We want to extend a very warm and appreciative thank you to our amazing clients and team for the flexibility and patience you have shown throughout the many changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic so far.

In order to continue keeping our clients, our team and the broader community safe, we will be making some changes to how we do things and we thank you in advance for your understanding as we all navigate this new path to living with Covid.

If attendance in person at the practice is possible during COVID, there are a number of changes that you will need to be aware of and agree to as all parties are required to take relevant precautions. We understand these extra measures may be inconvenient, however, we are focusing on managing the risk of exposure and a duty of care to protect individual and public health risk.

Here are some of the things we are doing to make the practice safer for our clients and our team:

1. We will operate under a COVID Safe plan.
2. All our on-site psychologists and administrative staff are fully vaccinated and will receive further vaccinations as required.
3. Telehealth remains our preferred option, however we look forward to welcoming clients into the practice for their appointments.
4. Our team will not attend the practice if experiencing any symptoms and we ask clients not to attend the practice if experiencing symptoms.
5. Anyone attending the practice (including children) must wear a mask at all times. We have adult and child surgical masks available.
6. We provide a hand-washing station, hand sanitiser, and a mask (for those who do not have one).
7. We are using HEPA filters throughout the practice.
8. We will be required to notify local health authorities or government bodies of any case of infection at our practice. We will only provide the minimum necessary information in line with QR code check-in data to the relevant authorities.

In order to attend an appointment in person during the COVID situation, you will need to agree to the following:

1. I understand that I will be attending a shared office environment and by attending an appointment in person, I am assuming a risk for potential exposure to COVID-19.
2. Wear a mask at all times while at the practice (this includes anyone attending the practice with you, including children).
3. I understand I will need to attend appointments by telehealth for the time-being if I am not fully vaccinated.
4. Not to attend the practice if experiencing symptoms similar to COVID-19. For most people who are vaccinated, a COVID-19 infection may only produce mild symptoms and so we require you to not attend even for mild symptoms. We can move your appointment to telehealth or reschedule if this occurs.
5. I understand I may not be able to continue my face-to-face appointment if I attend with symptoms, or if my psychologist, myself, or an accompanying person become unwell during my time at the practice.
6. I must not attend the practice if I have been in contact with a known or suspected COVID-19 case, am awaiting results of a COVID-19 test, or I am required to isolate or quarantine.
7. I will notify the staff (reception and/or psychologist) immediately if I am advised I have tested positive for COVID-19.
8. I will maintain a 1.5 metre distance from all other people while at the practice (except for anyone within my household).
9. I will follow good hand hygiene processes and will use the hand-washing station and hand sanitiser when needed.
10. I will use contactless payment methods wherever possible at the practice.
11. I will not bring anyone into the practice that is not required for the appointment or who is not fully vaccinated. For example, siblings, partners or children who are not directly involved.
12. I will complete forms online prior to attending the appointment in order to minimise the amount of time I need to spend in the waiting room.
13. If I arrive early, I may be asked to wait outside until my appointment time.
14. If there is an infection at Benchmark Psychology, I understand and agree that only the required administrative information regarding my attendance may be released to the relevant authorities where necessary.

Where appropriate, or required, a psychological service will be provided by telephone or video-conference. Telehealth services may or may not attract Medicare or private health fund rebates and will depend on the decisions made by your health fund and/or Medicare.

Limitations of telehealth

1. 1. • A telehealth consultation may be subject to limitations such as an unstable network connection which may affect the quality of the psychology session. If the connection is too poor to continue, you and your psychologist can decide to move to telephone or to reschedule the appointment.
      • The privacy of any form of communication via the internet is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology used. To support the security of your personal information, this practice uses Coviu which is compliant with the Australian standards for online security and encryption.
      • Your psychologist will ensure they use a private and confidential physical space to deliver your telehealth service, however, it is your responsibility to ensure you have privacy and confidentiality at your end. We encourage you to consider where you conduct your telehealth session and how you will ensure your privacy, confidentiality and the chance of interruptions during the appointment.
      • There may be some psychological services for which telehealth is not appropriate or effective. Your psychologist will consider and discuss with you the suitability of ongoing telehealth sessions.

If you have any concerns about how this may impact you please discuss with your psychologist and feel free to contact our reception team if you have any questions.

info@benchmarkpsychology.com.au