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Lack of care and empathy

Posted By saturnnz95

"Lack of care and empathy"

About: Royal Perth Hospital / Emergency Department

(as the patient),

I was low on iron at level 2 ferretin after an iron test, i attended rph immediately on advice from my dr, while i was their i was told rph couldnt help me. I then left and called and tried to make an appt with various agencies in perth. I couldnt get an appt for 2 weeks so my dr asked me to re attend rph emergency. I attended rph again and i had to spend at least an hour convincing the triage team that i needed an urgent iron transfusion. Finally after 2 hours i was asked to come back the next day for an iron transfusion. I attended rph the next day and spent 7 hours in rph getting an iron transfusion

My main concern is the lack of care and empathy that seems to exist in our health care system, it seems like its just a numbers game at the moment and its all about how to get people out as soon as possible without providing actual care

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Responses

Response from Ben Noteboom, Executive Director, Royal Perth Bentley Group 4 days ago
Ben Noteboom
Executive Director,
Royal Perth Bentley Group

Submitted on 30/06/2026 at 6:01 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia on 1/07/2026 at 10:34 AM

picture of Ben Noteboom

Dear saturnnz95,

Thank you for sharing your recent experience on Care Opinion. I am sorry to hear that this situation has been frustrating and that you felt a lack of care and empathy during your Emergency Department visits. I understand how concerning it can be to feel unwell and unable to access timely treatment, particularly when you have been advised by your GP to seek care urgently.

Iron infusions are typically provided via a GP referral to an outpatient or community-based settings such as Clinipath Pathology and are not usually managed as an urgent presentation in the Emergency Department. However, we recognise that each patient’s clinical situation is different. Based on your story, it is difficult to determine how urgent your individual circumstances were at the time of presentation.

I understand that your experience at triage and the time taken to receive treatment has contributed to your concerns. Please be assured that emergency departments must prioritise patients based on clinical urgency, which can sometimes result in delays for treatments that are not immediately life-threatening. That said, all patients should feel that they are treated with respect, compassion, and clear communication, and we are sorry if this was not your experience.

I would welcome the opportunity to review your case in more detail and encourage you to contact the Patient Experience team so that they can investigate the specifics of your care and address any concerns directly. You can reach them by email at rpbg.feedback@health.wa.gov.au or by phone at 08 9224 1637. As part of this process, we can also engage the Hospital Liaison GP, who may be able to provide guidance and educational support to your GP regarding appropriate referral pathways for patients with similar presentations in the future.

Thank you again for taking the time to provide feedback. Your experience is important and helps us identify opportunities to improve our services.

I wish you all the best.

Kind Regards,

Ben Noteboom

Executive Director

Royal Perth Bentley Group

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