Youth Clinic

Mackay Youth Clinic

For urgent support outside of office hours, please reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.

If you are in need of immediate assistance, please reach out to emergency services on 000.

Keep It Confidential

Dr Rachel Bidgood offers comprehensive, confidential and caring services for young people in Mackay. DR Rachel is able to talk to you about a range of issues, including sexual and mental health concerns.

The youth clinic is open for 12-21 year olds on Thursday afternoons from 3-5pm. At the start of your consultation, the GP will discuss your confidentiality rights to ensure your privacy. You can choose to see the GP on your own, or you can come with a family member, a guardian or a friend.

Youth Clinic Consultations

You can discuss with your GP any reproductive or mental health concerns you may have during your consultation. From contraceptive options, sexual health concerns to advice on drug and alcohol use, your GP will be more than happy to give you sound expert advice.

You do not have to worry about paying for anything because our youth clinic is billed through Medicare (if you hold a valid Medicare Card).

Apply for your own medicare card online.

Contact our friendly staff at One Stop Medical for more information on the services offered by Dr Bidgood at the youth clinic. Dr Bidgood prefers her youth patients to make an appointment, but will endeavour to see patients who walk into the clinic without a pre-booking appointment (if time permits.)

Mental Health Support

The GPs at One Stop Medical are able to refer young people to psychologists, or mental health social workers, who can help young people with managing and overcoming a range of mental health issues.

Including:

Learning how to recover from depression
Develop social skills & social confidence
Coming to terms with emotions & learning how to manage them
Overcoming anxiety & fears
Grief & trauma processing
Learning how to build healthy relationships with families & peers
Overcoming learning difficulties
Understanding personal safety & boundary-setting
Overcoming dependence on alcohol and drugs

Contraceptive Advice

Choosing the right contraception method for your body involves a lot of factors. Aside from talking about it openly with your partner, it is also important to consider each method’s effectiveness, side effects and overall cost.

The friendly doctors at One Stop Medical can talk to you about reproductive health and give expert advice on how you can use different types of contraception.

Some of the most common contraception methods include the following:

Contraceptive Pill
Contraceptive implant (or "the bar")
Condoms (male & female)
Intrauterine devices (IUDs)
Injections (Depo)

Please Reach Out To Us

Contraceptive Implants

Contraceptive implants are available in Australia as Implanon NXT™. A long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) method, this is a small plastic rod that is inserted under the skin of your upper arm.

This releases the hormone progesterone in small doses, preventing your ovaries from releasing eggs every month. Your period may change drastically if not stop altogether.

Implants last for up to three years and can be easily removed later if you decide to become pregnant. This is also safe to use even for breastfeeding individuals.

Intrauterine Devices (IUDs)

An intrauterine device is a small T-shaped rod that is inserted inside your uterus. You can choose from either copper IUDs which last from 3-5 years or hormone-releasing IUDs which lasts for 5 years.

IUDs stops sperm from reaching an egg. It also alters the lining of your uterus so a fertilised egg will not implant itself on your uterus. Copper IUDs can increase your period flow, while hormone-releasing IUDs can either reduce your period flow or stop your period altogether.

This type of contraception is guaranteed safe for breastfeeding individuals and can be used together with other medication.

Injections (depo shot)

Contraceptive injections are also known as Depo-Provera™ or Depo-Ralovera™ or simply Depo. Each shot contains a progesterone-like hormone that is injected every 12-14 weeks.

This stops the ovulation process and makes the fluid on the uterus opening thicker, stopping sperm from getting through. You will experience changes on your period or it may stop completely.

Condoms (Male & Female)

Condoms are barrier contraception methods and has male and female versions. Male condoms are 98% effective if used correctly.

These are relatively cheaper than other contraceptive methods and can be bought even without a doctor’s prescription. On the other hand, female condoms are 95% effective if used correctly.

These can be bought from sexual health clinics, retail outlets and from Family Planning Victoria (by mail order).

Diaphragm

The single size diaphragm is also known as Caya™ in Australia. Diaphragms are soft silicone domes that fit in the vagina. This stops sperm from getting through by blocking the uterine entrance. This can be bought from pharmacies and sexual health clinics.

We recommend seeing a doctor first before buying your own diaphragm since 15% of users are unable to fit their diaphragm correctly. These are 86% effective if used correctly.