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Multiple sites ignoring parents and denying parents the opti...

Posted By irregularity84

"Multiple sites ignoring parents and denying parents the option of a second opinion"

About: Bunbury Hospital / Bunbury Paediatric Ward Bunbury Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a parent/guardian),

While taking my child to our local hospital and being sent to a site with pediatric care, we were repeatedly ignored, told that I, as the parent, was the problem and sent to social work without my child being tested or their condition looked into further than treating symptoms versus finding the cause. I was repeatedly sent home with an extremely lethargic child and told they would get over the illness, only for us to end up being admitted for 4 days due to how bad my child's condition was.

When we asked to be referred for further assessment, we were denied and told that our child was perfectly healthy, for which they had no evidence to support. We have since been seen by PCH immunology under a priority 1 referral in which has proven that my child suffers from a genetic immunodeficiency that affects their ability to fight viral and bacterial infections, creating a stressful situation for our family due to financial and emotional strain from our child's health and the feeling that we as a family cannot put faith in the health care sites in our local town or the pediatric ward we have been admitted to due to previous interactions.

We have an extremely supportive GP in which we have been able to have supported us through this battle of advocating for a child who cannot express themselves. We felt we were judged, ignored and not given the chance to have our concerns heard about our own child in which delayed their diagnosis and increased their aversion to medical personnel through traumatic admissions and experiences within the emergency and ward admissions. This behaviour from both sites has occurred on more than 1 occasion. The social worker on our case, through the wachs system, has encouraged us to document the repeated occurrences of us being ignored for my child's condition and has also encouraged us to write this feedback 

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Responses

Response from Karen Horsley, Co-Director Stream B, Bunbury Hospital, WACHS - South West last month
Karen Horsley
Co-Director Stream B, Bunbury Hospital,
WACHS - South West

Stream B includes: Surgical, Maternity, Paeds, Theatre, DPU, Waitlist and HSSU

Submitted on 6/01/2026 at 5:01 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 5:30 PM

picture of Karen Horsley

Dear irregularity84,

I truly hope your child is beginning to recover and that things are feeling a little more settled for your family. It’s clear how deeply you care for your child, and I want to acknowledge the strength it takes to keep advocating when you feel something isn’t right. I’m glad you were finally able to get the answers you needed regarding your child’s recurrent illnesses and their response to treatment.

I am genuinely sorry for the care you did not receive at Bunbury Hospital, and for the times when your concerns were not fully heard. You should never feel dismissed when seeking help for your child. Our paediatric team is committed to ensuring that your child’s needs are met with the thoroughness, respect, and compassion every family deserves. We want you to feel confident returning to us for care in the future.

If you feel comfortable, I would welcome the opportunity to follow up with you personally about your experience, so we can ensure your child’s future care is fully supported and never compromised. You can reach me directly at Karen.Horsley@health.wa.gov.au. You are also very welcome to contact the Southwest Consumer Feedback team at SWfeedback@health.wa.gov.au or by phone on (08) 9753 6537.

Once again, I sincerely hope your child continues to recover and is receiving the support they need.

Yours sincerely,

Karen Horsley

Service Co-Director

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by irregularity84 (a parent/guardian)

Karen,

I have emailed you and am happy to send or meet with you and give you a copy of all of my child's documentation with the notes, photos and results that our social worker has suggested we collect. We have written about our experiences with date and times as instructed by social work. This ordeal has created a big distrust with my family and getting help from both hospitals involved, this has caused us to get documentation from our gp and specialist to present to the hospitals each time we present outlining what is expected and why it is needed for my child to get the appropriate level of care. It has also caused myself to have panic attacks and breakdowns each time I have to present with my child due to the feeling of being overwhelmed and not believed about my child’s condition, as well as the trauma of watching my child becoming distressed.

Response from Karen Horsley, Co-Director Stream B, Bunbury Hospital, WACHS - South West 3 weeks ago
Karen Horsley
Co-Director Stream B, Bunbury Hospital,
WACHS - South West

Stream B includes: Surgical, Maternity, Paeds, Theatre, DPU, Waitlist and HSSU

Submitted on 23/01/2026 at 1:20 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 5:17 PM

picture of Karen Horsley

Dear irregularity84,

Thank you so much for your response. It can be incredibly distressing to feel unheard when you come to a hospital, and I’m truly sorry that this has been your experience. You deserve to feel listened to and supported.

I would really like the opportunity to catch up and talk through the best way forward together. Unfortunately, I haven’t received your email yet. When you’re able, could you please try sending it again to Karen.horsley@health.wa.gov.au. You’re also very welcome to call or text me on 0436 279 568, whichever feels easiest for you, so we can arrange a time to follow up.

Thank you again for reaching out. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns, and I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Thanks,

Karen

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
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