Appointments

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR APPOINTMENTS

On this page you will find information about your appointments with Dr Askew and the team as well as troubleshooting guides for any telehealth (video) appointments with Dr Askew, our team dietitians and our team psychologist.

If you cannot find what you are looking for, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Address

Sunshine Coast

Suite 7, Ground Floor
3 Doherty Street, Birtinya, Queensland

Bundaberg

The Friendlies Medical Suites
Level One,
70-72 Crofton Street, Bundaberg, Queensland

Caboolture

Caboolture Private Hospital
Ground floor, Consulting Suite
McKean Street, Caboolture QLD 4510

Hervery Bay

Ramsay Consulting Suites
Madsen Medical Centre Complex
Ground floor,
Unit 6, 1/17 Hershel Ct, Urraween QLD 4655

Coviu | Videolink

Do I need to create a Coviu account or download an app?

No, As a patient, you do not need to sign up to a Coviu account. Using our account, we will sent you the link to phone prior to your consultation. Please click on the link five (5) minutes before your scheduled appointment.

You will be asked to enter your name and a picture (taken with your camera) so we can identify you in the online waiting room.
Our team runs videolink appointments concurrently. To ensure that we invite the correct guest into the correct virtual consultation room, please use the Firstname and Surname held on your patient file.

It happens! The day we had three Melissa’s waiting at the same time was only bested by the day we had four Rebecca’s and one Bec waiting at the same time!
The link to our online waiting room, should you not receive it is: Waiting area

How can I prepare for my Coviu | Videolink appointment?

We strongly encourage logging on at least five (5) minutes before your scheduled appointment to ensure your device connects with the Coviu Software.

Below are the steps you can take before your consultation to ensure it will run smoothly.

Please ensure that you are seated in a quiet space where you can talk freely, without interruption, BEFORE your appointment starts.
- You cannot operate a vehicle or machinery at any stage of your appointment. Your appointment will be terminated and deducted from your care package if it is deemed that you are in a public or unsafe environment.
- Being able to speak freely is important! Our team dietitians will ask questions that are personal in nature. Yes, they will even ask questions about your bowel motions as this is an important part of your health following any bariatric surgery.
- Please respect our team and conduct your call in a quiet space. Distractions detract from your appointment.
Do you have any questions for our team?
Questions outside of your consultation can be addressed by scheduling a subsequent appointment, however, this may fall outside of your scheduled bariatric care package sessions.Questions outside of your consultation can be addressed by scheduling a subsequent appointment, however, this may fall outside of your scheduled bariatric care package sessions and incur private billing fees.

How do I join my Coviu | Videolink appointment?

The link to our online waiting room is: Waiting area

Please follow the prompts to allow the use of both your camera and microphone.

When prompted ‘Do you see yourself’ select the ‘YES’ option. Do not select ‘Continue without a camera’
When prompted ‘Do you hear this sound?’ select the ‘YES’ option. Do not select ‘Continue without a speaker’
When prompted ’Try speaking, is your microphone working?’ select the ‘YES’ option. Do not select ‘Continue without a microphone’
Please type your name when prompted.
This ensures that our team can identify you in the waiting room as other people may be waiting for their appointments with other team members at the same time.
Informed Consent page. Please review this and select ‘Continue’
You will now be entered into the waiting room and our team will be notified of your arrival.

Our team do our upmost to ensure that we attend your appointment in a timely manner. Due to unforeseen circumstances you may experience a wait time of 5-15 minutes. This is unusual but similar to a real-life waiting room, on occasion delays may occur. We thank you for your patience as you continue to wait for us to join you.

Please do not contact our reception team unless you have been waiting in excess of 20 minutes.

Please note that our receptionist team is not always available during scheduled dietitian sessions.

I have connected to Coviu but your team cannot hear me and see me, or, I cannot hear your team!

We strongly encourage logging on at least five (5) minutes before your scheduled appointment to ensure your connection.

Below are some troubleshooting tips should you run into any problems with our team not being able to hear or see you.

Disconnect and start the login process again. Pay close attention to the options that you choose.
The link to the online waiting room is: Waiting area

Please follow the prompts and allow use of both your camera and microphone.

When prompted ‘Do you see yourself’ select the ‘YES’ option. Do not select ‘Continue without a camera’
When prompted ‘Do you hear this sound?’ select the ‘YES’ option. Do not select ‘Continue without a speaker’
When prompted ’Try speaking, is your microphone working?’ select the ‘YES’ option. Do not select ‘Continue without a microphone’
Please type your name when prompted. This ensures that our team can identify you in the waiting room as other people may be waiting for their appointments with other team members at the same time.
Informed Consent page. Please review this and select ‘Continue’
You will now be entered into the waiting room and our team will be notified of your arrival.

I am having trouble connecting to Coviu! The link provided is not working!

Please check the link again: Waiting area

We strongly encourage logging on at least five (5) minutes before your scheduled appointment to ensure your connection. Below are some troubleshooting tips should you run into any problems connecting.

Are you connected to the internet?
- You will need to be connected to the internet for the duration of your telehealth consultation. A connection to your home WiFi is great. If you are using your mobile you will need a strong 4G, or preferably a 5G connection. We don’t recommend anything less than a strong 4G connection if connecting from a mobile device.
Close all other apps, programs, or streaming services you are running
- Streaming services, such as Netflix, Disney, etc., or online gaming, may slow down your internet speed and affect the quality of your connection. We recommend ensuring those services are not used over the same internet connection for the duration of your consultation.
Check your device or computer
- Most laptops built from 2010 or later will have a built-in camera, speaker, and microphone. If your laptop is from 2010 or earlier, you may need to investigate your hardware. To test if your device is Coviu-ready, simply perform a Pre-call Test by Run a pre-call test.
Check your web browser
- For iPhone and iPad devices, we recommend using Apple Safari. We have found that Mozilla’s Firefox also works, but will restrict screen-sharing abilities.
- For Android devices, we recommend using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. We have found that Mozilla’s Firefox also works, but will restrict screen-sharing abilities.
- For laptop devices, we recommend using Google Chrome or Apple Safari. We have found that Mozilla’s Firefox also works, but will restrict screen-sharing abilities.
Run a speed test to test your internet connectivity
- Lastly, you can run a speed test to check your internet connectivity. You will need a minimum of 350 kbps (kilobits per second for both upload and download to hold a call on Coviu. The speed test will tell you where your bandwidth is sitting. Please click here to run the speed test.
Our team may try and contact you from an unknown or private number if we cannot connect or maintain a strong videolink.
Please answer any calls from unknown or private numbers if you have an appointment with us and you have NOT been able to make an audio/visual connection with us.
- This phone call may be to either continue your consultation by telephone or to schedule another appointment with you.
- Please note that if an appointment is required to be rescheduled because of poor connectivity to make up the appointment, the ‘make up’ appointment is not a part of your standard bariatric care package.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you have adequate connectivity ahead of your videolink appointment.

I am in the waiting room and still waiting!

Our team do our upmost to ensure that we attend your appointment in a timely manner. We value you and your time. Due to unforeseen circumstances you may experience a wait time of 5-15 minutes. This is unusual but similar to a real-life waiting room, on occasion delays may occur. We thank you for your patience as you continue to wait for us to join you. Please do not contact our reception team unless you have been waiting in excess of 20 minutes.

Please note that our receptionist team is not always available during scheduled dietitian sessions.

I want to reschedule my in-person appointment to a videolink appointment for the same date and time.

In-person appointments cannot always be rescheduled for the same time to a videolink (Telehealth).

Due to a number of reasons, including IT requirements and our hybrid and flexible workplace, our team has seperate videolink and in-person timeslots. These are not easily interchangeable.
Our team have a waiting list for in-person appointments and should you wish to change your appointment to videolink, this will be scheduled for you on one of the nominated videolink clinic days. Any changes to your appointment within three (3) business days may result in them being deducted from your bariatric care package.
Our team holds videolink appointments from locations where we can establish and maintain a strong internet connection. This ensures that we can meet the technical requirements to conduct your videolink appointment via Coviu.
Our satellite clinic locations are often unable to meet the technical requirements for Coviu and any request to change these appointments to Videolink many result in your appointment being rescheduled to another date.

In-Person

Do I need a referral to see Dr James Askew?

Appointments for an initial consultation can be made without a referral, however these will not attract a Medicare rebate and cannot be bulk-billed.

Should you wish to undergo surgery, you will require to maintain a current referral on file. While we offer a comprehensive team care approach, having a general practitioner, nurse practitioner or other specialist/s involved in your care is important for your long-term support and success.

I need to reschedule my appointment!

We understand that things change.

Please contact us at your earliest convenience to reschedule any appointments.

We are unable to reschedule appointments by email. Please contact our team on (07) 5408 8721 to reschedule your appointment.

Some of your appointments may be timed to assess your readiness to graduate through various stages of the pre-operative and post-operative diets. If you reschedule these appointments, you may delay your progress through the post-operative stages.
If a pre-operative appointment needs rescheduling, please be aware that we may need to reschedule your surgery date to allow for sufficient time your pre-operative diet to be undertaken or for any consent documents to be signed.

I need to cancel my appointment!

We appreciate that you may need to cancel your appointment. Please let us know at your earliest convenience if you would like to cancel or postpone your appointment with James, our dietitians or psychologist.

I need to reschedule my appointment from in person to Telehealth!

Please let us know at your earliest convenience if you would like to change your appointment with James, our dietitians or psychologist to videolink (Telehealth).
Due to a number of reasons, including IT requirements and our hybrid and flexible workplace, our team has seperate videolink and in-person appointments. These are not easily interchangeable.
Our team have a waiting list for in-person appointments and should you wish to change your appointment to videolink, this will be scheduled for you on one of the nominated videolink clinic days. Any changes to your appointment within three (3) business days may result in them being deducted from your bariatric care package.
There are requirements set by Medicare Australia that must be met to conduct an appointment by Telehealth and our team will check that these have been met to schedule a Telehealth (videolink) appointment for you.

Booking Online with Hotdoc

We are excited that soon, some appointments will be available to book on HotDoc.

Not all available appointments times will be available to book via the online HotDoc platform.
We will be offering a few appointments online however, the majority of available appointments will be available for scheduling directly with our team.

Should you wish to discuss other appointment times than those listed online, please contact us on 07 5408 8721.

We will be filling this box with more information about HotDoc bookings soon!

REFERRALS

Do I need a referral? Why do I need another referral if I have already had surgery?

We will be filling this box with helpful information about referrals soon!

Referrals are useful and enable you to obtain Medicare rebates and to bulk-bill your post-operative appointments with Dr Askew for the three years following your bariatric surgery.

They also allow for us to keep up-to-date with your current GP and ensure that they are included in your care with ongoing correspondence.