Open Skies Psychiatry - About My Appointment

What can we expect?

You may be asked for some basic information over the phone by the clinic before attending and you will be requested to complete some details on two forms, which you can download from here, Why We're Seeking A Referral and Details Form. This information will help to supplement the information provided by your referring doctor. Before an appointment can be booked, Dr Parkin will need to review these forms and the referral letter from your doctor, together with a signed consent for assessment and treatment, and acceptance of conditions.

Please allow time for parking and arrive at the clinic 15 minutes prior to the appointment time. This will give time for the reception staff to check details with you. The first appointment is usually booked for 1½-1¾ hours. Follow-up appointments may be scheduled for shorter periods.

You will be encouraged to describe the current issues during the first appointment and details about topics such as your family, school, and medical history.

Children/adolescents and parents/carers will also have opportunity to meet individually at some point.

A comprehensive psychiatric assessment in childhood and adolescence may take more than one appointment.

Clinics are held on Tuesdays 9am-5pm, Wednesdays 11am-7pm (and monthly 9am-5pm), and Fridays 9am-5pm.
Who should attend?

Any and all members of a family are encouraged to attend in recognition of the importance of families to children and adolescents’ development and wellbeing. If parents are not both living with the child, then both parents / carers are still encouraged to attend. As a minimum, at least one parent or carer should attend with the child or adolescent.

You are also very welcome to invite someone else along (like a member of your extended family, a friend or teacher) if you think that would be helpful.
What should I bring?
Please bring:
- a Medicare card that includes the referred person’s name
- any reports or letters from other practitioners, such as psychologists, paediatricians, psychotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, and school counsellors
- recent and old school reports of the referred person
Cancelling Appointments

Please phone Southside Health & Wellbeing on 9579 2480 to cancel an appointment. Appointments cancelled at less than one working days’ notice may be charged a cancelation fee. Cancelation and non-attendance fees are detailed on the fee structure that will be sent to you by the clinic before the first appointment is booked.
How often would we need appointments?

We would normally have opportunity at the first appointment to discuss whether follow-up appointments are needed and, if so, how frequent they should be. This varies and depends on an individual’s and family’s particular circumstances and needs.
Informed Consent

You will be informed about each aspect of assessment and treatment before being asked to consent to it. This means, for example, that you will be asked whether other people who know you well (such as school teachers) can be contacted. Treatment options will be discussed with you in an appointment.
Confidentiality and Privacy

Confidentiality and its limits will be explained at the beginning of the appointment: information about you and your family will be kept confidential and can be shared with other professionals or other family members if a person who is legally able to consent to this provides consent. This may be you or a legal guardian, such as a parent or other person who holds parental responsibility. Consent is usually requested in writing and will be discussed with you / your parents beforehand.

An important exception to confidentiality is if there is a safety issue, such as risk to you or others. We would then normally discuss this at the time to keep things safe. Another exception is that if there are legal issues at any point in the future, then a Court can subpoena the file or subpoena Dr Parkin as a witness. This means that the Court can require Dr Parkin to provide the clinical file and/or attend Court to provide evidence.

All information kept about you electronically and on paper will be held securely at the clinic from where I practice, locked or under keyword protection on locked premises. A letter summarising the assessment and planned treatment is routinely sent to the referring doctor, which complies with Medicare regulations and good practice, and may be copied to parents / carers and health professionals invovled.

Disclosure, copying, and distribution of this information will not be made without your prior consent, unless required by law. Privacy and confidentiality between family members is also respected.

Your rights are protected under the Australian Privacy Act 1988, the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, and the NSW Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002.
Emergency services and out-of-hours contacts are not provided

An emergency and out-of-hours service is not provided. Depending on the degree of urgency, you should contact your general practitioner, phone the 24-hour NSW Mental Health Access Line on 1800 011 511, visit your local hospital Emergency Department, or phone 000 in an emergency.