Frequently Asked Questions

We are open weekdays from 8am to 6pm, and from 8:00am to Midday on Saturday mornings at our Sherwood practice.

You can view available appointments, and book an appointment online, by downloading our online booking app or via your internet browser. Go to our bookings page for further information. Alternatively, you can call us to discuss your needs and book an appointment.

Growlife Medical believes in equitable access to healthcare and the provision of the highest possible quality of care. Different fees apply depending on the healthcare you require. Should there be a significantly higher out-of-pocket cost, this will be discussed with you prior.  Please note specialised mother & baby consultations at Highgate Hill and all weekend appointments attract full private fees. See our fees here.

Growlife Medical understands how important continuity between patient and doctor is, and how important a comprehensive understanding of your health is to the team that cares for you. Consequently, every new patient is offered an initial long consultation for the purpose of collating your records and undertaking a complete history of your conditions, along with an initial check up with our practice nurse. Please ensure you allow plenty of time for your first consultation to enable a comprehensive service. Please see our friendly reception team to request them to organise the transfer of your medical records from your previous practice.

We aim to actively promote ways of staying healthy in the local community. Doctors and nurses are pro-active in customising recommendations to you as an individual and family. For each individual, we maintain a reminder system to prompt you for check ups, immunisations, blood tests, pap smears etc. You can opt out of this system if you wish by phoning our reception. We may contact you by email, SMS, phone or mail.

Any medical test yields important information that may have an impact upon your health. We encourage you to take responsibility for your health by always making a follow up appointment with your doctor in order to discuss and understand what your results mean, and what are the next steps. Some results can have serious consequences if not followed up. In these circumstances you may receive a phone call, SMS or letter asking you to return for a further consultation. It is important for your health that you take prompt action and make an appointment to see your doctor where you have been contacted in this fashion.

We understand how busy everyone is in today's world. Growlife Medical is committed to providing better access to healthcare, and using innovative ways to provide total health care for you. However, many aspects of good medical care require you to be present so the doctor can examine you, check blood pressure or other checks prior to prescribing or writing a referral. As your key healthcare provider, it is important your GP does this well, so your specialist has all the relevant information.

Where appropriate, your doctor may choose to write a repeat prescription or a referral without consultation. This service attracts a fee, and is only available at the Doctor's discretion where it is safe or clinically appropriate to do so. 

We genuinely appreciate any feedback on our services, and we guarantee to handle any complaints in a timely and sensitive manner. Your complaint will be treated seriously, and will not affect your care. Please read more or submit a complaint here.

Your privacy is paramount to you having confidence in your medical care. We treat your privacy with the utmost respect and care. You can view our privacy policy for more details.

We require a minimum 24 hours' notice for cancellation of your appointment. See our cancellation policy for further details.

Our clinicians rely on up to date research to inform the best care for you. We believe we have a responsibility to help the next generation by continuing to grow medical knowledge. For further information, please see our research consent.

A GP Registrar is a fully qualified medical doctor, undertaking advanced training to specialise in General Practice. They typically have several years of experience working as a hospital doctor, and have chosen to become a community-based doctor. In order to become a specialist GP, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners require GPs to have a broad hospital experience, then complete several years of General Practice training under the supervision of senior GPs. Here at Grow Medical we believe lifelong education is essential to providing quality care. Having GP Registrars as part of the team brings new skills and knowledge. Your skilled doctors frequently discuss cases to clarify a diagnosis or decide on optimal management of your condition. This supportive, collegiate approach ensures you the best care.

Our practice believes we have the responsibility to participate in the education of the next generation of doctors - the current medical students. A positive educational experience in general practice assists in producing doctors who are competent across a broad range of medical and emotional problems. From time to time throughout the year there may be a medical student on rotation. Reception will advise you if this is the case. We ask for your support and permission to have the student present during your consultation. Please advise reception if you would prefer the student not to be present.

The best answer to this question is by establishing a My Health Record. We encourage all patients to request their GP to create a My health record for them, as it enables you to have direct access to your key health data. We believe in ensuring you have continuity of care from your medical team. Our locations have a common clinical record, so where you are seen at either, your health practitioner will have access to all the information they need. Where you need access to your health summary when you are at another practice, your doctor can do this instantly if you have a My Health Record. Otherwise, we follow the National Privacy Principals, and require that the practice you are attending can send your signed consent through to us, and we will send them a health summary. Transferring a full copy of your record is more involved, and attracts a fee.

Our approach to sleep works with babies as well as toddlers.  Very young babies will typically include feeding support as one of five domains affecting the wellbeing of mother and baby:  feeds, sleep, sensory nourishment, mental health of parent and baby, physical health of parent and baby.  We can refer to other members of the team, such as the paediatrician, for further investigation if required.

No, our approach is cue based. This means we encourage parents to respond to the child to meet their needs and use alternative scientific strategies to reduce the frequency of night wake ups.

No. We don’t offer an in home or overnight service. We will support you with strategies to use at night and a clear plan on how to implement them at home.

We can assist with feeding issues from newborn to toddlers, whether breast feeding, bottle feeding, mixed feeding or weaning. The dietitian can assist with any issues with solid food.

A referral is not necessary if you are seeing a specialist GP or Nurse/ Lactation Consultants for infant feeding /crying sleeping issues. However, we are more than happy to receive a referral from your GP and can report back to them on your progress.

Mother and baby consultations are one hour. This allows time to take a history, discuss your baby’s sleep or feeding concerns, and for the practitioner to develop a plan moving forward that best suits you and your unique family.

Absolutely. Dr Sonja Morgan, specialist GP, offers video consultations.  Note: there may be no Medicare rebate for these appointments.

Yes.  We recommend a one-hour mother & baby appointment in the first instance to examine your baby’s mouth, assess feeding and provide strategies. Much can be achieved with good feeding support. A specialist GP at Highgate Hill can assess and perform a frenotomy if appropriate.

Professionals at Growlife Medical prefer to do a full feeding assessment before preforming a frenotomy. The cost of this is a mother and baby appointment, currently $199 for 60 mins. If a simple frenotomy is performed the procedure is bulk billed. A follow-up mother & baby  appointment may be recommended for further feeding support.

We recommend booking into the class earlier in your pregnancy, as we find that towards the end of pregnancy parents tend to have greater focus on the birth. And, sometimes babies arrive early! That being said, you can attend the class at any time and the information will still be greatly beneficial, even the week before your due date!