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Privacy during triage

Posted By mercurycw34

"Privacy during triage"

About: Esperance Health Campus

(as the patient),

I’m an older person and I had a friend ring and tell me about this, and I have recently experienced it myself.

When you go into the ED you have to sit at a little desk to give all the details. It’s after you walk in, through the main doors and the reception. There is no confidentiality at all at this desk, to the side of the desk is the waiting room and people. It’s a small town, everybody knows everybody. My friend had people come up and say to them that they knew they had been at the hospital.

I don’t know why they did it this way when they designed the hospital, they now have a Perspex screen but it’s still open and people can still hear.

I have noticed the pathology place is similar.

My friend said they didn’t want to tell all their details but they were worried if they didn’t they wouldn’t get through to see the doctor.

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Responses

Response from Margaret Smillie, Operations Manager, Esperance Health Campus, WA Country Health Service 2 weeks ago
Margaret Smillie
Operations Manager, Esperance Health Campus,
WA Country Health Service

Submitted on 1/12/2025 at 12:58 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 3:28 PM

Dear Mercurycw34

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I can completely understand how uncomfortable that must feel, especially in a small town where many people know each other. Privacy is such an important part of healthcare, and it’s frustrating when the setup makes it hard to keep things confidential, we will remind staff to be aware of the this. Unfortunately we do need to ask questions to be able triage a patient and also ensuring staff safety before we bring patients into the ED. We will review the area and see if there are any changes that can be made to improve patient privacy.

Your comment highlights an important issue - thank you for raising it. Hopefully, changes can be made to make the process more respectful of everyone’s privacy.

Regards

Margaret Smillie
Operations Manager Esperance Health Campus

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