Websites & patient experience · Practical guide

Make enquiries on behalf of a child clear

A parent reaches an enquiry form written entirely in the first person. It is unclear whether the contact details and appointment information should refer to the child or adult. A parent completing an enquiry needs clear labels for the child's details and the adult's contact information. Explain the next practical step and let the practice's normal process address any further requirements.

Read the guide Make your action list
Healthcare website and appointment calendar displayed on devices at an empty clinic reception.
Make the website useful for the people who use your practice.

What to change

Use wording that distinguishes the person attending from the person making contact. Agree the practical information with the team and leave consent decisions to the practice's approved process.

A worked example

Illustrative example

A paediatric service enquiry asks who the appointment is for, then who the team should contact about arrangements. It avoids using your details as a heading over fields that mix the child and adult.

Healthcare website design showing connected desktop and mobile service and enquiry layouts.
Make the service and next step clear on every screen.
Healthcare website accessibility illustrated by a focus outline, keyboard key, contrast samples and form.
Review keyboard access, contrast and understandable form fields.

Put it into practice

Ask your supplier to test the form using fictional parent and child names. A heading such as “your details” can be ambiguous when it covers both people, even if every individual field appears straightforward.

Check the wording of confirmation messages as well as form labels. The adult receiving the reply should be able to identify which child's enquiry or appointment the message concerns.

What to agree before publishing

Review the form and acknowledgement with clearly different fictional names for the child and adult. Each question should identify whose information it needs, and the reply should make the subject of the enquiry recognisable. Ask the practice what further checks follow through its normal booking process rather than turning the initial form into proof that they are complete. A parent or guardian should be able to start the practical conversation without guessing what “your details” means in a section that mixes both people.

How to check the result

A parent can complete the enquiry without guessing whose telephone number or name belongs in each place.

A mistake to avoid

Do not treat submitting an enquiry as proof that every authority or consent requirement for later care has been met.

Turn reading into a next step

Your action checklist

Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.

Checks to discuss

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

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Further reading

These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.

Related guides

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