Policies & Procedures

Appointment and Cancellation Policy

Our goal is to provide high quality Speech Pathology services. In order to do so, Lindfield Speech Pathology has a cancellation policy in place. The policy enables us to better utilise available appointments for our clients.

This cancellation policy reflects the time that the speech therapist sets aside for your appointment.

Appointments

You will receive an email confirmation for an initial appointment which will include links to a questionnaire and our policies. Please complete these forms prior to your appointment. You will receive a text confirmation 2 days prior to each session. We require that you confirm appointments in response to our reminders in a timely manner.

Regular clients are prioritised to keep the same weekly appointment timeslot, on a term by term basis. Once this time is scheduled you commit to attendance for the term.

Cancellations

Consistency of attendance is essential to the success of your child’s therapy. When your child commences regular therapy with Lindfield Speech Pathology you commit to attending weekly sessions, on a term basis.

If it is necessary to cancel your scheduled appointment we require that you provide at least 48 hours notice. One cancellation is permitted per term. Any additional cancellations within the same term will be charged at full fee, regardless of illness, misadventure or planned absence due to school excursions or clashes.

Fail to attend: if you do not attend your appointment, and do not let the clinic know you will not be coming, the full session rate will be charged.

Consistent attendance: If you cancel more than 1 session in a term any subsequent cancellations will be charged at the full session fee to hold your place for the rest of the term.

Last minute cancellations can occur for many reasons and we understand that these instances are more often than not unavoidable. We do our best to be understanding and try to give our clients as many options to make use of the time set aside for their appointment as possible.

An option we offer clients when they cannot attend their appointment is to have a Zoom session instead. Alternatively the therapist can conduct some indirect therapy in your scheduled appointment time, the purpose of these tasks would be to continue to work towards the current treatment goals. This may include emailing homework for when your child is feeling better, creating visuals, developing social stories, contacting team members (e.g. GP, OT, teacher), providing at home activities/resources, etc.

​Regular attendance at therapy sessions ensures that we can continue to support our clients to work towards their goals. Repeated cancellations, regardless of the reason, reduces our ability to achieve treatment outcomes.

When a client demonstrates a pattern of poor attendance or poor follow-through of recommendations, we reserve the right to offer that appointment to someone else on our waitlist who may be better placed at that time to receive our help.

How to cancel your appointment

To cancel your appointment, simply contact us using any of the below methods:

Client Information Collection Policy

Lindfield Speech Pathology & Learning Centre (LSP) needs to collect information about you/your child to provide a quality service to you/your child to thoroughly assess, diagnose and provide therapy, This information will also be used for:

  • Billing, either directly or through an insurer or compensation agency;
  • Use within the practice if passing your case to another speech pathologist within the practice for your/your child’s ongoing management.

Please note LSP will not share information with your child’s doctors, other health professionals or teachers without your consent.

Information at LSP is stored securely using the cloud-based private practice management software, Power Diary (ISO 27001 certified), and only practice staff have access to it.

Complaints, Compliments and Suggestions

If you have a complaint, compliment or suggestion about any aspect of our services we are keen to hear from you.

Our commitment to you

We will deal with your issue thoroughly and fairly.
We have a clear process for resolving problems and suggest you contact us as early as possible.

We value your feedback

We are constantly improving the way we work, so let us know if you have any suggestions.
We’d also like to know if you think we’re doing something well. It helps us to make sure we continue to do our best work. We’ll make sure your message is passed on.

Our process

We encourage you to contact us to talk about your concerns, as most problems can be solved by talking to the office staff, your speech pathologist or the clinic director. They know your circumstances and are best placed to help you. Also, it’s best if you let them know about your concerns as early as possible.

What can a complaint be about?

  • any aspect of the services we provide
  • the behaviour or decisions of staff
  • practices, policies or procedures

How to make a complaint

It is best to discuss your concerns with your speech pathologist first. Make an appropriate time to meet with them in person or over the phone.

If you are not happy with the result, or if you do not feel it is appropriate to talk to them, phone and make an appointment to discuss your concerns with the practice manager or clinic director.

If your complaint cannot be resolved in an informal way, we may ask you to put it in writing. It is important that you include specific details of the situation and tell us what you would like to happen.

Will my complaint be confidential?

The person dealing with your complaint will advise you if confidentiality applies to your case, but generally it can’t be guaranteed. If your complaint is about another person they have a right to know the allegations and be given a chance to respond.

Can I make an anonymous complaint?

Yes, you can make your complaint anonymously. However, it may be difficult to resolve an anonymous complaint if you do not provide your contact details and if further information is required.

What you can expect

How your complaint is managed depends on what it is about. Most complaints can be resolved quickly and informally to everybody’s satisfaction simply by talking to the speech therapist concerned or the clinic director.