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Visit to new ED

Posted By Underwhelming

"Visit to new ED"

About: Swan Hill District Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a relative),

I came to the Emergency Department with my parent who was unwell. They waited for 4 hours to be seen by a Doctor. I understand that the Department can be busy. What my feedback is, is that there is nowhere in the waiting rooms to get a drink of water. None of the TVs were operating just to have something for an elderly person to occupy their time while waiting. And there is no vending machine if they wanted to purchase a drink or something light to eat while they wait so long. The lack of communication from staff to let you know roughly how much longer the wait is going to be is also disheartening. Yes the new ED looks nice but in my opinion, functionality leaves a bit to be desired.

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Responses

Response from Kath Curran, ED NUM, Emergency Department, Swan Hill District Health last month
We have made a change
Kath Curran
ED NUM, Emergency Department,
Swan Hill District Health

Submitted on 11/02/2025 at 3:11 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 4:13 PM

picture of Kath Curran

Dear Underwhelming,

Thank you so much for taking the time to write about how you and your parent felt during your visit to our Emergency Department last week. Thank you for understanding that at times our department is busy, we greatly appreciate that and work hard to see all patients within a timely manner. Regardless of this, I am sorry that you felt this way.

Waiting rooms for anyone can be very dull or over-stimulating at times. We endeavour to ensure that there is something to keep all occupied or distracted. Your feedback has led us to investigate why the TV's were not on at the time and we have found that they were on a timer, to turn off after a period of inactivity - we have since changed this and they are now on at all times.

Additionally, water is available in the waiting room, however, was not easily found and there may not always be someone around to tell you. So, from your valuable feedback we have added signs to ensure that everyone knows where to find this. I have added some photos for you to see.

We are constantly striving to better our practices in ED and I will ensure that communication in the waiting room is one of them. Whilst we cannot give you an exact time for when it is time to be seen, we should be communicating any delays with you and your family.

If you would like to discuss anything further or provide any other valuable suggestions on how we can make you and your family more comfortable in our waiting room, please do not hesitate to reach out. I can be contacted on (03) 5032 8316 or kacurran@shdh.org.au.

Yours sincerely,

Laura (on behalf of Kath Curran)Image titleImage title

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