Dear Patients,

Smith Street Practice is joining the Ochre Health network.

How will this affect you? Not much.

There will be no changes to the current doctors, nursing staff or the reception team, the operating hours, the phone number or the billing policy. The practice will continue to focus on providing high quality care and improving the health of the local community - simply as part of a larger group with the same goals and the capability to provide excellent support.

The Smith Street practice looks forward to continuing to serve you with a wide range of medical services!

The Smith Street Practice team

Christmas Closure

The Smith Street Practice will be closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2023.

For any afterhours urgent medical attention please contact the Doctor on call for the practice on 6766 7755 if you require any assistance during the practice closure.

We would like to wish our patients a safe and Merry Christmas.

2023 Influenza Vaccinations

The practice has plenty of flu vaccinations available for patients of all ages. Please call the practice on 6766 7755 to book your appointment now!

For more information about the flu vaccinations follow the link to the Australian Government Department of Health website.

The practice fees will be increasing as from 1st November 2022. The standard consultation (MBS Item 23) will increase by $2.00. For all other fee increases, please see the practice fee noticeboard in the Reception area.

From 14 October 2022, it will no longer be mandatory to self-isolate at home if you test positive to COVID-19. Until 14 October, you must continue to self-isolate if you test positive for COVID-19. Household and close contacts must follow the guidelines.

The practice currently has no capacity to take on any new patients. This decision has been made in order to continue to provide the high standard services and care for our existing patients, as well as to preserve our hardworking team of Doctors, Practice Nurses and Reception Staff. We appreciate your understanding.

NSW Health has revised the COVID-19 reinfection period from 12 weeks down to four weeks effective from 12/07/2022.

COVID-19 Booster Vaccination Update - Recommendations for an additional booster (fourth) dose focus on protecting the most vulnerable groups against severe illness.

People aged 30 years and over are also eligible to receive an additional winter booster if they want to.

You can get your winter COVID-19 vaccination 3 months after your first booster dose. If you get COVID-19 before your winter booster dose, wait 3 months after infection to receive it.

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Please visit the link for some useful information for managing COVID-19 in the older population.

RSV Factsheet - useful information about symptoms, how RSV is spread and management.

COVID-19 Booster Vaccinations - General Information

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COVID-19 Booster Vaccinations - Frequently Asked Questions

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Podcast - COVID-19 vaccination for 5 to 11 years children for parents/carers - Your questions answered.

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Paediatric Pfizer Vaccinations Update

Smith Street Practice is pleased to announce to our patients that bookings for Paediatric Pfizer Vaccinations (5-11 years) are now live.

To make an appointment, click the link below to book through HotDoc.

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COVID-19 Booster vaccinations are now available. Please contact the practice on 02 6766 7755 to organise an appointment from January 2022. Visit the link below for more information about booster vaccinations.

Our first priority is keeping our patients and staff safe and healthy, particularly while spending time in our practice.

We would recommend waiting for your appointment either outside or in your car if you have not received 2 doses of any COVID vaccine.

Please call our reception team to alert them of your arrival and location.

Thank you to everyone for your co-operation.

Smith Street Practice will be closed Monday 4th October 2021 and will re-open on Tuesday 5th October 2021 at 8:30am.

For any urgent after hours attention during this period, please call the practice on 6766 7755 to access our after hours service.

The Astra Zeneca vaccine is most effective when doses are given 12 weeks apart. At this time, it is recommended for our patients in Tamworth that the second vaccine is given 12 weeks after the first dose.

Patients with a specific reason to have their second vaccine sooner (eg upcoming surgery) should discuss this with their regular doctor, as they are the best person to give medical advice.

We continue to encourage any patient seeking their first AZ vaccine to book into one of our upcoming vaccination clinics.

Thank you for keeping yourself and your loved ones safe.

The Smith Street Practice will not be receiving Pfizer vaccines.  

We will continue to provide the AstraZeneca vaccine for patients of the practice.

To check your eligibility, please follow the link below.

With recent changes to the COVID situation in NSW, we are asking all of our patients to help us keep each other safe by:

• Wearing a mask at all times while in the practice, covering both mouth and nose. Please remove your mask only if your doctor or nurse asks you to do so. Patients are encouraged to bring their own masks where possible to help the environment.
• All patients who have been in the greater Sydney area since 21st June are asked to consider whether their appointments can be delayed or changed to Telehealth, in keeping with the latest NSW Health guidelines
• All patients with ANY respiratory symptoms are asked to get a COVID test done at a local respiratory clinic, and confirming a negative result before attending an appointment in person at the practice.
• Remember that people of any age can get COVID, and it can look a lot like a mild cold, especially in young people. People of any age, including children, should seek a test if they have any symptoms.

We thank you for looking after each other and our staff in these difficult times, and look forward to continuing to provide high quality care as we face the latest challenge together.

Below are some frequently asked questions. We have put together a number of useful links to help you find answers to what you are looking for.
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‍Where to go to get a COVID-19 test
There is a drive through testing clinic located at Minor League Park, Plain Street (in the Carpark) Tamworth. Click here to see opening times. 

‍How to book your Pfizer vaccine
‍Go to the Service NSW website and follow the prompts to register for your Pfizer vaccine.
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To check your eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination
‍Follow the link to the Department of Health website and complete the eligibility checker.
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‍Vaccine roll out information
‍To stay up-to-date with the latest vaccine rollout data follow the link to the Department of Health website.

‍Where to look for COVID-19 hotspot areas
‍If you are unsure if youhave visited an area of concern, click on the links below for more information.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/latest-news-and-updates
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/case-locations-and-alerts.aspx 

‍If you have already received your 1st dose and have questions about receiving your 2nd dose, click on the link for up-to-date information and advice on receiving your 2nd dose of AstraZeneca
‍If you are aged between 50 to 59 years and have already had your first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and did not experience abnormal side effects, ATAGI recommends you still receive your second AstraZeneca dose. This will provide you with greater coverage against severe illness from COVID-19. Follow this link to learn more.


To protect the health of our Doctors and staff at the practice, we encourage all patients that have even the mildest of symptoms to go and get tested before contacting the practice for an “urgent on the day” appointment. This will ensure the practice remains open for business and all of your healthcare needs are met through these uncertain times.

We encourage all patients to wear masks into the practice if they have any symptoms eg cough, sore throat, fevers, cold/ flu like symptoms for the safety of yourself and others around you.

We will encourage only patients and necessary carers to come to appointments and to maintain distancing where possible. Please call reception on arrival to advise that you have arrived for your allocated appointment time.  Please use the hand sanitiser on arrival which is available at the front door. We would encourage all patients to sign in using the Service NSW app.     

Smith Street Practice is excited to be involved in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Unfortunately we have only been allocated a small number of vaccines each week.

Therefore we will be prioritising our most vulnerable patients (aged based) starting with 80 years and over.

We will be contacting these patients over the next few weeks to offer an appointment time.  If you are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine as part of the 1B group and are able to access the vaccine through an alternative provider we strongly encourage you to do so.

The influenza vaccine is expected to be in stock by the end of April. We will be running large vaccination clinics for this similar to last year.

Please keep an eye on our Facebook page and web page for updated information.