We are excited to announce the Doctors in Secondary Schools (DiSS) program commenced on the 16/02/23 at the Felltimber Campus of the Wodonga Middle Years College. The clinic is located at the Fruit Fly Circus Main Entry and will be operating on a Thursday (week A) of the timetable, alternating with the Huon Campus Clinic (week B).
Click here for appointment information
The program was established in 2017 by the Victorian Government to increase access for young people to the health support, advice and treatment they need to reach their full potential. The $43.8 million Doctors in Secondary Schools initiative continues to fund General Practitioners (GPs) to provide medical advice and health care to those students most in need up to one day a week in 100 Victorian government secondary schools.
The objectives of the program are to:
- Make primary health care more accessible to students
- Provide support to young people through the early identification of health problems
- Reduce the pressure on working families
This initiative also provides a modern, fit-for-purpose consulting rooms in schools.
All secondary school students who are enrolled in a participating school can access the GP (Dr. Jess Madden), subject to providing the required consent for the services.
Dr. Jess is a GP based at Federation Clinic in Wodonga visiting the school. Students can also access Dr. Jess at Federation Clinic as their regular GP on non-school clinic days. Dr. Jess Madden holds the following qualifications: B Med Sci, MBBS (Hon), FRACGP, Dip Child Health.
Participating schools, students and their parents/carers will not incur any out-of-pocket expenses for consultations with the GP. All participating schools received funding to enable key staff to support the program’s coordination as the School Program Lead.
The program is guided by a range of key principles, including:
- Equity of access
- No cost of access to a GP at school to student or parents/carers
- Youth-friendly
- Staff trained in adolescent-health
- Student confidentiality
- Cultural safety
The program has been developed in consultation and collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders across government, health and education bodies and academia. We are very excited to have this opportunity and welcome all students, their parents/carers to access the facility.
Book an appointment
We welcome parents/carers to make contact with the School Program Lead (Rachel Miller, school wellbeing) with any questions and encourage parents to accompany their child/ren to the initial GP consultation.
Email: rmiller@www.wmyc.vic.edu.au
Phone: 0477 419 950
Appointments can be made via the Practice Registered Nurse, Kristy Szabolics.
Students/Parents/Carers can CALL or SMS Kristy directly on 0401 264 256 stating:
- Child’s name
- Child’s D.O.B
- Child’s campus
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