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My toddler's rash

Posted By elephantsp88

"My toddler's rash"

About: Sale Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a parent/guardian),

I took my toddler into sale emergency room with a fast growing, spreading rash on their back that was ripping their skin apart and blistering. I was triaged and told it would be a long wait but to come up if anything changes. It was a couple hours and I looked at my child’s back and compared it to the photos I had been taking of it to show and keep an eye on the spread and it was worse. I went up and showed the triage nurse the difference between the photo just before coming in and their back now. A doctor was called and my child was looked at for approximately 2 minutes in the triage room told that it is nothing serious it’s viral and to go home there was nothing they could do. I asked if they were sure and I was assured my child was fine.

The next day we realised it was still growing rapidly and had pus dripping and oozing out of my child’s wounds that had now spread down their arm. I told my partner they needed a doctor but I did not trust Sale and refused to take them back so we rushed my child to a different hospital’s emergency room. Where my child was treated as a massive priority by the receptionist, triage, doctor and a paediatrician. My child was swabbed instantly, cleaned, bandaged and given antibiotics immediately. We were told results will go to our GP and if it worsens at all bring them back. We got our results from the GP and my toddler has confirmed golden staph. Now I’m sure you are well aware of how badly this could have been if we stuck with ‘this is viral nothing can be done’ I am appalled at this. So many families go through what we went through and may not take their children to get a second opinion and could lead to worse things. My child was not given the decency of a swab or even a proper examination. I feel you are so quick to throw patients who you believe are an inconvenience out the door. In my opinion, you have a duty of care for all your patients and it seemed my child did not have that in the slightest. I really hope you take notes from how bad this could have been if the other hospital wasn’t there to help us.

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Responses

Response from Mark Dykgraaf, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Suite, Central Gippsland Health nearly 2 years ago
Mark Dykgraaf
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Suite,
Central Gippsland Health

Submitted on 8/05/2023 at 9:28 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 9:29 AM

picture of Mark Dykgraaf

Dear elephantsp88

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us in relation to attending our Emergency Department with your toddler. We always appreciate it when a patient shares their story with us, because it allows us the opportunity to review our processes and implement improvements that will strengthen the service we provide to our community.

I am sorry to hear of the concerns relating to your toddler’s rash, the long wait you experienced, the very brief examination of your toddler in the triage room, and the diagnosis of golden staph that was later identified at another health service.

The waiting time for patients in the Emergency Department is dependent on the activity within the Department at the time - patients with life threatening injuries or illnesses are prioritised. The length of time that you waited would indicate that there were other emergencies being managed by the medical team at the time of your presentation.

However, I can appreciate the concern that you felt in waiting for a number of hours with an unwell toddler, and then having what would appear to be only a cursory review undertaken in the triage room.

It is certainly not the intention of our staff to make any patient feel that they are an inconvenience. I agree that we have a duty of care to our patients, and it is important that we acknowledge the learnings that your story, and the stories of other patients, present to us.

For example, if our staff had perhaps communicated more clearly with you about the expected waiting time, and if the doctor who reviewed your toddler had provided more information around his diagnosis, and explained what approach should be taken if your toddler’s condition worsened (as it evidently did).

One of our Senior Medical Officers has reviewed your story and acknowledges that it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between a viral rash and golden staph, particularly in the early stages. If you were willing to contact us with further information about your presentation, this would provide the treating doctor, and other members of the team, a valuable learning opportunity.

We also understand if you would prefer not to make contact, and will ensure that the feedback you have provided helps to inform our care of other patients moving forward. If you should wish to discuss the matter further, I can be contacted at mark.dykgraaf@cghs.com.au or on (03) 5143 8319.

Kind Regards

Mark Dykgraaf

Chief Executive Officer

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