"Pilbara Mental Health Service - South Hedland"

Complaint – Conduct and Service Concerns

Appalled at the service and conduct of staff that I saw.

In my opinion, the conduct was nothing short of unprofessional and inappropriate — bordering on unethical. Downright disappointing.

I had a patient who was struggling and clearly required more intensive intervention — partly outside the scope of my practice.

I called ahead to clarify the referral and attendance process. I was told that after completing the referral, it would be triaged and I would receive a phone call from the triage nurse. That call never came. Had I been contacted, I could have elaborated on the very brief referral form I am required to complete.

Based on the information I was given, I sent my patient down and was told they would be triaged at some point. I completed the referral form with as much detail as possible — which is extremely limited — focusing the limited word space on the patient’s primary symptoms.

I understand that the psychiatric nurse then had the apparent audacity to say to the patient, I don’t know why they sent you, and asked what the patient wanted them to do. 

In my opinion, this was an inappropriate and confronting thing to ask a patient who is struggling — particularly when most people experiencing significant mental health symptoms already find it difficult to articulate or advocate for their own needs.

The patient was also told they needed an appointment. I was not told this over the phone — otherwise I would have relayed it. I believe this highlights an internal lack of communication, absence of process, and a system where the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.

The patient was then told that because they already had an external provider, they would not be provided with an internal referral and should continue care with their external provider. I believe this is clinically inappropriate and unsafe, particularly given the level of risk I had identified and the fact that the patient would have to wait 5 days before being able to re-engage with their external provider.

Ironically, the patient was later prescribed a medication — which in my professional opinion, was absolutely needed from the start.

Pilbara Mental Health South Hedland, I believe you provided this patient with a poor and unhelpful experience — one that I feel will only make them cautious about seeking help in the future. I believe that conduct like this directly discourages help-seeking behaviour in our very vulnerable community. And this is not the first time I have heard of this happening.

It is deeply concerning that this is seems to be the kind of experience patients are having when they need support the most. No wonder as a treating clinician, I am reluctant to use this service or refer clients there. I use Pilbara Mental Health as an absolute last resort — and this experience is exactly why.

Spreading risk is part of sound clinical practice, yet experiences like this for both patients and clinicians make it harder to maintain trust and professional collaboration. I believe it is no surprise clinicians become burnt out and leave when we are left holding so much, with so little support from services that are supposed to help.