Vale Medical Practice

Since the Mall Medical Centre, also at Brookvale, stopped their bulk billing services everyone on the Beaches without private health insurance has inundated the Vale, which is now the only bulk billing medical centre on the Northern Beaches. If you are a paying patient you can make an appointment to see your doctor of choice, but as a bulk billed Medicare patient you can't: you need to go in as a walk-in and wait to see the next available doctor. This can take around two hours in peak times, so take a good book. When you do have your consultation (as a bulk billed Medicare patient) they ask that you only take 10 minutes and you dont' ask about 'multiple problems'. On the plus side staff are friendly and do offer a personalised service to those who are regulars and people with private health insurance. The doctors are good regardless and are helpful in whatever way they can be. In summary, as a bulk-billed patient on the Northern Beaches it is still impossible to have your own GP, to make an appointment or plan your visit for a particular time of day - however the quality of health care is good enough and at least the Vale Medical Centre continues to offer a bulk billing service where the Mall Medical Centre has failed, for those on the Northern Beaches who would otherwise neglect to go to a doctor rather than pay an exorbitant fee as they do in America.