Your Banksia Journey
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GP Referral
A written referral is required for an appointment with a Paediatrician. This is required to claim any potential Medicare rebates for your child’s appointment. As a general rule, referrals from a GP to a specialist Paediatrician are valid for 12 months. Referrals from another specialist are usually only valid for 3 months unless otherwise specified.
Your GP can send a referral directly from their practice software using the Consultmed platform. Alternatively, they can email a referral to referrals@banksiapaediatrics.com.au.
We'll Call You
Once our doctors review your referral our friendly admin team will call the phone number provided.
If you are unable to answer the call, we will leave a voice message and send you a text requesting you accept the provided appointment or call back to organise a different time.
Prepare for Your Appointment
In the weeks leading up to the appointment
Once you have received your appointment date, you will be sent a link to complete the patient registration form. This helps us gather important information regarding your child prior to the appointment, including their strengths, interests and details of those involved in their care.
If the appointment is regarding a neurodevelopmental, learning or behavioural concern, it can be very useful to gather supporting feedback and documentation from allied health clinicians, teachers, etc prior to the appointment. Examples of these include:
- Letter from classroom teacher detailing learning progress and behaviour
- School reports
- Standardised assessments (if completed)
- WISC, WIAT-III, Conners, ABAS, Vineland etc
- Behavioural questionnaire (eg Vanderbilt)
If the appointment is regarding a medical concern, it can be very useful to gather past clinical letters/reports, hospital discharge summaries, blood and imaging test results.
If we need to discuss topics that may be difficult for your child to hear, we strongly encourage you to bring a support person to the appointment.
What to bring to the appointment
- Your referral from a GP or other doctor if one hasn’t been uploaded or sent through to us already.
- Your completed patient registration form, which you should have received online before the appointment (if not already supplied). Otherwise, please arrive 10-15 minutes early to complete it before your appointment time.
- Support person (if needed)
- Medicare card.
- Investigations including blood tests, X-ray or imaging reports.
- Previous assessments, reports and letters from other health care professionals.
- Teachers’ reports.
- Hospital Discharge Summaries if relevant to the appointment.
- Your child’s health care record (blue book) if relevant.
Where to Go
By car:
We are located in the West Wing of the Platinum Building in Erina. If you input Platinum Building Erina into your Maps app you shouldn’t run into trouble! You can park in the carpark of the Platinum Building, the West Wing is the part of the building closest to the Fountain Plaza walkway.
By bus:
Banksia Paediatrics is easily accessible by bus, most bus routed travelling through Erina stop at Karalta Rd. It is then a flat 5 min walk to the Platinum Building.
Enter the building and take the lift to Level 2- we are located right next to the lifts. There are bathrooms inside the building on Level 2. Banksia Paediatrics is easily accessible for those using wheelchairs and prams.
If it is your first appointment, we suggest you arrive 10-15 mins early to ensure all registration forms are completed and your child has time to settle in to the new environment.
On the Day
Once you arrive, our friendly admin staff will welcome you and check that we have the correct contact and Medicare details for your child.
You will then have time to explore the play area and settle in.
When it’s time for your appointment, the paediatrician will greet you and take you to a consult room. The rooms are calm, colourful and have room for the whole family.
In your first appointment, expect to spend about 40 to 60 minutes. We will discuss all aspects of your child’s life. Remember, if we need to discuss something your child shouldn’t hear, please bring a support person.
Your child will have their height, weight and blood pressure measured, as well as any further examination relevant to their concerns.
At the end of the consultation, you will collaborate with your paediatrician to develop a management plan and discuss what the next steps are. If you are here about a neurodevelopmental, learning or behavioural concern, sometimes this will involve gathering more information from other sources (school, allied health clinicians, etc) or referral for further assessments.
After the consultation, you will head back to the front desk, where our friendly Admin staff will greet you again and collect your consultation fee. They can bill Medicare for you, provided you have a current referral. You will also be able to book a follow-up appointment at this time.
Fees
Cancellations
No problem, life happens! We just ask that you let us know at least 24 hours prior if you need to change or cancel your appointment, as this allows us to offer it to other patients.
Missed appointments, or appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, may be subject to a cancellation fee of 50% of the full fee.
Reach Out to Us
We’re here to help you navigate your child’s development journey. Let’s connect and discuss how we can support your family!
Prefer to Call?
Our team is here to help with any inquiries.
You can reach us at: 02 4317 5599
We look forward to hearing from you!
Common Questions
We know you have questions, and we're here to help!
If you need to reschedule, no problem! Just give us a call to arrange a new date and time.
Please give us at least 24 hours notice so we can give someone else the opportunity to use the appointment slot.
Absolutely! You’re welcome to bring a family member or friend along for support. We want everyone to feel comfortable during the visit.
Check out The Pod for all our resources!
Check out our guide on what to do to prepare for your child’s appointment here!
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