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Disgusting care of my baby

Posted By Disappoint3dmoth3r

"Disgusting care of my baby"

About: Rockingham General Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a parent/guardian),

I presented at Rockingham emergency department as directed by health direct after my baby (10months old) accidentally swallowed orbeez. Health direct advised it was urgent as Orbeez can cause intestinal obstruction which left untreated can lead to death.

After 2 hours waiting and then only checking my baby's temp and blood pressure I asked them how long until they were seen as I was extremely worried for their health as well as also having an autistic 2 year old with me on the brink of having a violent meltdown  as hospitals are a trigger for them, if it was going to be a long wait then I could go elsewhere to have my baby seen. They told me the doctor was with a patient and would see me next. 15 mins later my other child started to have a meltdown, headbutting the walls repeatedly, biting themselves and hitting and biting me. This lasted an hour! While the nurses all peered out the door looking at us still sitting in the waiting room.

They came out 40mins later and that's when I snapped! After 4 hours of waiting and finally being seen they literally recited word for word everything Google said and told me it would be good if I could go home and put one of the Orbeez in a cup of water to see how big it will expand and bring it in tomorrow morning so they can see and make a judgement if it would pass. I feel it was an absolute disgrace of a hospital and based on my experience I will never take my children there again as they clearly don't seem to care about caring for children.

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Responses

Response from Kath Smith, Executive Director, Rockingham Peel Group, South Metropolitan Health Service 5 months ago
Kath Smith
Executive Director, Rockingham Peel Group,
South Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 16/10/2024 at 12:33 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 12:34 PM

picture of Kath Smith

Dear Dissappoint3dmoth3r,

Thank you for sharing your story regarding your visit to the Rockingham General Hospital (RGH) Emergency Department (ED), I am very sorry to hear that your child accidentally swallowed an orbeez and acknowledge that this must have been very distressing for you. I am sorry that you waited a long time to be seen by a doctor and for the distress this caused you and your two children. The RGH ED triage all patients on arrival according to the Department of Health Australasian Triage guidelines and has a dedicated waiting room nurse to assess patients while they are waiting, and any concerns escalated to a medical officer for review. Patients/carers may also escalate concerns at any time via the Aishwarya’s care call from the ED waiting room via the pink Aishwarya care call phone or their own mobile phone.

When a patient presents with an accidental swallowing of a chemical substance or in instances of poisoning the ED team contact the poisons information centre at Sir Charles Gardner Hospital (SCGH) for advice on treatment and management required. I would recommend that you contact our Consumer Liaison team on 9599 4323 to provide your name and details of your child to allow us to fully investigate your child’s assessment and management while in the ED to ensure this process was followed for your child and identify any further areas requiring improvement.

On behalf of the Rockingham General Hospital, I would like to thank you for bringing your concerns to the attention of the service, I hope that your child has recovered well.

Kind regards,

Kath Smith

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Update posted by Disappoint3dmoth3r (a parent/guardian)

Hi Kath,

I received a response from the head of ED and co director acknowledging my baby was given a triage score of 3 which means they should have been seen within 30 minutes!

Followed with our ED was at full capacity so sorry you weren't seen in a timely manner! This half ***ed apology is not good enough for me. While my baby did survive this incident THANKFULLY, I am completely disgusted in what I feel to be the absolute disregard for the health and safety of my child considering there was a risk to their life. They suffered with 24 hours of constipation before being able to pass the orbie they swallowed.

I complained multiple times to the nurses and asked to make a formal complaint and not once did the nurses point me in the direction of the "pink phone" that apparently I, as a frantic parent, was meant to be aware of while monitoring my baby for any changes as well as keep my autistic toddler safe. As the hospital has deemed this case closed I will be taking this further because this is not the first time this hospital has been neglectful in their duty of care to my children. If you wish to discuss this further please provide me with contact details that I can reach you personally.

Kind regards

Response from Kath Smith, Executive Director, Rockingham Peel Group, South Metropolitan Health Service 5 months ago
Kath Smith
Executive Director, Rockingham Peel Group,
South Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 23/10/2024 at 6:34 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 24/10/2024 at 9:58 AM

picture of Kath Smith

Dear Dissapoint3dmoth3r,

I understand you are very disappointed with the length of time you waited for your child to be seen and that this was very distressing for you. The RGH ED aims to see and treat all patients as quickly as possible, and I am very sorry for the delays you experienced and for the distress this caused. RGH ED are currently recruiting registrars and consultants to increase the number of doctors working on the floor which I hope will help to reduce wait times for patients.

I would be happy to arrange a meeting for you with the senior ED staff and the Co-Director to discuss your concerns, please contact our Consumer Liaison team on 9599 4323 to arrange a date and time.

Kind regards,

Kath Smith

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