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"Refusing regular care"

About: Perth Children's Hospital Rockingham General Hospital / Paediatrics

(as a service user),

My young child has refractory generalised myoclonic epilepsy with tonic clonic seizures.

They have been under perth children's hospital and rockingham general hospital for their appointments.

Perth childrens hospital refused to make any outpatient appointments for my child as they were attending rockingham hospital.

Rockingham hospital said multiple times that my child needs to be under tertiary care. Its written in their letters.

It was until they had multiple admissions at pch that myself and their other parent had begged them to keep my child under their care in December that an appointment was made in April.

4 months away.

They said my child didnt need frequent appointments at pch because they were under rockingham hospital. Rockingham hospital has now refused their care because they are to complex. 

My child was admitted again to perth children's hospital earlier this month for a week long stay due to poorly controlled seizures.

We had to push for an overnight eeg, a normal eeg was done and they had seizures during this eeg despite being on medication. My child is refractory and is high risk for SIDS and SUDEP because their seizures are sleep activated.

Perth childrens hospital once again didnt book a follow up appointment because they had an appointment at rockingham the following week.

At our appointment at rockingham the dr has said that perth children's hospital need to take care of my child and no further appointments will be made at the rockingham clinic as they need tertiary care.

So now no one is looking after our young child.

Their epilepsy is Refractory and difficult to control, they have failed multiple medications and we still dont have control of their seizures.

We now have severe side effects from the dosage changes at their recent admission and they are not eating anymore and has lost 2kgs in a matter of days , we have no one looking after him and no one to go to.

I think that this is unacceptable care and in my opinion it's neglect.

My child was admitted under professor at pch .

We would like to have continuity of care for my child and to stay under the professors care given they are also the only Epileptologist at PCH, they deal with complex epilepsy cases.

The appointment that pch made in december for an April appointment was with a new Dr whos never met our child. 

We have contacted patient liason officers at pch .  who has told us multiple times that our child's appointments and all their care can be followed up at rockingham. Well I think that their response is neglect because rockingham do not have the care and facilities to provide care to our child and keep pushing the care back to pch .... pch push back to rockingham and now there's no rockingham care and we are left with no care.

Rockingham has refused all care now.

We need regular consistent care at perth children's hospital effectively immediately given my child is high risk for SIDS. 

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Responses

Response from Asheila Narang, Executive Director, Rockingham Peel Group, South Metropolitan Health Service 2 days ago
Asheila Narang
Executive Director, Rockingham Peel Group,
South Metropolitan Health Service
Submitted on 27/03/2026 at 3:42 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 3:42 PM


picture of Asheila Narang

Dear pyxiszh77,

I am sorry to hear about the distressing and confusing situation that you and your child have been through. It’s completely understandable that you would feel frustrated and upset when trying to secure consistent care for your child, particularly when the information provided to you between services has not aligned. Navigating care across multiple hospitals and care teams can be overwhelming for any parent, and it is clear from your account that this has been a very challenging experience for you. I would like to sincerely apologise that this has been your experience.

Please be assured at Rockingham General Hospital, we are committed to placing patients and families at the centre of everything we do. We aim to ensure that patients are only discharged once appropriate follow‑up, interventions, or care plans have been arranged in line with their individual needs. From what you have described it appears that this may not have occurred in your child’s case, and I am truly sorry for the distress this has caused.

I encourage you to contact RGH Consumer Liaison Officers on 9559 4323 or RGH.feedback@health.wa.gov.au to allow the review your child’s care and treatment plans, help provide clarity on your child’s ongoing care and support you in getting a clear and coordinated plan moving forward. We will liaise with the PCH Child and Family Liaison Team treating team to discuss the concerns and opportunities for improvement you have identified, so we can better understand what occurred and explore how we can strengthen our coordination and communication to support other families who may face similar circumstances in the future.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve the care we provide. I hope your child is doing well, and please know we are here to support you in any way we can.

Kind regards

Dr Asheila Narang

Executive Director
Rockingham Peel Group
South Metropolitan Health Service

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Response from Tony Dolan, Executive Director PCH and Neonatology, Perth Children’s Hospital 2 days ago
Tony Dolan
Executive Director PCH and Neonatology,
Perth Children’s Hospital
Submitted on 27/03/2026 at 3:42 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 3:42 PM


picture of Tony Dolan

Dear pyxiszh77,

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns about your child’s care. We are very sorry for the distress and frustration this situation has caused you and your family. It is clear how worried you are about your child’s safety and wellbeing, particularly given their epilepsy and the challenges in achieving seizure control.

We acknowledge your concerns about the lack of continuity and clarity regarding which service is responsible for your child’s ongoing care. We also recognise the uncertainty you have experienced around follow‑up, particularly in the context of recent admissions, medication changes, side effects, and the risks associated with sleep‑related seizures.

We are pleased that you reached out directly to Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) and that your child’s clinical treatment is continuing. The clinical staff will continue to work with you to discuss how we can support you moving forward and achieve the best outcome for your child. Providing compassionate and expert care to children and young people is the utmost priority, with treatment and care individualised and based on the specific needs of each child.

If at any time you are worried at any time about your child’s seizures, or notice a change in his condition, please attend your nearest Emergency Department or PCH Emergency Department for assessment.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the Child and Family Liaison Service if you have any ongoing concerns or would like further support. They can be contacted by email at CAHSFeedback@health.wa.gov.au or by phone on 6456 0032.

Warm regards,

Tony

Mr Tony Dolan

Executive Director
Perth Children’s Hospital and Neonatology

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