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Sick visitors to hospitals

Posted By March

"Sick visitors to hospitals"

About: Angliss Hospital

(as the patient),

I got the virus/cold going around. I went to ER with pneumonia and collapsed lung.

The visitor to the patient in the bed next to me was coughing that hacking cough. I said you need to go doctor and get antibiotics and please do not come back to the hospital before you are well again. The visitor seemed to get angry and said I am OK and the antibiotics will work for me and I'll not be sick more than a few days. Yeah maybe I said but you are infecting all the nurses and doctors, patients and other visitors. I didn't want my family to visit me as they would have caught that virus/cold again (most had just recovered from it).

It seemed to me that one nurse wanted her sent home but one of the doctors said no one could enforce her to leave the hospital and not return until she was well and not that hacking cough. The hospital will not answer my letter regarding putting a stop to this just telling me it is up to the visitor whether they come to the hospital sick and infecting everyone else!

Not right and needs change. Can someone tell me who has authority to turn sick visitors to a hospital away?

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Responses

Response from Care Opinion Australia 10 years ago
Care Opinion Australia

Submitted on 19/11/2013 at 3:10 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 3:11 PM

This response has been posted by Patient Opinion on behalf of Eastern Health:

Dear March,

Thank you for raising your concerns in relation to your experience at Angliss Hospital. In your post you mention that the hospital will not answer the letter you sent to us. We have received a complaint very similar to yours and we wonder whether it is the same one. Someone did write to us to tell us about a similar situation and our Patient Relations Advisor, Sharon Deeker, did email her back – but perhaps this was another, similar complaint.

Regardless, we would like the opportunity to respond directly to your concerns so I would encourage you to call our Centre for Patient Experience on 1800 327 8376 or feedback@easternhealth.org.au so we can investigate your concerns with the relevant staff and to offer you a formal explanation.

Eastern Health is committed to responding to feedback and using patient feedback to improve our services and we would very much appreciate the opportunity to assist you further.

Yours sincerely,

Tanya Hendry

Manager Consumer Participation & Patient Experience

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