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"Ridiculous wait times for my child"

About: Fiona Stanley Hospital / Plastic Surgery Perth Children's Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a parent/guardian),

Immersive Reader

My child primary school-aged child injured their tongue and lip badly at school. I took them to Margaret River hospital ED and they were excellent. They arranged for my child to be admitted to Fiona Stanley hospital the following morning at 7am for surgery.

We drove to Perth (3 hours) and they fasted from dinner on Tuesday. They were admitted to FSH paed ward at 7am on Wednesday. There were seen my a plastic surgeon at around 9am who said they couldn’t give us a time but surgery would hopefully be that morning. In the bed next to us they told another child their surgery would be later that day or maybe the following day. That child yelled and screamed and caused a scene and continued to cause a scene for the nurses. They magically got taken down to theatre ahead rather quickly that morning.

My child remained fasting and we waited and waited. It was 640pm by the time they went down to theatre. That is 24 hours fasting which is shocking for a child. Surgery was complete under general anaesthetic by 830pm and we stayed the night and were discharged at 7am the following morning (Thursday).

The discharging nurse said to call the ward if any queries after discharge. On Sunday night the stitches on my child's tongue broke and their tongue wound split back open. First thing Monday morning we called the ward and the nurse advised to attend an ED. We tried to contact the plastics clinic at FSH to advise the surgeon/ team what had happened but the agency who takes the phone calls said they’d leave them a message and to call back at 1pm if we didn’t hear anything.

By 11am Monday my child was uncomfortable and no word from the clinic despite calling again, so was taken to PCH ED and was told by staff to fast again. They sat in the waiting room fasting for six hours over lunch time when finally the doctor said my child needed to be seen by the surgeons at FSH not at PCH. They said my child had an appt on Wednesday at 1pm at the outpatient clinic at FSH and this was our only option to see someone to make a plan to fix the tongue again.

My child has been left with part of their tongue flapping around in their mouth for way too long. I believe the doctors at PCH should have done something for my child and the surgeons / team who initially saw them at FSH should have been able to be contacted and should have prioritised seeing my child on Monday or Tuesday at the very latest!

I’m disgusted that my child has been left with half their tongue hanging off for such a long time. The tongue has now healed in two pieces and they will have to undergo a second general anaesthetic because of what I feel to be this negligence. My child now has to have the tongue re debrided prior to stitching. This means more fasting and more waiting and another surgery.

It’s been over a week since the accident and they are still no closer to being home in Margaret River. My child is missing their family and missing school. I believe priorities should be made for children and for rural patients away from home. We are very patient and understanding and I believe this has lead to being mistreated. We don’t like to cause a scene or kick up a fuss but perhaps we will have to do this in future. Once more our local hospital were excellent but PCH and FSH were extremely disappointing, in my opinion. My poor child. 

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Responses

Response from Neil Doverty, Executive Director Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals Group, South Metropolitan Health Service 2 weeks ago
Neil Doverty
Executive Director Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals Group,
South Metropolitan Health Service
Submitted on 16/12/2024 at 11:07 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 11:07 AM


Immersive Reader
picture of Neil Doverty

Dear elephantwf44,

I am sorry to read about your child's experience and the distress it has caused. I understand how difficult and frustrating this situation must have been for both you and your child.
Thank you for bringing your concerns about the prolonged fasting period, the delays in surgery, and the subsequent complications that arose to our attention. I would like to investigate this matter further to get a better understanding of the concerns you raised. Please contact our Patient Family Liaison team on 6152 4013 or fshfeedback@health.wa.gov.au at your earliest convenience so we can address your concerns directly and provide the necessary support.

Regards,

Neil Doverty

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Response from Tony Dolan, Executive Director PCH and Neonatology, Perth Children’s Hospital 2 weeks ago
Tony Dolan
Executive Director PCH and Neonatology,
Perth Children’s Hospital
Submitted on 16/12/2024 at 11:07 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 11:07 AM


Immersive Reader
picture of Tony Dolan

Dear elephantwf44

I am truly sorry to hear about your recent experience in the PCH Emergency Department and any distress and inconvenience this may have caused.

I understand the anxiety felt by parents when bringing an unwell child to the Emergency Department and apologise for the length of time you had to wait for your child to be assessed by a doctor.

I encourage you to contact our Child and Family Liaison Service by phone on 6456 00342 or email at CAHSFeedback@health.wa.gov.au to discuss your experience in more detail and provide opportunity to review the clinical care provided to your child.

Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention.

Warm regards,

Tony Dolan

Executive Director PCH and Neonatology

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