There are a few things you need to know before your child’s appointment.

A few formalities
Before your first appointment, we need to collect some information from you. Please complete our New Patient Form prior to your first appointment. Please also take a moment to read our Privacy Policy.

Checking In
On the day of your appointment, we suggest you arrive a few minutes early. When you arrive, one of our friendly staff members will check you in and confirm your contact and health details are accurate and up-to-date.

Waiting Times
At Eltham Paediatrics, our aim is to be on time. To minimise waiting times for patients, we allocate set times for appointments and will encourage appointments to finish on time. This means our admin team may inform Dr Ward if an appointment is running over time, to ensure other patients are not kept waiting. If you have more issues to discuss with Dr Ward, we will happily book another appointment.

If we are running significantly behind schedule, we will contact you where possible to let you know expected wait times or to make alternative arrangements, if necessary.

If you are running late, we encourage you to contact us where possible. We may not be able to extend your allocated appointment time and may need to book another appointment for you. 

After Your Appointment
Following your appointment, please return to the reception area to settle your bill and make any follow-up appointments. If you have any questions or concerns once you get home, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Between Appointments 
If you have questions between appointments, we encourage you to write them down and bring them to your next visit.

At times, Dr Ward may ask you to contact him between appointments for clinical updates or results. If Dr Ward has asked you to call him, or if an urgent matter arises, please call or email us. Dr Ward will endeavour to call you back as soon as possible.

Please be aware: we are committed to prompt and personal care, however, we can only respond to urgent matters on the same day. Dr Ward is usually unable to personally answer calls or respond to emails during the work day.

Issues such as changes in your child’s behaviour, changes to medication or dosages, letters for legal, educational or funding support and application forms all require an appointment.

For medical emergencies, please call 000 or head to your closest hospital Emergency Department.

Repeat Prescriptions
Repeat prescriptions require an appointment to ensure optimal care for your child and to meet regulatory requirements - even if your child has used the medication before.

An appointment is required because writing a new prescription involves:

• taking an updated history

• making clinical judgements about what is going on for your child and what medication is appropriate

• making clinical judgements about whether it is right to continue with the same medication (and at what dosage) or to change medication

• performing an examination (where appropriate), and

• writing the prescription and obtaining an authority.

Patients might feel they are “just having a chat” but the paediatrician is making a host of clinical assessments and judgements during the appointment that inform what prescription should be written.

Cancellations
If you cannot attend your child’s appointment, we ask you to let us know as soon as possible. We always have patients on our cancellation list who would benefit from an earlier appointment, so with adequate notice, we can help out another family. Your cooperation with cancellations and rescheduling is greatly appreciated.

We also understand life can be unpredictable, and we’re here to accomodate you as best we can. We offer the flexibility of changing to a Telehealth video-call, even last minute. If you forget or miss an appointment, we encourage you to contact us to reschedule.

Please be aware of our cancellation policy: if an appointment is missed or cancelled/rescheduled within two business days of the appointment, a $110 fee will apply.

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