Hayley was worried that her son was not getting the best care. They had to wait three weeks each time he needed a doctor's appointment. When they saw the doctor, they hadn't read the notes about her son's medical condition. They also didn't recall the treatments that had already been tried. At three appointments she had asked for a referral to the specialist at the hospital. Hayley asked the doctor whether he thought the specialist would see her son. The doctor couldn't answer her questions and was unclear about the referral. Hayley also wanted to know if she should arrange a private specialist appointment. It is important for her son to be seen quickly so that he can get back to going to school. When she couldn't get clear information, she looked for help to sort things out.

She spoke to an advocate on the phone. They discussed what she had already tried and what she had learnt from asking questions. Together they worked out the issues:

• Hayley didn't know why her sons treatment wasn't working.
• She didn't know if the doctor had written to a specialist.
• She wasn't sure what the next steps for her son's care could be.

Hayley and the advocate talked about their Rights. She learnt they have the Right to information and effective communication. This is so that good choices could be made for her son's care.

They talked about what Hayley could do next. Hayley took some time to think about whether she would like to:

• Make a call or send a message to the medical centre asking whether a referral had been sent and for a copy.
• Make an appointment to see a different doctor at the practice and take a support person with her.
• Write down her concerns and the information she is seeking from the doctor. Hayley could send this to the manager as a complaint. She would then wait for them to write back.
• Ask to meet with the manager to talk through her complaint. She could explain what happened and find out what her son's care options are.

The advocate said that they could help Hayley to write a letter or meet with the manager. Or they could support her to take her own steps.

Hayley decided to start by asking for a copy of the referral. When she phoned to ask about this, she spoke with one of the team who gave her an update. They said that since the last appointment the doctor had written to the hospital. They found out that her son did meet the criteria to be seen by the hospital specialist, but it would be a three month wait. Hayley asked why no one had let her know about this. The staff member apologised and said there was a plan to ring her, but they had not had time to do that yet.

She felt that things were moving forward after making this call. Hayley talked her advocate about what happened. She decided to continue with the plan to see the specialist but was worried this might not go ahead. The advocate said she still has the option of making a complaint or giving feedback.

Six months later the advocate was happy to hear that Hayley's son was now on a treatment plan that was working. Hayley said to the advocate that she still felt uneasy about things. This was because it took so long for her son to get the care he needed. The specialist said to her that the referral from her doctor should have been sent earlier. Hayley had written up her own complaint letter about the concerns and asked the advocate to check it. The advocate helped Hayley make her points clear and work out who to send it to.

When Hayley got a response to her complaint, she spoke to her advocate about it. There was an explanation about why the referral was not sent at first. As well as points about how the medical centre staff plan to improve their communication. Hayley said to her advocate that she was ready to move on from this now as she had the answers she was looking for. She said she was able to keep going to the same doctor as they had spoken about what happened. She thought that now her and the doctor were on the same page about her son's care.