Caring for children and their families

From birth until early adulthood

Hunter Children's Clinics provide holistic care to children from birth to early adulthood. Our dedicated team of paediatricians and paediatric allied health practitioners work to improve the health and wellbeing of children throughout the Hunter Region.


Founded with the view of being inclusive for families from all backgrounds. We work to improve the health, wellbeing, and development of the regions children, adolescents, and young adults. The healthy development of our children is crucial to all of our future well-being.


Working to improve the health and wellbeing of children throughout the Hunter Region








Information

This information is to give an outline of the policies and procedures at Hunter Children's Clinics. For further details please refer to our policies or discuss with us.


New patient appointments cannot be made before we receive a valid GP referral. New referrals should be sent to the contact details listed. Once a referral has been sent, please call us to book your child's appointment. We do not offer emergency care or walk in appointments.


Please note that GP referrals are usually only valid for 12 months. It is the carers responsibility to ensure that we have a valid referral for your child. Our reception staff will inform you whether a new GP referral is required at the time of booking the appointment.


If your child is seeing a paediatrician please complete the online New Patient Questionnaire prior to the appointment day.



Please refer to our Psychology page for more information.



Prior to an initial consultation we request that you complete the New Patient Questionnaire for your child. If you have more than one child being reviewed, then a separate questionnaire is required for each child.



Please bring your Medicare care card, blue book, previous medical letters, school counsellor and allied health reports. Preferably reports can also be emailed to us prior to the appointment.



Initial appointments are usually for 60 minutes and follow ups are for 30 minutes. There are no blood tests performed in the rooms and no needles. We strive to accommodate all family circumstances. Please refer to our Separated Parent Policy if appropriate. Please be aware that we have a Cancellation Policy and that if an appointment is cancelled within 24 hours of the allocated time, or if you fail to attend your appointment, a 50% cancellation fee will be applicable.



Our focus is on the medical, psychological, and emotional requirements of the children that we see. Amongst the children who use our services, many come from separated families. Conflict and communication breakdown within families can limit collaboration with health care providers and impact optimal treatment outcomes for the child. It is our expectation that separated parents work together respectfully and cooperatively, regarding the care of their child.


Please refer to our Separated Parent Policy for more information.



The fee for an initial consult with a paediatrician is $510 and subsequent consults are $270. Please contact us for information on fees to see our allied health practitioners. The rebate Medicare gives for consults is variable. The rebate is usually around half the price of the consultation fee for the first three appointments in a twelve-month period. For any further consults in this period the rebate does reduce unless your family has met the Medicare safety net.



Payment for consultation is required on the day. A Medicare rebate for the consultation fee can only be provided if we have a valid referral. The whole fee must be paid and then Medicare will issue you with the rebate which will usually enter your nominated bank account the following business day. Medicare does not allow us just to charge the gap.


Please be aware that we have a Cancellation Policy and that if an appointment is cancelled within 24 hours of the allocated time, or if you fail to attend your appointment, a 50% cancellation fee will be applicable.


Please refer to our Payment Policy for more information.



If you have any previous reports these can be faxed or emailed to us in pdf format. If you have questions regarding your child’s treatment, we ask you to call us so that an appointment can be made rather than send an email.



Often children require forms to be completed for other parties such as Centrelink or the NDIS. These are to be completed during a consultation. You will need to print the forms yourself and complete all relevant sections prior to the appointment.


Please refer to our Form Completion Policy for more information.



Following up results is an important part of health care. Your GP will be copied into any investigations ordered. Whilst we will notify you of abnormal results, to follow up test results we advise that you either book in an appointment with us or review them with your GP.



If you or your child are unwell and cannot attend an initial appointment, it will need to be rescheduled at the next available time which will be within the next twelve weeks.


Please be aware that we have a Cancellation Policy and that if an appointment is cancelled within 24 hours of the allocated time, or if you fail to attend your appointment, a 50% cancellation fee will be applicable.


If you or your child are unwell and cannot attend a follow up appointment, please let us know in advance and a telehealth appointment can be arranged. A subsequent face-to-face appointment will also be organised within four weeks. Scripts can be issued during the telehealth consultation to last until that face-to-face appointment.


Please note that if you are unable to attend subsequent face-to-face visits, you may be requested to pay the consultation fee in advance of any further consultations.


Please refer to our No-show, Late, and Cancellation Policy and our Prescriptions Policy for more information.



Scripts are usually issued with enough repeats to last until your next appointment. Scripts for medications such as stimulants are authority scripts, and the repeats will be held by your pharmacy. This means that you need to give the script to the pharmacy you intend to continue to go to for the rest of the repeats. Authority scripts are only valid for 6 months. Pharmacies will not issue medication on a script, even if there are repeats left, if more than 6 months have passed since the date of issue.


Scripts are not usually issued without an appointment. If you cannot attend or miss an appointment, have rescheduled, but will run out of medication before this time, then a single script without any repeats can be issued to tie over until the next appointment. This may attract a script fee of $40.


If you lose an authority script before giving it to your pharmacy, you will need to give us a statutory declaration stating that you have lost the script, prior to any further scripts being issued. This will attract a script fee of $40.


If you feel that a medication dose needs to be altered, this needs to be discussed in an appointment. You will need to call us and schedule either a face-to-face or telephone consult to discuss the dose alteration prior to any new scripts being issued.


Please refer to our Prescriptions Policy for more information.



If it is necessary to cancel an appointment, please call at least 24 hours before the appointment time to allow someone else to take that appointment slot. If you do not turn up to your initial appointment, or cancel within 24 hours, you can rebook, but please note that in this case, the appointment offered may be in up to 12 months’ time. In the event a patient has incurred three documented “no-shows” and/or “same-day cancellations,” the patient may be subject to dismissal from our care.


Please be aware that we have a Cancellation Policy and that if an appointment is cancelled within 24 hours of the allocated time, or if you fail to attend your appointment, a 50% cancellation fee will be applicable.



We welcome and encourage you to provide feedback on your experience with us or to disclose a complaint. All feedback and complaints are taken seriously and are handled in a confidential and professional manner. We request that any written complaints are addressed to our directors Miss Clarie Carrier and Dr Robert Parry. They can be sent by mail or email. We will respond as per our Complaints Policy.