Waiting list \ Referrals policy

 

  1. Clients will only be accepted for consultation, or placed on to the waiting list if the services we provide would appear to be suitable for their needs,
  2. Clients are allocated to the next most available and suitable psychologist. Based on information provided at referral, the client will be allocated to a psychologist who has appropriate qualifications, experience or specialisation for the needs of the client,
  3. Where a client’s needs are determined to be urgent, priority may be given for allocation to, and an appointment for a psychologist over other clients on the waiting list,
  4. A client in emergency crisis or at risk to themselves should attend the Emergency Department of their local general hospital or consult their general medical practitioner. While we attempt to respond quickly to the urgent needs of our clients, Neo Psychology does not offer emergency support or crisis counselling,
  5. If it is likely that a referral or appointment request is likely to take more than a clinically appropriate amount of time, or is expected to be greater than 4 weeks (whichever is the lesser), the client will be contacted to determine the urgency of the referral, and alternative services or psychologists will be recommended if appropriate. The client will continue to be retained on the waiting list in case an appointment becomes available before any alternative,
  6. The initial assessment consultation(s) with a client are usually used to determine the precise needs at the time. Following an initial assessment, it may be necessary to refer the client on to another more suitable service, or for adjunct assessment, counselling, treatment or case-management from another professional or service,
  7. While referrals are accepted and appointments offered on the basis that weekly sessions can be offered in the future, it may not be possible for weekly sessions to always be available where other client’s may unexpectedly need more frequent sessions,
  8. If a client has been listed for more than 4 weeks on the waiting list and has not responded to our attempts to contact them or has not followed through with appointment times offered, they may be removed from the waiting list and will need to re-register on-line to be returned to the waiting list.