donnisons

Hi

Our ITA is on the way, at last, but the contact at the London Office advises we will be referred to the MA as our son has a medical condition, well not one that needs any medical attention, it is more a genetic condition he was born with, but he is healthy.

I intend to get a letter from his Specialist and send it in with the ITA, but can anyone give me advise regarding speeding the process up. IE can we see the Medical Adviser before our ITA goes in or while we are waiting for a case officer to be allocated? Also is there a long wait list for the MA?

Any help/advise would be most welcome.

Many thanks

TeamEmbo

Good your ITAs on the way but sorry to hear of the referrral to MA. I don't think there is anyway you can speed the process up, sorry, and you don't get to see the MA in person. Put as much info and document evidence as you can in with the ITA and definitely the specialists report but then unfortunately you just have to wait. It is possible, depending on the condition, that the MA might ask for further tests, scans, reports. Your case officer will be unable to progress your ITA until the MA has given your son the OK. Sorry there is nothing more positive, its just the inevitable waiting game, but I wish you luck and hope all goes well.

nzcraigm

The more information and any specialist reports & GP letters that you have, the better to submit with your ITA.
Medical assessors, however, can be a law unto themselves and there is nothing that can be done to speed the process up, and unfortunately you cannot get to see them.
A case officer is also in a position whereby he/she cannot advise or proceed until the all clear from the MA.
A medical assessor may ask for further info at any time, and once the info is sent back, it can then be anywhere from 2-4 weeks to get a reply or request for further info.
Waiting for a medical assessor can be the most frustrating part of any application.

BEVS

There are several people on this forum that have been referred to a Medical Assessor. Have a browse around their threads to see how it worked or is working for them and how long they did or are waiting. Straight from the horses mouth so to speak.

You will not meet the Medical Assessor.

If you know in advance that your case could well be referred, then help the NZIS officer and medical assessor by sending in as much as you can about the condition with your ITA.
From other peoples posts on here you can send in doctors letters, consultant reports etc . Go the whole hog and more. If your child needs support at school then also include reports about his needs there too.

There is no way to speed any application up with or without a medical assessor referral. They take as long as they take. Of course, sending in a well structured ITA helps.

Many of us here have heard that there are just a few medical assessors in total. Maybe around 6 - that is heresay though. In which case it would depend on case loads and time needed to check out the rreports etc.