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Toddler with breathing difficulties

Posted By marsgn37

"Toddler with breathing difficulties"

About: Albany Health Campus / Emergency Department Albany Health Campus / Paediatrics

(as a parent/guardian),

Arriving to the hospital we could clearly see the backlog at 7.30am we were treated very well/efficiently by the nurses in the ed waiting room whilst waiting for a bed inside ED. We were then put through 9.30 to Ed, seen by Dr Brock, who was so so so thorough and understood our concern, the peads team, nursing staff here were great. We were waiting for a bed up stairs on the ward but by seeing the beds lining the hallways so were 8 plus patients. 

Admitted at 3.30 we couldn't fault the care of Dr Holly & Dr Ollie. 

We have a few concerns, 

* we weren't able to clearly understand the over night nursing staff & found ourselves continually having miscommunication issues around medications/needs. & having to remind staff of what we were meant to be doing with the care plan given 

* between 10pm to 12am we had a dementia patient enter out room. The first time they made it through both doors only to be stopped by me, and wait for staff to grab them, the second time they made it to the second door where nurses took a deal of time to remove them. This is concerning if i was on my  own without my hubby overnight. 

* we had spew left on the floor for the duration on day two, we had towels popped over it but there wasn't anything for us to use within the room to clean it up and no one around to clean the floor/chairs. 

* we opted to go home early, we wouldn't of stayed in thinking the second night could be the same, with the overnight care we were receiving. 

Please please, get some security around the wards, people shouldn't be wandering around a children wards  

A special mention to the food lady's, they were so good a popping in and checking/asking if we needed anything. 

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Responses

Response from Kate Hambleton, Director, Albany Health Campus, WACHS GS last month
Kate Hambleton
Director, Albany Health Campus,
WACHS GS

Submitted on 7/08/2025 at 12:13 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 3:46 PM

Dear marsgn37,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us. We’re really grateful for your thoughtful feedback and for the kind words you’ve shared about our nurses, Dr Brock, Dr Holly, Dr Ollie, the paediatric team, and our food services staff. It’s lovely to hear that their care and attention made a difference during what must have been a very stressful time for your family.

We’re also genuinely sorry to hear about the concerns you’ve raised. Your feedback is incredibly important to us, and we want you to know that we’re listening and taking it seriously.

Communication with overnight nursing staff:
We’re sorry that communication wasn’t as clear as it should have been, especially around medications and your child’s care plan. We understand how frustrating and worrying that can be, and we’re working with our teams to improve handovers and ensure care plans are followed consistently.

Unsupervised patient entry into your room:
That must have been a very unsettling experience, and we’re truly sorry it happened. Patient safety and security—especially in children’s wards—are absolutely critical. We’re reviewing what occurred and looking at ways to strengthen our protocols, including your suggestion for increased security.

Cleanliness of the room:
We apologise for the delay in cleaning and the lack of resources available to you. That’s not the standard we aim for, and we’re following up with our cleaning teams to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Decision to leave early:
We completely understand your decision to go home early, and we’re sorry that your overnight experience led to that. We’re committed to making sure families feel safe, supported, and cared for—day and night—and your feedback will help us improve.

We’ve shared your comments with the relevant teams, and they’ll be used to guide improvements in how we deliver care and support to families like yours. Thank you again for your honesty and for helping us do better.

Kind regards

Kate Hambleton

Director, Albany Health Campus

WACHS Great Southern

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