A Paediatrician is usually involved in your childbirth care at Darwin Private Hospital (DPH) – either to attend the birth (for example at Caesarean Section or if there is some concern about the potential well-being of the newborn baby) or to perform a full examination of the baby in the days after birth to check for any problems. A Paediatrician would also become involved if a baby developed some problem after birth.
The Paediatrician will also then offer to see the mother and baby for follow-up, usually at about six weeks of age (or before if necessary).
Darwin Private Hospital (DPH) has a roster of on-call duty for Consultant (Specialist) Paediatricians, so that these services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Please note that the Paediatrician will charge a fee for these services, including some out-of-pocket amount; Dr O’Callaghan has no control over these Paediatric fees. The Paediatrician involved will send a separate invoice for these fees directly to the patient.
The DPH Paediatricians have informed us that at present (June 2019) their fees are as follows:
Initial consultation (Medicare item number 110):
Attendance at birth (vaginal birth or Caesarean Section) during normal business hours – $340.00
Attendance at birth (vaginal birth or Caesarean Section) after hours – $440.00
Consultation after birth (newborn baby examination) – $270.00
Subsequent consultation (Medicare item number 116):
Reviews in hospital requiring examination, treatment and advice – $160.00
Daily visits in Special Care Nursery – Scheduled fee only (no gap)
You should be able to claim a rebate for a part of these fees from Medicare and/or your Private Health Fund.
Information about the Paediatric Private Practices taking part in the DPH roster:
Darwin Paediatrics (within Darwin Private Hospital)
Darwin Children’s Clinic (nearby in Henbury Avenue, Tiwi, N.T., 0810)