COVID-19 CLIENT UPDATE #6 05.08.2020
WPS COVID 19 UPDATE – Telehealth Only services from 2nd August 2020 Unless by Prior Agreement
WPS continue to follow the advice of health authorities and aim to provide ongoing services to clients.
Due to the rapidly increasing COVID 19 cases in the Melton area and Melbourne Metro areas , WPS Management has decided as of Thursday 23rd July 2020 , WPS will OFFER TELEHEALTH (Video or Phone) services for the next 6 weeks), through the COVID 19 Stage 4 period.
We will review this policy again after this time.
This carefully considered, reluctant action is aimed to reduce the risk of illness within our team, the risk of potential spread of the virus to our client community and to allow us to continue to provide “uninterrupted” services now and into the future to many.
If you believe this restriction will adversely affect your counselling care, please reply to this email to allow us to respond to individual clients on a case by case basis.
Some things to be mindful of regarding you/your child’s upcoming appointment related to these restriction’s.
o Many of our psychologists may now be continuing counselling services remotely/offsite.
o Our reception service is closed for seeing clients face to face and some of our team (for health and family reasons) may also be working offsite.
o Due to increased phone counselling our telephone lines may be occupied, therefore alternate ways to have your reception enquiries responded to include;
- leave a message for a call back (this may be from a “Private number”)
- reply to an SMS with your enquiry or request a call back (these record directly to your client file)
- email reception@wpsychology.com and we will attempt to respond ASAP.
In line with the Victorian Government guidelines, if you are attending an appointment in person at WPS, We ask that you please wear a face covering. WPS have disposable masks and face shields available should you require one. Wearing a face covering provides an additional physical barrier and helps to reduce community transmission.
Additional Medicare sessions
The Australian Government is providing 10 additional Medicare-subsidised psychological therapy sessions for Australians affected by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
People will have to have a Mental Health Treatment Plan and a review with their GP to access the additional sessions. This will allow them to continue to receive mental health care from their psychologist, psychiatrist, GP or other eligible allied health worker.
The additional sessions are for people who have already used their 10 sessions through their Mental Health Treatment Plan, and who are:
· subject to public health orders restricting their movement within a state or territory issued at any time from 1 July 2020 to 31 March 2021
· required to isolate or quarantine under public health orders
This measure will commence on Friday 7 August and will be available until 31 March 2021.
Payments
Our fees will remain the same during this period and we appreciate prompt payment on the day of your consultation.
You can contact reception in the above-mentioned ways however please also anticipate a phone call by our reception staff to discuss booking of future appointments and to make payment for your session over the phone. Where phone payments are not possible, we request a direct transfer (including your invoice number) into the bank details listed below.
NAB:
Name- Western Psychological Services
BSB 083 437
Acc. 607024981.
Should you be experiencing financial difficulties during this time, please contact Reception or your Psychologist to discuss further.
We welcome feedback on how our services are adapting to these new arrangements. This will allow us to continue to improve our processes where possible to better meet our community’s needs.
Thank you for your ongoing understanding and patience during these incredibly challenging times for all.
Kind Regards,
Dr Angelo Pagano and the WPS Team
Western Psychological Services 2 Exford Rd. Melton South, 3338 PO Box 2233 Melton South, VIC 3338 Phone: 61 3 9746.8088 Fax: 61 3 9746.8188 Email: reception@wpsychology.com