"Care provided to my parent"

My parent was taken to Box Hill Hospital on a Friday. Emergency department was great. Staff were attentive and helpful. Went out of their way to make my parent feel comfortable and treated them with respect. They were seen in a timely manner and had all required tests in a timely manner as well. I rang in the evening and spoke to the emergency department to ask how my parent was doing and they were more than happy to provide an update. I am very grateful for that.

The next day in the morning, I rang Box Hill Hospital to ask how my parent was doing. I had to ring eight times before I could actually speak to someone as we were cut off each time.

Later on in the morning (11:20am) , my partner and I went to visit my parent. We asked them how they were and they said they were okay. We spoke with Carol, the nurse who was looking after my parent. She was lovely and she gave us a thorough update of my mum's condition and was happy to answer all our answers. At about 12:30pm my parent said to us that they needed to go to the toilet and that their pain was quite high. We rang for the nurse. Please note my parent fell and cannot walk at the moment-that is why they are in hospital.

Fifteen minutes later, no-one had come. We went outside and found a nurse who happened to be walking by. She was nice enough to get a pan for my parent. My parent were not given any pain relief. We had to ring the buzzer again. In the mean time, their pain was getting worse.

My parent's first language is not English. They are very compliant, somewhat timid and do not like to complain, so for them to complain about pain is a big deal.

It is obvious to me the minister's main priority is funding and it costs more to have adequate staff numbers during the weekend. But please understand that the level of care someone receives during the weekend should not be any different to the level of care they receive during the weekend. My parent needed to go to the toilet and to hold it for as long as they had to is degrading and it would have been so embarrassing for them if they could no longer hold it - and that is what would have happened if we were not there.

My parent and others who cannot fend for themselves should be treated with respect.

I was hoping that I could leave my parent in a safe and caring environment. I don't feel this way. I feel anxious and distressed for my parent. 

Please don't get me wrong, the nurses were doing the best that they could under the circumstances. In my opinion it was clear that they were understaffed.

What can be done? Roster more staff.