a reasonable time. Your request will be assessed as to photocopying and/or postage needs.
If it is a large file there may be a fee for the expenses for copying and postage.
We will inform you of these costs prior to acting on your request.
Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time to time, we will ask you to verify that your personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to the practice manager.
We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure.
Please address your concerns firstly to our practice manager:
We will discuss, research and respond to your complaint with 30 days.
You may also contact the OAIC. Generally, the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond before they will investigate.
For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 363 992.
In keeping with changes to privacy laws, we will advise you if there has been a breach of your privacy. This may be through mishandling of information that may cause harm or distress - or interception of electronic records held at our practice.
Our practice has a data breach response plan in place to assure minimal effect if there is a breach to privacy.
We regularly review our policies and have a systematic approach to ensure this is completed regularly.