By Fatima Halloum
Wyndham resident Lucy Holmes* doesn’t know when her eight-year-old daughter will be able to live with her again.
“My daughter has behavioural issues and I can’t control her, so she’s been at her father’s house for the last three weeks because I physically cannot restrain her when she’s having an outburst,” Ms Holmes said.
“She’s done things like jumped out of moving vehicles several times [and] put herself in serious danger.”
When Ms Holmes visited her GP to try and obtain a referral for her daughter to see a paediatrician, she thought she would be able to see a specialist within a few weeks.
“Every referral I’ve had, I’ve just been told either they’re not taking any new patients, they don’t have a waiting list, some have said the wait is over 18 months,” she said.
“I’ve had to go back [to the doctor] several times, I think I’ve had about eight different referrals now trying to get into a paediatrician, and the earliest I’ve been able to book into one is at the end of February.”
Ms Holmes said the situation for her daughter was “not great”, having to wait almost six months for her daughter to receive care was “pretty alarming” and was calling for a solution that would see families receive faster access to specialists.
“I’ve subsequently been trying to find somebody sooner, but every other paediatrician I’ve contacted has an even longer wait list,” she said.
“I thought the end of February was bad, but I found out that was the best I could get.”
Until Ms Holmes can get her daughter to a clinic for assessment, a diagnosis, and potentially medication, she can’t live with her.
“She’s a danger to herself and she’s had to stay with her dad long term, which is heartbreaking,” she said.
*Name has been changed.
