Appointment Information

What to Bring

You don't need to bring anything to your appointment, however these things will help make the most of the clinic time:

• Your Child's Blue Book
• Allied Health reports (such as speech pathology, physiotherapy or occupational therapy)
• A letter from daycare or school about your child's strengths and any areas of concern
• Hearing test results
• Blood test results
• Both parents, especially if there are behaviour or development concerns.

If you are waiting for an Appointment

At times there is a waitlist for an appointment. During this time, please discuss with your GP whether or not the following may be useful for your child:

• Hearing test
• Visual acuity check (start with a local optometrist, which is usually bulk-billed)
• Speech pathology and/or Occupational therapy assessment
  • An assessment takes 1-5 sessions and ends with a written report which you can bring to your appointment.
  • Your GP may be able to provide you with a Medicare rebate plan for the assessment, depending on your child's needs.
• Referral to community speech pathology and/or occupational therapy
  • There are free community services in all areas. The referral pathway will depend on where you live, and there is usually a wait list so it can be useful to be referred early if there are speech, language or functional concerns.

Appointment Bookings

A standard initial consultation is booked for 60 minutes and follow-up visits are 30 minutes.

A behaviour or developmental assessment happens over 3 visits. The first visit is booked for 90 minutes. The extra time ensures that by the end of the first visit there has been the opportunity to:

• Discuss your child's strengths as well as any areas of concern.
• Review previous reports, letters or assessments.
• Use and explain the results of any assessment tools needed in clinic
• Discuss and prioritise your goals
• Combine your goals and understanding of your child with Dr Elliot's assessment and recommendations to:
• Make a plan that you feel confident in.

The second and third visits will be to look at particular areas more closely, review progress towards your goals, or after Dr Elliot has spoken (with your permission) to other providers looking after your child's health, education or other needs.

Fees

If you see Dr Elliot in his private rooms there will be a cost on the day. The fee varies depending on the complexity and duration of the consultation. You will be able to claim a Medicare rebate at every visit, and in some cases we can process them for you on the day.

There are public clinics (also known as bulk-billed, no-gap clinics) at many local public hospitals.

You will most likely be seen by a senior trainee doctor who will be supervised by a hospital paediatrician. At St George Hospital children are offered the next available appointment and cannot choose which paediatrician they see.

St George Hospital Public Clinic

Appointments: 9113 2319 Fax: 9113 1557