Important information about Coronavirus / COVID19 for our clinic families

Our clinic team are working hard to reduce the spread of Coronavirus / COVID19 in Geelong.
We have put new restrictions in place, trying to prevent anyone who is sick from coming in to our clinic. These restrictions apply to all of our staff, doctors, patients and families.

PLEASE DO NOT COME TO CLINIC IF YOU ARE SICK, OR IF ANYONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD IS SICK.

If your child has an appointment here and ANYONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD has had fevers, a headcold, coughing or diarrhoea in the last two weeks,
OR if anyone in your household has returned home from overseas in the last two weeks,
OR if anyone in your household has had contact with someone who has tested positive for Coronavirus in the last two weeks,
PLEASE CALL US IN CLINIC to discuss your child's appointment.

We will either reschedule your child's appointment, or keep the booked appointment time but make it a telehealth appointment instead.
A telehealth appointment means that you agree to be available by phone at the booked appointment time, instead of bringing your child into clinic. Your child's paediatrician will phone you to discuss your child's health, review your child's medical plan, and arrange tests or scripts as required.
Telehealth appointment fees are likely to be the same as normal clinic fees, and must be paid over the phone by credit card at the end of the telehealth appointment.
A summary letter from the telehealth appointment will be sent your your child's GP as usual.

Please note: anyone who arrives in clinic and has coughing, fevers or headcold symptoms will be asked to go home and stay home until they are well, and their clinic appointment will be rescheduled.

If you are unsure about whether your child should attend a planned appointment here, please call us on 03 5271 8667 to discuss this, or email us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the email subject line INFECTION.


If you think you might have COVID19: please call the Victorian Health Department hotline on 1800 675 398.


COVID19 frequently-asked questions

What steps are the clinic team taking to reduce the risks of COVID19 spreading?
Will it be safe to come to a medical clinic for a routine appointment?

What steps are the clinic team taking to reduce the risks of COVID19 spreading?
Will it be safe to come to a medical clinic for a routine appointment?

We are taking a comprehensive and cautious approach to COVID19 at the Geelong Children's Clinic.
Our plan includes many changes in how we run our practice, affecting all of our health professionals, admin staff, patients and families. This plan includes the following steps, and we have also made many changes to how we work behind-the-scenes to reduce the risk of people catching COVID19 onsite here. We are focused on providing excellent medical care for our patients and a cheerful efficient workplace for our team.

1) Anyone who is sick will not come to clinic. This includes all of our staff, doctors, patients and families. Anyone who arrives in clinic and has coughing, fevers or headcold symptoms will be asked to go home and stay home until they are well, and their clinic plans will be rescheduled. Telehealth appointments may be appropriate for some patients, while other patients will need to have clinic appointments rescheduled by 2 - 4 weeks.

2) Everyone entering clinic will either wash hands or use hand sanitiser on arriving, and again before leaving. Doctors, nurses and clinic staff will be doing hand hygiene frequently throughout the day.

3) We will be keeping the clinic waiting room almost empty all the time. We will be aiming for only one family to be in the waiting room space at a time.
There are lounges in the corridor outside our front door, and armchairs in the large level 6 foyer space around the corner from our corridor, near Lifts B. If you would prefer to wait somewhere else in the Epworth building, please let our clinic staff know when you check in for your child's appointment (e.g. there are some lovely garden spaces outside near the Zouki cafe on level 1) and we can text or call you when the doctor is ready to see your child.

4) We have removed all toys, magazines and books from the clinic waiting rooms and consulting rooms. Parents may bring toys, magazines or books from home if needed, but please make sure that your children do not share these with other children in clinic, and please remember to take them home with you!


What happens if my child's paediatrician gets sick?

What happens if my child's paediatrician gets sick?

If anyone in our clinic team becomes unwell and tests positive for COVID19, we will implement a different stage of our plan. We will be following the recommendations from the Victorian Health Department. This will include the Health Department 'tracing' the people who may have had contact with the sick person, and arranging COVID19 testing and medical care if needed.
If anyone on our team tests positive to COVID19, it is possible that our whole clinic may shift to only telehealth appointments for all patients for 2 - 4 weeks, until we can be confident that bringing patients and families back to clinic will not place them at increased risk of picking up this infection.


What happens to children who get COVID19?

What happens to children who get COVID19?

Compared to elderly people and adults with heart or lung diseases, it is very rare for children with COVID19 to become seriously unwell.
Based on research results from extensive COVID19 testing in communities all over the world, we think that children with active COVID19 only become sick with headcold symptoms, coughing or a few days of fever. So far worldwide, healthy children have not been developing the severe lung disease that occurs in 5 - 10% of healthy adults who get COVID19.
We don't know yet, what the effects might be in children who get COVID19 infection at the same time as getting RSV or influenza infections, which are common causes of pneumonia and bronchiolitis in Australian children every year.
If your child has a chronic medical disease (such as severe arthritis taking daily prednisolone, complex congenital heart disease requiring daily blood pressure medication, or cerebral palsy with recurrent aspiration pneumonia) and you think your child has been exposed to COVID19, please contact your child's paediatrician for further advice.
Rapid testing and urgent isolation of possible COVID19 cases will be a critical way of protecting all Australians and slowing the spread of this illness in our community.


How can I stay healthy and avoid catching coronavirus?

How can I stay healthy and avoid catching coronavirus?

Do hand hygiene regularly, either with a hand sanitiser containing at least 60% alcohol, or by washing your hands with soap and running water for 2 minutes.

Don't touch your face with your hands.

If you sneeze or cough you must cover your mouth with your elbow, and then wash your hands.

When you are outside your home, try to keep 1.5m (two steps) away from other people. If you see someone coughing, sneezing or looking unwell, do not stay in the same space with them. Consider avoiding activities that bring large groups of adults together within the same space e.g. keep your social time limited to small groups of healthy people.

Make a plan with your family GP to have everyone in your household vaccinated against seasonal influenza during April.

For further information about Coronavirus from the Victorian Health Department, click here.

If you are a smoker, now is the perfect time to try to quit. Call the Quitline 24 hours a day for more information 137 848 or click here

If you are able to stop smoking, your immune system will be stronger, you'll be able to fight off infections faster, your lungs will cope with infections better, and you will be less likely to catch infections because you won't be touching your face as often!