frenchinoz

Hi there,

My wife and I arrived in Sydney less than 2 months ago and we have settled in Hornsby in the northern shore.

It is not easy to select the good GP that will follow you, and for my wife to find the good gynecolog.

If by chance there are other guys here living in Hornsby who could give me some advice, I would really appreciate.

Thanks a lot.
Yann

carolinephillips

I have a very good GP, but she is in Gordon. Also good dentist in Pymble. Depends if you want to travel. Can't help with Hornsby I'm afraid, though the hospital has good physios.

Welcome to the North Shore!

michael_w

Try Dr Liz Marles. She's president of the Royal Australian College of GPs so she can't be that bad.

Indah

Hi Yann,
I hope you're settling in well :-)
I can highly recommend a fantastic ob/gyn in Castle Hill. Send me a message and i will pass on the details.
As for a GP, i cannot recommend one in the area as i still go to one back in the suburb i used to live in.

Dorothy

Why can't she be that bad? Being president of a college or society is a political position, not one based on whether you're actually a good doctor. (Not saying she's not a good doctor btw).

Rosscarbery

I'm in Turramurra so not far from you, and I just use Balmoral Street Medical Centre in Hornsby. Dr Karen Oswald is fantastic, but very popular, so if you just walk in you are unlikely to see her but you can make appointments. It bulk bills for all as well.

For my first couple of years here I paid and had a nice English female GP in Terrey Hills (my kids go to school there so it was fairly convenient), but tbh now I understand the system I would prefer a doctor who bulk bills!

Nicky & Dave

Hi Yann,

I'm near Hornsby and there's a really lovely medical practice, Royston Clinic, in Asquith that I have used since we moved here six years ago. You can make an appointment to see any of the GP's but I recommend Alex Yao as he's been my family GP for all that time.

For 'woman stuff' I prefer to see Tamara Lam or Joyce Zonaga. Both are very good, but I probably prefer Tamara as she's a bit more personable.

http://www.roystonclinic.com/team.html

frenchinoz

Hi there,

Many thanks to all of you, it will be very helpful for us.
Sorry for the delay in my response but I was very busy with the job search and we finally received our container from France

To carolinephillips: thanks a lot for the warm "welcome to the North Shore" :-). It seems that it is a good area to live in. At least Hornsby is a very nice place. We will more likely try to find a GP a little closer. For the dentist it could be helpful in a near future.

To michael_w: many thanks, Dr Liz Marles could be a good option. She is really close to our place.

To Indah: Thank you, now that we have received our container with all our furnitures we feel a little bit more at home :-). I am afraid that Castle Hill would be a little difficult for a GP consultation, we are trying to find closer to Hornsby. Btw, I cannot use the private message system: I have less than 3 posts . Many thanks anyway.

frenchinoz

To Rosscarbery: Very helpful information regarding Dr Karen Oswald. We were not aware of the "bulking bill" thing under Medicare, thank to your message I googled it to understand it. Is Karen Oswald good as a gynecologist as well as general practice? In France you have to see a gynecology specialist for those things.

To Nicky & Dave: Thank you for your answer, indeed Asquith is very close to Hornsby. When you say that for 'woman stuff' you prefer to see Tamara or Joyce, do you mean that you can change GP easily? I thought that once you choose a GP you should keep it. Honestly we prefer to have the possibility to change.

Many thanks again to all of you. It is so valuable to receive advice from other people when settling in a new country.
Cheers,
Yann

elice_in_oz

Hi Yann

Most GP practices will have more than one doctor and each may specialise in some areas. One of them is 'women's health' and is often practiced by female doctors. You can ask to see a particular GP if you feel more comfortable discussing your issue with them.

What visa are you on? If on a 457, I don't think you are entitled to Medicare under the Reciprocal Agreement as France and Australia do not have such an agreement. That means you will not be able to take advantage of bulk-billing (it means the doctor gets their money directly from Medicare and you don't have to pay the fee)? See this link for a list of countries with an agreement. France is not on there but if you were a resident of one of the countries on the list prior to coming to Australia, and you can prove it, then you might be able to still get a Medicare card. I did. I am French but was living and working in the UK for 5 years before coming to Australia.

Concerning OB-GYN specialists (obstetrician-gynecologist), the system is very different from the French one (although I thought France had changed it a bit towards using GPs as first ports of call as well? I haven't lived there for over 15 years so not sure what it's like now ). Here you need to see a GP first before you get referred to a specialist. For routine gynecological checks, the GP is the person to see. If anything is amiss, they will then refer you to an OB-GYN (can be of your choice).

For pregnancy-related matters, you first get the pregnancy confirmed by a GP before you choose how your pregnancy care will be designed. PM me (in French or English ) if you want to know more. I had 2 children in Australia (both while on a 457 visa) so I know a bit about how the system works.

I can't help with doctors in Sydney though as I am in Melbourne, but the system is the same in all states.