Anyone had surgery in Townsville by Sam Baker? How long does it take to get an app?

My Insurance is 12 months up in august, Ive qualified last year. From what i can gather the procedure is to go get the referal from the gp, go see the surgeon, then they book me an appointment for the operation, does anyone know how long it takes from gp to surgeon, then surgeon to Operation? and between the appointment with the surgeon to the op do i do the medicals like nutritionist, sleep test, psychologist, im just a little confused as to the order of it all. And how many nights in hospital did people stay?

No sure about Dr Baker - I am in Townsville also but am having my surgery done by Dr Bovey in July - it certainly took time to get the initial apt with him - around a month from memory - and then another 10 weeks to wait for surgery - so you have heaps of time to do all the other things like dietician psychologist etc. I think he said I would be in hospital for 3 nights all going well - if any problems then it could be longer of course. All the best with everything. :)

Ok, thanks, wow thats longer than i thought from surgeon to surgery. I wonder if you can do the referal at the GP before the waiting period is up for insurance. Did you go through NQOSC??? And did you have insurance?

I had mine on 22 March.

i had an appointment with Meaghan (the Nurser Educator) first of all, who talks you through everything. Meaghan is your key contact! She'll give you a pack of everything you need, including a list of appointments, approximate cost, etc. She'll give you date options for surgery if you're ready to take the plunge on meeting with her.

I actually had most of my appointments done, and the date set, before I had my referral from my Doctor.

I only met Dr Baker a fortnight before surgery and that appointment was quite quick; because I was so well informed and prepared beforehand.

The day before surgery, I had a quick weigh-in appointment with Meaghan. I had follow up appointments booked in and everything went very very smoothly.

Anything else you need, just drop me a line :-)

Cheers.

OH thankyou so much. Yes i would love to bombard you with some questions. If i could!! I did my appointment with Meghan way back in august last year, as i hadnt taken out insurance yet. so ive had to wait a year, which is up soon. Shes given me an app date, but ive had no confirmation yet. That list that we have to do.. how many Psyc and dietician consultations did you have and approx what cost per visit??? ANDDDDDDD did you claim them back on medicare?

Oh and you would have had to do the 2 weeks slimfast, was it just the shakes and soups you were allowed or what else? That part is going to be soo hard!

Hi There, I'm assuming by now you have probably had your surgery- but I thought I'd respond anyway :)
My surgery was performed by Dr Baker on June 14th.
I'd like to be in touch with some other patients of his, so I thought I'd drop a line :)

DONT DO IT! I had gastric sleeve in 2016 with him, he went on holidays the day after my surgery and I had not been told prior to my surgery, I was vomitting for weeks, unable to get scripts etc cause he was away (I did not live locally so did not have a local GP). Even when I got back home and my GP phoned him a few months late, He actually told my GP to just leave me and the vomiting would settle and he was going on holidays again and would get back to me in Jan, he never did! I vomited for 18months, 3-4 times a day. Ended up going to a surgeon in Brisbane who was great and he did a full bypass- no vomiting since. Baker doesnt care as ling as he gets his money.

I went through the same procedure, in total it takes about 2 weeks. The biggest problem is that appointments are made for a very long time, according to the doctor's schedule, otherwise, he cannot receive you. I was worried that my health insurance would not cover the cost of the surgery and then rehabilitation. Then my friends advised me to buy additional health insurance, in case the costs are too high and the state insurance will refuse to cover them. I turned to https://www.remedigap.com/medicare-insurance-companies/ for help and chose a suitable option for myself that could satisfy all my requirements.