Health on Central

01/11/2025

Congratulations Dr Rebecca Perks and Dr Luke Reid⭐️
Both were nominated for Clinical Excellence in Qld for their services to the Mater hospitals.
We are so proud of Bec to be nominated for this state award and stoked another Mackay doctor, Luke Reid (ENT) won.
Bec provides palliative care services to the Mater and is a surgical assistant on top of her clinical work at HoC.
We don’t know how she does it👏👏👏whilst being a crazy busy mum to her boys🌸
She is a beautiful human and an inspiration to us all. Well done Bec💐

30/10/2025

Why we will not be bulk billing every appointment from Nov 1st….

At HoC we remain committed to providing thorough, personal and high quality medical care. No other practice in Mackay offers a 20 minute minimum for a standard consultation.

To remain financially viable (pay staff, rent, electricity, insurance etc) we are a mixed billing practice. We bulk bill 60% of patients (care plans, health assessments, kids under 12 and immunisations). The rest pay a gap and cross-subsidise those who are bulk billed.

The commonest problems we see are complex chronic care and mental health, which take time. The government is removing mental health items and has reduced the medicare rebate for care plans.
If we bulk billed everyone and every appointment then we would have to move to a “6 minute medicine“ model of rapid throughput and low quality care and cut services.
It’s called ‘churn and burn’. That is not the type of medicine we practice or you deserve.

To maintain our high standards and personal care, our practice will not switch to universal bulk billing despite what the government is promising in the media.

We know that the cost of healthcare is a concern and we encourage you to contact your local Federal Member of Parliament to explain how these changes impact you. You can also ask your GP if you qualify for a care plan for complex chronic disease or use the script clinic for regular repeat prescriptions.

We suggest that the government should increase your Medicare rebate to reduce your out of pocket costs and stop cutting patient chronic disease and mental health rebates.

https://www.andrewwillcox.com.au/

https://michellelandry.com.au/

01/10/2025

October has started so this is my first ride logged for the Great Cycle Challenge Australia. Seems silly to have me starting in the middle of Korea. So I have added the riding I have done to get to get to Chungji.

https://greatcyclechallenge.com.au/Riders/MarkRaines

25/09/2025

Wishing Dr Sarah Zatta all the best for her maternity leave.

We feel like proud parents ourselves as we have watched Sarah go through her journey to fellowship as a specialist GP.

25/09/2025

Happy Retirement Dr Helen Hawkins🎈
“To my wonderful patients,

Thank you for the opportunity to be your family GP over quite a very long time for many of us. It has been an amazing privilege to have helped you on your health journey with all if its up’s and downs over the years, in whatever way I could. I am so grateful to have had that opportunity and vocation.
Thank you for your well wishes and gifts.
Take care to you and yours.

Dr Helen Hawkins”

We are so grateful for your guidance, knowledge and grace and wish you all the best for your adventures.
We are going to miss you and Santa’s helper.

20/09/2025

I will be away from Health on Central for a while and having a little adventure in Korea, so I decided to raise some money for charity whilst riding!

https://greatcyclechallenge.com.au/Riders/MarkRaines

31/08/2025

Welcoming Dr Lee Huang to Health on Central and taking new patients.
Dr Lee is an experienced doctor who has decided to train as a GP. Having completed his earlier years at Mackay Base Hospital, Lee has been working on the Gold Coast as a Palliative Care doctor.
As a CASA registered Designated Aviation Medical Examiner, Dr Lee is able to offer services to all persons requiring CASA Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 aviation medicals. Dr Lee has significant aviation experience and has racked up more than 150 hours in Cessna 206 and Cessna 208 single engine aircraft in the last several years. He has also, as part of his DAME training, flown light aircraft, flown in the Qantas 737 Simulator in Brisbane, and toured the Brisbane ATC centre and the air traffic control tower.
https://healthoncentral.com.au/book

Health on Central is a modern and caring GP practice in Mackay. Dr Nicole Higgins and Dr Mark Raines. Your new doctor in Mackay

28/08/2025

Thanks and Dr Elissa for having Dr Shahira and to talk to the doctors in training about the awesomeness of General Practice and leadership. Ran into Dr Sarah walking down the halls where she is an educator for JCU❤️.

30/07/2025

📢 Come join our team.

We are currently looking for another nurse to join our team at Health on Central.

To apply click on the link below or send your CV to practice@healthoncentral.com.au.

We are looking for an enthusiastic, fun, and professional registered nurse to join our team. Part-Time or Casual Employment Options

11/06/2025

Men's Health Week
Time to book you or your bloke in for his annual health check.

Men’s Health Week (June 9-15) is a time to pause and reflect on the health challenges facing the men in our lives.

Around two-thirds of Australian men put off seeing a doctor when they notice a problem, preferring to manage it themselves or wait until it worsens. The theme this year is “See Your GP”

Male life expectancy is, on average, four years shorter and they are more likely to suffer from lifestyle-related health conditions than women of the same age. Sadly, men also have a four times higher risk of dying by su***de.

Healthy Male is a national organisation that provides easy access to the latest scientific and medical research on male health.

02/06/2025

From July 2025, eligible people in Australia will be able to participate in screening for lung cancer through the National Lung Cancer Screening Program.

Screening is a way of finding signs of cancer in people who do not have any symptoms. The goal is to find cancer early, when it is easier to treat. Lung cancer screening uses a low-dose CT scan to look for any small lumps, called nodules.

Lung cancer screening can find 70% of lung cancer at its early stages, before there are any symptoms and when treatment is most effective.

Research on lung cancer screening from the United States and Europe has shown that up to 70% of lung cancers are found at early stages, when they are easier to treat or cure

For more information read these articles.

https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-05/national-lung-cancer-screening-program-what-is-the-nlcsp-fact-sheet.pdf

https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-04/national-lung-cancer-screening-program-lung-cancer-screening-decision-tool.pdf

Then talk to your doctor to see if you are eligible.

20/05/2025

📣 Celebrating 8 Years 📣

Health on Central has officially been open for 8 years.
Our first day of business 8 years ago started off with 1 doctor, 1 nurse and 2 receptionists.
And as of today the practice proudly consists of 12 doctors, 5 receptionists, 3 nurses, 2 practice support staff and 1 practice manager.

So from all of us at Health on Central we would like to thank you for your continued support.