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Our Western Specialist Centre staff want to assist you and your booking journey as smoothly as possible. To do this you do require a referral for the specialist you wish to book into.

In most cases a GP referral is advised, as it is validated for a period of 12 months under Medicare Australia. We are a private practice centre and all appointments are fee based.

Once our team has your referral, you will be contacted to organise an appointment. Our team will advise which days your required specialist works to coordinate a time that is best suited to you. In general our specialist work during business hours Monday-Friday 9am-5pm only; therefore after hour appointments cannot be accommodated – however we can provide you with a medical/carers certificate for the day to support the appointment. Once your appointment is booked our team will send you an email with the appointment details. This email has important information on it about your appointment that you should read

You Can Send Your Referral To Western Specialist Centre Via:

Email: reception@wscvic.com   or   Fax: (03) 8001 7171

When you attend your appointment you will check-in with reception staff, and complete a registration form where necessary. After your appointment with the specialist you will return to reception to re-schedule a review appointment if required and finalise the payment.

For Medicare eligible patients our team can process the Medicare rebate for you – this rebated amount generally reaches your account in 1-3 business days. If you are not Medicare eligible the rebate cannot be applied. Our team will provide you with an invoice; which you can use with your private health fund, if insured

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR APPOINTMENT:

COVID Requirements For Western Specialist Centre

To ensure best practice and safe practice for our patients and staff we continue COVID precautions.  When attending appointments at our centres please note the below:

  • Masks must be worn at all times
    • If you have a mask exemption, you must bring your exemption authorisation with you at the time of the appointment
  • Waiting room capacity is limited. You may be asked to wait in your car, until the doctor is ready to see you if the waiting room is at capacity
  • Please use the QR code when entering the building, or sign in manually for your visit to the centre 
Appointment POLICY

As your appointment approaches you will receive an SMS or call to confirm your attendance. We require this confirmation to keep your appointment. If we do not receive confirmation by 2pm the day prior to your appointment, it may be rescheduled.

You will be required to contact Western Specialist Centre to organise a new date and time for the next available appointment.

As we are a busy practice and all appointments are valuable, it is imperative to provide as much notice as possible when cancelling your appointment. Cancellations notified with less than 24hours of your appointment (business days: Monday-Friday) may incur a cancellation charge. These charges are noted in your appointment email under: Important Information

If you do not attend your appointment on the day, without prior notice, you may incur a fail to attend fee without Medicare rebate. This fee may be equivalent to the consultation fee of the appointment missed. Further appointments if/when required will be given after the full payment of the fail to attend fee has been paid.

At Western Specialist Centre we pride ourselves on the care of our patients and their families. We are conscious that some of our patients are from split families, and in some cases the parents/guardians in these circumstances may, may not be aware that their child/children are under the care of a physician at Western Specialist Centre.

We have a duty of care to provide the best care to all of our patients in a safe environment, with confidentiality being paramount. It is not our practice to duplicate information, or assume information is being passed on between parents and guardians; as our focus is on our patients – therefore we take it in good faith that communication is transparent between both parents/guardians and it is for this reason that we enforce a parental/guardian policy to support our care for   paediatric patients.

  • It is our expectation that separated parents/guardians work together respectfully and cooperatively, regarding the care of their child. Decisions regarding a child’s medical treatment (e.g. Medication, Therapy etc) should be made jointly by both parents/guardians wherever possible or communicated with the other parent/guardian where possible
  • Either Legal parent/guardian can:
    • Schedule an appointment for/with their child
    • Confirm an appointment for child
    • Be present at their child’s appointment
    • And/or be sent a copy of their child’s reports
  • It is the parents/guardians obligation to provide us a copy of any relevant legal documents or court orders that restricts another parent/guardian access to information on their child’s health/history with that section highlighted in the court order which will be noted in the child’s file
  • If the appointment is made by one parent/guardian, it is the responsibility of this parent/guardian to invite the other parent/guardian to attend and/or provide feedback to them on the child’s appointment
  • Clinic reports will be sent to the parent/guardian who attends the appointment and it is the responsibility of that parent/guardian to forward the reports to the other parent/guardian
  • We do not have the capacity to provide separate feedback to each parent/guardian but welcome both parents/guardians to attend appointments and will provide copies of correspondence to each parent/guardian, if specifically requested and both parents agrees in writing to do so.
  • Payment is to be made on the day of the child’s appointment. If there is a legal agreement that requires the other parent/guardian to pay all or part of the treatment costs, it is the attending parent/guardians responsibility to settle the account and collect reimbursement from the other parent/guardian
  • Where there is significant conflict, we reserve the right to request court orders, obtain signed consent from both parents/guardians or limit our services until dispute has been resolved. If necessary, we may discharge a family from the clinic if the conflict is disruptive to the clinic or impedes the care of the child
  • We do not take referrals where the purpose of the assessment is to generate information for a legal decision making around custody issues of a parental/guardian separation

Inappropriate behaviour or abuse to staff or each other will not be tolerated from either parent/guardian and we thank-you in advance for understanding our policy in the best interest of best practice in caring for your child/children at Western Specialist Centre