Travel Doctor in Coogee
Pre-trip consultations, travel vaccinations, antimalarials and travel-health advice, with consulting doctors at the practice.
What a travel medicine consultation involves
A travel medicine consultation is a structured pre-trip visit that covers vaccinations, antimalarial advice, country-specific health risks, prescription medicines for travel (motion sickness, antibiotic standby for traveller's diarrhoea, altitude sickness where relevant), and any clinical issues that need sorting before you leave.
At Coogee Beach Doctors, travel medicine consultations are offered by Dr Phil Orme, Dr Edward Lyle and Dr Lucy Herron, consulting GPs at the practice. The first consult is usually a long visit (30 minutes); some vaccinations can be given on the same day depending on stock and clinical timing, while others are scheduled across one or two follow-up visits.
Travel vaccinations covered include yellow fever, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid (injection or oral), Japanese encephalitis, rabies pre-exposure, cholera, meningococcal ACWY, MMR catch-up, tetanus / diphtheria / pertussis (Tdap) catch-up, influenza, and COVID-19 boosters as relevant to the destination.
Who is a travel medicine consult for?
✓ Anyone planning international travel, from a single short trip to long-haul, multi-country, or remote-region travel
✓ Patients heading to destinations where vaccinations are recommended or required (Smartraveller and the WHO are the two authoritative sources)
✓ Patients booking 4–6 weeks before departure (longer for multi-dose schedules like rabies pre-exposure or Japanese encephalitis)
✓ Patients with specific medical conditions (pregnancy, immunocompromise, chronic disease) where pre-trip planning is more involved
✓ Patients returning from travel with post-travel symptoms, fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, skin lesions, persistent cough, a follow-up consult is the right pathway
Note on Timing: Some vaccinations (like rabies pre-exposure or Japanese encephalitis) are multi-dose and need 4 weeks or longer to complete. If departure is sooner, your GP will discuss what's possible in the time available, sometimes accelerated schedules exist.
What to expect at your travel medicine consult
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Bring your destination, dates, accommodation type (hotel vs trekking vs rural homestay), planned activities (rural / jungle / altitude / safari / volunteering), and any existing immunisation records. Book 4–6 weeks before departure where possible; closer to departure is fine but limits some vaccine options.
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Reception confirms your details and Medicare card.
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Your GP walks through your destination and itinerary, cross-references with current Smartraveller and WHO advice, and discusses recommended vs required vaccinations, antimalarial options, and any country-specific health risks (altitude, food/water, vector-borne disease, sun exposure, climate).
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Same-day vaccinations are administered where appropriate. The practice nurse runs the injections; recordings go to AIR (Australian Immunisation Register).
Prescriptions for antimalarials or travel-related medicines are written.
A vaccination certificate is provided where required (e.g. yellow fever).
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Some vaccinations are multi-dose, your GP and reception will book the follow-ups to fit your departure. Post-travel: if you return with fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, skin lesions or persistent cough, book a follow-up consult, some travel-acquired infections present weeks after return.
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Pregnancy and Planning: Most "live" vaccines (such as MMR and Yellow Fever) are contraindicated during pregnancy; it is also recommended to avoid conceiving for 28 days after receiving these doses.
Maternal Health: If you are pregnant, trying to conceive or breastfeeding, please inform your GP so they can tailor a plan that prioritizes safe, inactivated vaccines and provides specific advice on malaria prevention.
Travel vaccinations have the same general safety profile as routine immunisations, soreness at the injection site, mild flu-like symptoms for 24–48 hours, rare allergic reactions.
Specific contraindications exist for some vaccines (yellow fever for severely immunocompromised patients, for example), your GP will go through your individual situation.
Meet your preventative health team
Travel medicine consultations at the practice are offered by three consulting GPs. Book the consult with whichever doctor suits your timing; pre-trip vaccinations are administered on the day where stock and clinical timing allow, with multi-dose schedules booked across follow-ups.
Dr Lucy Herron
MBBS, FRACGP, DCH
Dr Lucy Herron is a consulting GP at Coogee Beach Doctors. She graduated in medicine from the University of New South Wales in 2006 and completed a Diploma of Child Health, with additional training through the Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine.
Dr Herron offers travel medicine consultations across the lifespan, including for families travelling with children, and is currently accepting new patients.
Dr Phil Orme
MBBS, FRACGP, Clinical Diploma in Palliative Medicine, CHIA
Dr Phil Orme is a consulting GP at Coogee Beach Doctors who returned to the practice in April 2026, after a career spanning haematology and specialist palliative medicine before completing fellowship in general practice with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Dr Orme offers travel medicine consultations alongside his broader general practice work, with clinical interests in advanced prevention, longevity and lifestyle medicine, and sports medicine. He is a Coogee local, runs the coastal trail, and is currently welcoming new patients.
Dr Edward Lyle
MBBS, FRACGP
Dr Edward Lyle is a consulting GP at Coogee Beach Doctors. He attained Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2013 and brings over a decade of experience across metropolitan, regional and remote Australian settings in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.
Dr Lyle's clinical interests include travel medicine, family medicine, immunisations, and the management of acute and chronic disease. He also holds three certificates in skin cancer medicine, which makes the pre-trip and post-trip skin-check workflow a natural extension of the travel consult for high-UV destinations.
Frequently asked questions about travel medicine
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4–6 weeks before departure is the standard recommendation. Some vaccines (rabies pre-exposure, Japanese encephalitis) are multi-dose schedules that take 4 weeks to complete. Sooner is fine but limits some vaccine options.
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If yes: "Yes, Coogee Beach Doctors is a registered Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre. The vaccination certificate (ICVP) is provided on the day." If no: "Yellow fever is a regulated vaccination requiring administration at a TGA-approved Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre. The consulting doctors at the practice can refer you to the nearest centre."]
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It depends on the destination, length of stay, and your activities. Smartraveller and the WHO list country-specific recommendations.
The combined hep A / typhoid vaccine is a single injection commonly given for travel to South-East Asia, the Indian sub-continent, parts of Africa and parts of Latin America. Your GP will check your individual itinerary.
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Travel medicine consultations at the practice are billed under standard GP Medicare items (most commonly item 23 or 36 per consult length).
The practice is private-billing, bulk-billing isn't offered for these consultations. The Medicare rebate is processed automatically with a valid Medicare card, and reception will confirm the out-of-pocket gap before booking. EFTPOS and HICAPS are available on-site.
The vaccines themselves are usually not Medicare-rebated as a product (with limited exceptions); pharmacy or on-site vaccine costs vary by product, and reception will provide an estimate on enquiry
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Yes, the consulting doctors at the practice can prescribe antimalarials (doxycycline, atovaquone/proguanil, or mefloquine) where indicated, based on your destination and individual factors.
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Pre-trip planning is more involved for these cohorts, some live vaccines (yellow fever, MMR, varicella) have specific guidance in pregnancy and immunocompromise.
The consultation walks through what's appropriate; book a longer consult and bring relevant medical history.
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Post-travel symptoms (fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, skin lesions, persistent cough) can present weeks after return.
Book a standard or long consultation with one of the consulting doctors at the practice, the GP will work through what's needed.
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GP consultations are Medicare-billed, not private-health-fund-billed, so health-fund extras don't apply to the consultation itself. Some funds reimburse a portion of travel vaccinations under specific extras tiers, check directly with your fund.
The Medicare rebate on the consultation is processed automatically with a valid Medicare card.
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Smartraveller (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). Travel destination advice and country-specific health information. smartraveller.gov.au
World Health Organization. International Travel and Health. who.int/health-topics/travel-and-health
Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. Australian Immunisation Handbook. immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yellow Book, Health Information for International Travel. wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook
Disclaimer: The content here is general information about travel medicine consultations at Coogee Beach Doctors. It is not medical advice for your individual situation. The right vaccinations and travel-health interventions depend on your destination, itinerary, individual health and current Smartraveller / WHO advice; the consulting doctor will discuss this with you at the consultation.
Book a travel medicine consultation
Book 4–6 weeks before departure where possible. Reception is happy to talk through what's needed if you'd prefer to call first.
Looking for something else?
Here are some of the other services available at Coogee Beach Doctors:
Skin cancer checks
For full-body checks with dermoscopy and a documented baseline, Dr Edward Lyle is one of the consulting doctors at the practice who offers structured skin cancer checks.
Perimenopause and menopause
For 40s and 50s patients navigating perimenopause symptoms like sleep, mood or cycle changes, Dr Lucy Herron has a clinical interest in hormonal health and offers longer consultations at the practice.
Iron infusions
For patients with iron deficiency confirmed on bloods who haven't responded to oral supplementation, iron infusions are offered at the practice as the next step in the pathway.