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About the clinic

What hours are you open?

  • Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.
  • Please note that appointment may not necessarily be available across all weekdays.

Where are you located?

  • We are at 100 Russell Street, Bathurst, NSW 2795.
  • Please walk down the “Anima Clinica” driveway.
  • Google Maps

How do I book an appointment?

  • Please submit your referral via Healthlink (newhpsyc), Medical Objects (New Horizons Psychiatry) or by fax to (02) 6331 9467.
  • We will review your referral and decide whether we can assist you. We may require further information before we accept the referral – if this occurs, we will contact you.
  • Please note that we require a deposit of the first appointment fees before we can book an appointment. This is used to reduce late cancellations and non-attendance.

What information does my General Practitioner (GP) referral letter need to contain?

  • A referral can be made to ‘any psychiatrist’ or naming Dr Trent Sawyer. We note that Dr Sawyer has limited availability and in order to provide an appropriate level of care to the community he is only able to offer MBS 291/293 assessments. Through these assessments Dr Sawyer will provide advice to the treating GP for ongoing management.
  • The referral should describe the condition for which an opinion is sought.
  • Your referring practitioner may note your need for semi-urgent care on your referral. However, we have a fixed number of appointments and cannot always accommodate requests for urgent appointments.
  • Your referral should also include your contact information and your Medicare card details (card number and expiry date).
  • A referral from a GP is valid for 12 months. Referrals from specialists and consultant physicians are valid for 3 months.

How do I contact the service?

  • For queries, cancellations and rescheduling requests, please call us on (02) 6332 4225.
  • Dr Sawyer is unable to provide clinical advice via email. If you have any specific questions regarding your treatment, we encourage you to book an appointment.
  • Generally, any documents or updates you send to newhorizonspsychiatry@outlook.com will be filed under your records and reviewed/discussed during your next appointment.
  • If any emails require the psychiatrist’s input or require the practitioner to read emails outside of the appointments, these would be charged at their standard consultation rate.
  • Any requests for letters, documents, or medical certificates etc. need to be discussed during your consultation.
  • Contact from medical professionals, referrers and hospitals will be given priority and returned when Dr Sawyer is available. Please note Dr Sawyer is usually busy with appointments and only work certain days. Therefore, he may be unable to contact you on the same day.

How do I request information about a patient?

  • Requests for information about a patient should be sent via email to  newhorizonspsychiatry@outlook.com (including the consent for that patient).
  • The request must specify the information needed. Only clinical letters already completed as part of consultations in prior appointments will be provided.

Do you offer bulk-billing?

Unfortunately we are unable to bulk-bill; this is due to the costs associated with operating the practice.

What if I just need a prescription?

Prescriptions (including repeats) can only be provided during appointments. Requests for prescriptions outside of an appointment cannot be accommodated. Ongoing medications require regular review, potential adjustments, and close monitoring.

About our service

What conditions do YOU NOT treat?

At this time, we do not offer in-patient care or treatment regarding:

  • Opiate substitution (methadone or suboxone prescribing),
  • Eating disorders,
  • Intellectual disability,
  • Peri-natal care.

We are committed to providing the best possible care to our patients, and as such, we cannot accept all referrals.

Please see what services we specialise in.

Do you offer telehealth consultations?

While our overall preference is to provide face-to-face care, we offer telehealth consultations in certain circumstances.

  • Our teleconferencing service is secure and provided by Coviu.
  • Where a telehealth consultation is offered, it is the patient’s responsibility to ensure that they have strong and reliable internet connectivity (with access to potential back-up internet).
  • If an appointment cannot go ahead due to technical issues on the patient’s behalf, this would generally be considered non-attendance and fees will apply.

Do you provide short reports? (i.e. NDIS/DSP reports)

In short, yes.

  • However, the time constraints of each appointment often mean that these cannot be completed during the consultation.
  • As such, if they are completed outside the consultation this is provided at an extra cost and no Medicare rebate is payable.

Do you provide medico-legal reports?

  • No, we do not.

What if I require urgent care?

New Horizons Psychiatry does not provide crisis or emergency services. For urgent care, the following services can help:

In an emergency, or if you are/someone else is at serious risk of harm to themselves or others, please:

  • Call emergency services on 000.
  • Go to a hospital emergency department.

Late, Rescheduling & cancellations

What happens if I am late?

We highly encourage you to arrive, whether in person or in the Coviu virtual waiting room, 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment.

  • We are unable to extend consultations.
  • If you arrive up to 15 minutes late, your appointment duration will be shortened. Since this time was reserved for you, you will still be responsible for the full consultation fee.

If you arrive more than 15 minutes late the consultation will not occur due to time constraints.

  • The appointment will be considered as non-attendance, and the associated cancellation/non-attendance fee will be charged. No Medicare benefits are payable for this fee.
  • In the event of repeated instances of this occurring, the service reserves the right to discharge care of the patient.

What if I cannot attend and need to reschedule or cancel?

The service can be notified of cancellations or rescheduling requests by phone. Please call us on (02) 6332 4225.

If you reschedule or cancel with more than 2 business days’ notice, no charge is payable. Please note that public holidays and weekends are not considered business days.

Less than 2 days’ notice

  • Where an appointment is rescheduled or cancelled with less than 2 days’ notice, an invoice for 50% of your fee will be issued and will be settled from your deposit. This fee is not claimable with Medicare.

Less than 24 hours notice

  • Where an appointment is rescheduled or cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, an invoice for 100% of your fee will be issued and will be settled from your deposit. This fee is not claimable with Medicare.
  • We aim to remind you of your appointments through SMS 5 business days prior but these should not be relied upon. It is your responsibility to keep track of any appointments you have made.

Under what circumstances can ongoing care be terminated?

Our service reserves the right to terminate the patient-psychiatrist relationship under the following circumstances:

  • Verbal abuse, threatening or actual violence, harassment, and/or violation of relational boundaries from a patient or family member towards any staff member.
  • Criminal acts by a patient, such as obtaining medication fraudulently, etc.
  • Attempting to coerce the psychiatrist to provide medical treatment that they disagree with.
  • Continual non-compliance with treatment recommendations.
  • A loss of mutual trust, respect and/or a breakdown in communication.
  • If there are unpaid fees.
  • If there are excessive cancellations or re-scheduling.
  • If another health professional is deemed more appropriate for your care.

Zero Tolerance Policy – Abuse

In line with NSW Health, New Horizons Psychiatry follow a zero-tolerance policy regarding any verbal or physical abuse directed towards any member of our team.