FAQ'S

Waiting lists vary depending on our case numbers and complexity at the time of your enquiry, however we guarantee to contact you within one working day of receiving your enquiry, to discuss your needs. Once a referral is made, we aim to commence working with you within 2 weeks of initial contact. We understand that in some cases urgent attention is required, and this is always taken into consideration at initial triage stage.

Yes! Joanna Chandler is a sole trader – this means that she is the only Occupational Therapist in the practice – and she has been an Occupational Therapist for 20 years (and counting). Jo has worked in both regional and metropolitan Queensland and in the United Kingdom. She has experience across a broad range of specialities and over the last 15 years has focussed her practice on providing services to adults, in the Occupational Health, Return to Work and medico-legal fields, as well as providing therapeutic and rehabilitation services. Jo is passionate about injury prevention in the workplace, at home and in the community. She delights in enabling her clients to achieve their goals and whether they want to return to work, increase their independence with self care or expertly articulate their functional needs, she is ready to find the right solutions. Jo energetically applies herself to delivering the best results to her clients, ensuring that she remains abreast of the most up-to-date assessment and treatment options through ongoing professional development.

Yes! Hervey Bay Occupational Health is a mobile service and given that what we do is all about what you do, we consider it paramount that you be seen in your own environment, be that your home or your workplace. This personalised service ensures that we customise assessments and recommendations to your environment, and that we gain a full understanding of your ability to function in these settings. In the instance that equipment is required for trials, where possible and appropriate this will also occur on site.

No – we are happy to accept private referrals. In some instances, if you wish to have a third party cover the expense of your assessment and treatment (for example through WorkCover) you will require a Doctor's referral. Doctor's referrals are not required for NDIS participants.

In the instance of private referrals, you will be invoiced following your session and payment will be required within 7 days. We are a Medicare registered provider, and should your referral be made as part of a GP Management Plan and Team Care Arrangement, you may be eligible to seek rebate from Medicare following payment for your consultation. In the instance a third party (e.g. insurance company, NDIS, WorkCover, aged care provider, solicitor) has engaged our services and agreed to cover your expenses, Hervey Bay Occupational Health will invoice these companies directly. At your initial appointment a plan with be developed with you which will clearly outline the services to be provided, their outcome and their cost. Reports are not released until full payment has been made.

Yes! At Hervey Bay Occupational Health we relish the opportunity to utilise our extensive experience and skills in activity and job analysis to perform detailed worksite assessments. These assessments may be utilised for medico legal purposes, to identify and develop suitable duties programmes or in preparation for injury prevention measures such as the development of pre-employment screening or manual handling and ergonomic seminars tailored to your unique workplace.

Yes! We enjoy the opportunity to partner with progressive and caring employers who seek to reduce worksite injuries through manual handling training. We customise training to suit the physical demands of your workplace and can deliver training both to individuals or groups. Please call us to discuss options suitable to your workplace.

Yes! We apply years of experience and training in ergonomic principles across many settings ranging from administration to industrial, to ensure that the interchange between your working environment and job performance is optimal, thereby increasing productivity and lowering the risk of injury. Ergonomic advice and training can be provided both individually or in a group setting and are tailored to your specific work environment. Please call us to discuss options which would deliver the best outcomes for you.

We sure do! Prevention is better than the cure and we are committed to working with employers and employees to reduce workplace injury. There is an abundance of evidence which supports the use of modalities such as pre-employment assessments, manual handling training and ergonomic assessment and recommendations to help keep our workforce healthy, and Hervey Bay Occupational Health can help you with all of these. Please call us to discuss options suitable to your workplace.

Yes! Hervey Bay Occupational Health provides functional pre-employment assessments to help ensure that employees have the physiological and psychological capacity for their work environment, thus improving the safety of the employee and that of their colleagues in the workplace. Hervey Bay Occupational Health applies extensive industry experience to customise pre-employment screens suitable to specific work environments. Please contact us to discuss how we can help you reduce your workplace injuries and keep your workforce safe.

We sure do! Having worked both for employers, rehabilitation providers and in house for a self-insurer, Occupational Therapist, Joanna Chandler understands the complexity of the return to work landscape. She is skilled in liaising with all relevant parties to ensure that treatment and rehabilitation remains goal focussed, and that outcomes are achieved.

Yes! We are passionate about helping people return to their occupational roles and offer a full range of services including initial needs assessment, liaison with employer and treating specialists, worksite assessments, functional capacity evaluations, suitable duties programs and monitoring, assistance with CV preparation, job seeking and host employment to name a few. Please contact us to discuss how we can assist you in this area.

Initially Hervey Bay Occupational Health was a registered NDIS provider, however due to lack of demand for a registered provider (most participants contacting Hervey Bay Occupational Health to date have been Plan or Self Managed and therefore are not limited to choosing registered providers) we have decided to discontinue our registration. Should there be a need identified in the community for a registered Occupational Therapy service for the NDIS Hervey Bay Occupational Health will definitely consider re-registering.

Absolutely! Return to work rehabilitation is one of our specialities. At Hervey Bay Occupational Health we work with key stakeholders to help you return to your occupational roles. This may be achieved within your original workplace on a graduated return to work program, or if required with a host employer. We work closely with your treating specialists, employer and insurer to ensure that you achieve the best results possible in a timely manner.

Yes! As part of our return to work and rehabilitation services, it may be necessary to develop a graduated return to work program or suitable duties program. This is done after a worksite assessment and in collaboration with the employee, employer and relevant treating specialist. Hervey Bay Occupational Health closely monitors and supports the employee's progress on suitable duties and upgrades when appropriate.

Yes! If this is deemed appropriate and advantageous to a person's rehabilitation, Hervey Bay Occupational Health will source and establish suitable host employer arrangements.

We sure do! With many years of experience and as a licenced Workhab Evaluator, Hervey Bay Occupational Health is able to perform robust and informative FCE's, and will often recommend them as part of an effective and measurable return to work program.

Yes! Joanna Chandler, Occupational Therapist, draws on many years of industry experience and an array of standardised and internationally recognised assessments, to ensure that any assessment performed by Hervey Bay Occupational Health is robust, informative and suitable for medico-legal purposes.

Yes! As an Occupational Therapist, Joanna Chandler performs assessments relevant to the functional impact of your disability when applying for access to the NDIS. Jo draws upon many years of experience and an extensive array of standardised and internationally recognised assessments to ensure that the functional impact for your physical and/or cognitive disability is identified and clarified for the purpose of plan development. Please call us to discuss how we might further assist you with this enquiry.

Yes! Hervey Bay Occupational Health will assess your ability to perform ADL's (for example self-care) and translate results to identify areas where independence and safety could be increased and any assistive technology or home modification needs. Hervey Bay Occupational Health draws on both standardised and functional assessments to ensure results reflect your actual needs in your own environment.

We sure do! As an Occupational Therapist with many years experience, Joanna Chandler is an expert in identifying the functional impact of your disability, injury or condition and quantifying that into supports that might be required to enable you to live your best life. Please contact us to discuss how we might be able to help you.

Yes! We are so fortunate to live in a time where so many advances are being made with regards to assistive technology (AT). With so many options available, it is important that a qualified and experienced Occupational Therapist be there to guide you through decisions and trials to ensure that what you choose will be the best option to increase your independence and function, and Hervey Bay Occupational Health is able to do just that! We will ensure that appropriate AT options are explored, trialled and recommended so that you can reach your full potential. We specialise in applying to the NDIS or other appropriate funding bodies for AT should this be required

Absolutely! Hervey Bay Occupational Health is a mobile service, as we seek to improve our client's function and safety in their everyday lives – much of which is spent at home. We visit our clients in home for several reasons, ranging from functional assessments to falls prevention to assistive technology and home modification assessment and recommendations. Where possible we also trial equipment in the home as it is important to us that equipment is best suited to where and when you use it.

Yes! Should a need for home modifications be identified by our Occupational Therapist through appropriate functional and home assessment, design options will be discussed with the client and recommendations will be made. Dependant on the funding source, reports for approval of modifications will be furnished to relevant bodies (e.g. NDIS). When appropriate the Occupational Therapist will meet with builders on site to discuss options. Hervey Bay Occupational Health also recommends that a follow-up visit occur post home modification to ensure that the modifications fully meet their client's needs and are being utilised in a safe and optimal manner.

Yes! If you are an adult living with a disability, injury or condition which impacts on your function, then we would love to partner with you to achieve your goals.

Unfortunately, at this time, we are unable to provide services to children. As a sole trader, Joanna Chandler, Occupational Therapist, considers that it is more beneficial to her valuable clients to focus on an adult caseload, best utilising her area of clinical expertise. We are fortunate in this region to have a number of providers who specialise in children's services and encourage paediatric clients to contact these companies. We are sorry that we cannot assist you at this stage.