"Our hospital stay after childbirth"

We had our first baby delivered in Kununurra Hospital a few weeks ago. I would like to start off with compliments to all the staff, midwives and doctors that helped us out. As it was our first baby, we were quite nervous but we were looked after really, really well. From the moment my partner went into labour we were professionally helped and my partner was looked after very well. We live rurally and the staff offered me a bed and we were told we could stay as long as we needed.

We felt at home and there was absolutely no rush for them to get us out of the hospital to make room. They showed us how to change nappies, bathe our little baby and helped my partner with breastfeeding. They came in to check on us quite regularly but also gave us enough private time to get used to our new family. There were facilities to get our own coffee and tea and the food provided was good as well. The hospital also had a high level of hygiene and our room was cleaned at least every day. We had an issue with our shower though, in the time we have been in the hospital we were never able to have a hot shower, the water was always cold.

However, there were a few things that disturbed us pretty bad. The ward my partner, our baby and myself were staying in is shared with all sorts of patients. Therefore we as a family with a new born had to share our ward and facilities with people that I believe suffer from psychosis, mental health issues and a range of other issues. These patients even had their own private security with them 24/7. First of all, I can't even start to understand why you would have these patients mixed up with newborn families. There isn't even a security door separating these patients from other patients or staff for that matter.

Unfortunately on the second day after our baby was born a new patient came in, again with their own security. I informed the staff that my partner and myself both knew this patient through our work and that we didn't have a pleasant history. The midwives that have been helping us for the last few days were really reassuring and did the best they could. There was a few occasions this patient remembered my partner and myself and started talking to us in a way we both felt threatened. They were also allowed I believe, to freely roam around the ward where I came across them in the kitchen area by themselves. With big wide-open eyes and, I felt, a threatening voice, they talked to me which made me feel really vulnerable as a new parent. When we had the all-clear from the doctors, midwives and other staff members to go home, we were delighted to leave as we didn't feel comfortable anymore with this patient roaming around. However, the staff that helped us did make us feel safe. Upon leaving we were asked if we would like to use the backdoor to enter the carpark as the patient was still in the hallway. Again, how is it possible that a mental health patient, as I understand it, is allowed to have so much freedom that we had to leave with our tail behind our legs?

The Kununurra Hospital overall did a great job for us new parents and we would definitely be more than happy to go back here. However, I feel there is a need for more security for patients. New families should in no circumstances feel threatened or uncomfortable because they need to share the ward together with patients that suffer from major issues as mentioned before. I can't even begin to understand that in 2021 this is still an issue. Based on our experience, I'm certain it would also benefit the staff, so that the midwives can fully concentrate on the newborns instead of having to deal with the other patients.