"Standard of patient centred care and communication"

I am devastated. Despite a week of numerous in person visits, phone calls, emails, consultations and requests to improve communication at SJOG Midland, the seemingly broken system put my elderly relative at risk and they’re not even the person who is an inpatient. My relative’s spouse is, whose experience at SJOG Midland has been so poor that I am concerned about lasting negative impact on their self esteem.

My relative is a humble and proud person, who up until a week ago was mowing the paddocks, helping their neighbours and enjoying their hard earned retirement, going to bed each night holding hands with their loving spouse. My relative has no cognitive impairments, no dementia.

We sat while staff argued with my relative telling them they have been showered when my relative stated that actually they had not. We’ve asked for specific updates since they were admitted that haven’t come and had to basically attempt to find doctors on the ward to find out what treatment was being provided. We’ve waited days for tests that have been delayed due to seemingly poor internal processes. My relative has moved room three times we haven’t been notified of this nor provided with a room phone number to contact them meaning when we cant contact my relative a family member has had to drive into the hospital to locate them and provide their spouse, whom they have never spent a day apart from, a number they can call my relative on.

This happened recently. We called the hospital, were put through to that day’s, new ward’s nurses station and asking the nurse please take a phone to my relative as they had answered several calls ( this failed and the phone just rang out). We went to the hospital , and found my relative’s room ( there was not a single person at the nurse station and the person putting new sheets on a bed said there were all on a break. We went in my relative’s room and they hadn’t drunk any fluids all day so upon finally finding staff at the nurse station they announced , “ Your relative had COVID”. I just don’t have words so express how disappointed I am in hospital that I feel has compromised its Core Values to this degree. Compassion? My relative has not had their unique dignity recognized and we have seen no evidence of striving for excellence in the care and services SJOG Midland provide.