22 May Six Benefits Of Seeing A 24-Hour Doctor
There are many benefits of seeing a 24 hour doctor in your local neighbourhood. Remember that time you woke up early for work, only to realise you had a splitting headache, sore throat and a dry cough? The only problem was your usual GP wasn’t available because it was so early, but you still had to be at work by 6am. Chances are you probably muscled through it for the day and went to work, despite hurting your body even more. Thankfully, a 24-hour doctor can be the GP you need when you need them the most. But that’s not the only benefit; read on to find out more.
Convenient
One of the primary benefits of seeing an all-night GP is that they are essentially available at any time. Whilst it won’t be the same GP every day, it’s nice to know that your local 24-hour doctor is available at all hours. This makes it far easier to make appointments and re-arrange if needed, granting you as the customer a greater level of flexibility. Moreover, more patients want convenience, so the trend is there to be utilised.
Great for families
As a result, if you have young children or teenagers who live very busy lives, finding a suitable time to see a GP can be a nightmare. Thankfully, making an appointment with a 24-hour doctor means you can organise appointments after your child’s soccer training, music lesson or netball game in the evening, saving you time.
Great for older patients
An all-day medical centre is also great for older patients, some of whom may not be able to make the journey from their residence to the medical practice during more conventional hours. If they need a lift to and from the centre, this may need to be provided by a relative, who may only be able to provide this after work or in the evening.
Minimizes stress on emergency services
Before it was possible to see a 24-hour doctor, people would rely on emergency services to treat threatening illnesses that arose out of hours. However, by offering a local medical practice that is open all day and night to the community, the need for emergency services is greatly reduced. As a result, this means that emergency resources in the form of paramedics and ambulances can be devoted to where they are needed the most.
Potentially life-saving
The simple fact of the matter is, if you need life-saving treatment, then a 24-hour doctor could well be the one that administers that. Sickness and illness can strike at any time. In fact, young children often come down with influenza, croup and pneumonia while they sleep, which can be a problem if you don’t have access to medical services when you need them. They may need access to a breathing mask to help clear their airways and ensure they get enough oxygen to their lungs.
Doesn’t compromise quality
Just because you’re seeing your local 24-hour doctor at 2am doesn’t necessarily mean you’re compromising on quality. All medical professionals in Australia must be certified with adequate qualifications and you can rest assured that they have enough experience and knowledge in the field.
Reliable for rural areas
Finally, having a medical centre with a 24-hour doctor in a rural community area can be very helpful. This is because many of these areas are often isolated from adequate medical services, and more importantly, hospitals. However, this geographic isolation can be supplemented with local GP services, which negates the need for citizens to travel long distances to seek medical treatment. This is also very helpful for older Australians living in rural areas, who may be unfit to make long journeys to the hospital.