"My baby took three trips to ED to be admitted"

My newborn baby began suddenly vomiting after feeds, so I took them to the ED in Busselton. I was reassured that they were okay, that they would bounce back and we were sent home.

My baby kept going down hill, with diarrhoea starting the following day. I was getting really worried, so I took them back the next night. I was reassured again that it was run of the mill gastro, they would bounce back. It had now been two days since they had held down a feed.

In the early hours of the fourth day, things had continued to go down hill, my baby was now constantly crying, not sleeping, and had become floppy with no energy left. I was completely distressed and took them back to ED. Finally, they were worried too, and called Bunbury Paediatrics to seek advice.

We were transferred up to Bunbury, my baby was put on IV fluids and over the next two weeks received the critical care they needed to bounce back. Which included being referred to Perth Children's Hospital so that we could re-establish feeding as they had the nasal gastric tube in and had become lactose intolerant to my milk.

My point in writing this is, I believe it didn't have to get to that critical stage where my baby was floppy in my arms, had sunken eyes and a sunken fontanelle and was in complete distress. Something a mother can never un see. I would love to see a protocol put into Hospitals that don't have paediatricians available, that for all babies that present twice to ED, that a paediatrician be contacted immediately, so to prevent anything like this happening to another family.

I know it was no ones fault, but I do feel like we were let down by our medical system and unfortunately it was at the cost of our little baby's health. Once we got to Bunbury, the paediatrics team there were amazing, and did everything they could to make us feel heard and looked after.