Community health services are designed to provide a comprehensive approach to social healthcare. This means you can find a huge range of services including alcohol and drug services, child and youth services, counselling, dental care, family violence, physical health and more.
But to find the right provider it is imperative that you ask some important questions before joining. They are simply a formality to ensure that you choose a centre that has your health and wellbeing close at heart.
Be sure to ask your prospective community healthcare provider the following questions:
- Do you provide the service I need?
The best community health centres Mentone has will offer a comprehensive healthcare service. This will include the following services:
- Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Services
- Wellbeing Groups
- Child, Youth & Family Services
- Counselling & Mental Health
- Dental
- Family Violence
- GP Clinic
- Indigenous Services
- NDIS Disability Services
- Physical Wellbeing
- Urgent & Priority Primary Care
It’s important to note that many organisations don’t provide a comprehensive list of services. Therefore, the most imperative question you must ask is, “do you provide the service I need?”
- How much experience do you have treating my specific needs?
You want to choose a healthcare provider that will have plenty of experience with your particular treatment. There are many healthcare providers out there that offer a particular service but aren’t actually experienced in it. This can be very upsetting for patients who want to receive a comprehensive service but the provider falls short. It often leads to setbacks like the patient having to find a new provider all over again.
This is why it’s important to ask about the provider’s experience levels offering your particular requirement. They should have plenty of experience in treating your needs. The best social healthcare provider in Mentone will have experienced practitioners who can accommodate your requirements and create a plan that is perfect and specific to you.
- Can I have an initial consultation?
A quality social healthcare provider should be more than happy to provide you with an initial consultation. After all, they are imperative to the medical practitioner/counsellor etc. understanding your needs and what kind of plan can be devised to accommodate them. The most comprehensive service will provide a host of services and each one of them is unique. With this in mind, it’s important for new patients to be able to discuss their hopes and objectives for receiving treatment at the facility.
- Can I visit other locations?
Your prospective social healthcare provider may have multiple locations. This means that they should be able to accommodate you should you need to have an appointment at one of their other locations. For people who lead busy lives this can be very important. For example, you may live in Mentone but work in the Prahran area.
Whilst it may be convenient for you to visit the Mentone location when you have a day off it may be nearly impossible if you need an appointment on your lunch break! Therefore, it will be beneficial for you to be able to visit the Prahran facility if you are unable to make it to the Mentone location.
- When can I make an appointment?
Now that you know that the social healthcare provider can accommodate your needs and has the required experience you can ask when is the best time to make an appointment!
