Frequently asked questions
How do I make an appointment?
We prefer that you phone the office to make your appointment. My receptionist is available from 08:00 on weekdays to take your call. You are also welcome to e-mail the office for an appointment, but often it is easier to phone as the appointment that we offer you might not suit you and to prevent unnecessary to and fro e-mails, a call to the office is preferred. Just like you, we would love to offer electronic booking, but due to the unpredictable nature of our work day and time needed to be blocked on short notice for theatre cases or emergencies, it is often difficult to make this work with an electronic system.
What does a consultation cost?
The standard consultation price for 2025 for a 30-minute appointment is R1191.90. The consultation fee must be paid in the office after the consultation.
It is important to note that this amount might vary slightly depending on the medical aid you belong to and whether I am contracted with that particular medical aid. For more information on which medical aids with which I have a contract, please see the the relevant FAQ item relating to medical aids.
Do you work with the medical aids?
Yes, I am contracted in with the following medicals aids: Discovery Health, Momentum, GEMS, Polmed and Bankmed. However, this applies to a hospital admission in particular and means that I can only charge you according to the rate agreement between me and your medical aid. There will therefore not be any co-payment. In my office, I will also only charge you the rate as agreed upon with your medical aid, but we ask that you pay directly after your consultation.
We will provide you with a statement which confirms that you have already paid, and then you are free to submit this to your medical aid who may then reimburse you with the full amount depending on your individual benefits with your medical aid.
Patients on Discovery Health should know that you have TWO visits which can be paid from your Maternity Benefit in the first two years of life. This can be at either a GP, a paediatrician or an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. For further information, please go to this link on the Discovery Health website.
Can you send me an invoice?
After the consultation my receptionist will e-mail you a statement that can be submitted to your medical aid for reimbursement. Patients sometimes ask for an invoice to send to their medical aid. Please note that an invoice does not indicate whether payment was received, therefore it cannot be used for submission to your medical aid. That is why you receive a statement, as opposed to an invoice, from the practice as proof that you have already paid. This ensures that you will be reimbursed (depending on your benefits), otherwise the medical aid will pay me again.
What should I bring when my child comes for an appointment?
It might sound obvious, but yes, your child needs to come with for the appointment. Especially for routine check-ups and first-time patients it is also crucial that you bring your child’s Road to Health booklet. Almost all the information that I will need regarding your child’s previous history is documented (hopefully!) in that booklet.
Is it really necessary to come for a routine check-up?
Even though there is now law that makes a routine visit mandatory, a routine health-check is often the basis on which illnesses or various conditions can be picked up before it becomes a problem. Too often, a problem is identified almost too late and could have been treated earlier, if the child was seen for their routine check-ups.
Paediatricians differ regarding when they will see their patients. I prefer to see my patient at the following ages for a routine visit: 6 weeks, 6 months, 12 months and 2 years.
Should I come to you or should I take my child to our GP?
This is absolutely up to you. In an ideal world, healthcare is supposed to start at primary care (your clinic sister or GP) before specialist care (with your paediatrician) is offered. However, just as I have certain areas of medicine that interests me more than others, your GP might not necessarily prefer to work with children and might not feel comfortable to treat especially very young infants. Sometimes parents just prefer to come to the paediatrician directly even for less serious illnesses or problems and that is also OK. You may choose!
Do you do the immunisations?
Due to the administrative and regulatory burden of offering a full immunisation service and also because all pharmacies usually have a dedicated nursing practitioner who routinely does immunisations, I do not do the immunisations myself. We also have sister Irene Damons in the hospital who runs her own clinic and does all the immunisations.
We are travelling to a malaria area soon...
Travelling to a malaria area with a young child below the age of 5 years is not a decision to be taken lightly. Children below the age of 5 years are at high risk for developing severe or complicated malaria. Sometimes travel is unavoidable, but we have many amazing travel destinations in the country where malaria is not a risk, so think carefully if you are pregnant or have young children. The traditional season for malaria is between September and May, but is very dependent upon rainfall patterns in the areas where malaria occur. Even in the dry winter season when adults won’t normally take preventative medication, I usually advise parents to give preventative medicine to small children regardless of the time of year, especially in the high-risk areas.
Even if you do give medication it is also of paramount importance that general precautions be taken, e.g. wearing long-sleeved clothes at dusk or dawn, using insect repellants as well as mosquito nets.
The preferred medication is daily atovaquone-proguanil (Malanil®, Mozitec®, Malateq®, Malagen® etc.) which is a schedule 2 drug and does not require a prescription. A generic paediatric version is available under the name Hetovanil® Paed which can also be obtained without a prescription.
An alternative is mefloquine (Lariam® or Mefliam®) which only needs to be taken once a week, but it needs a prescription as it is a schedule 4 drug. Doxycycline is another alternative for older children and adults.
Click on the button below to see the most current map of risk areas in South Africa.
