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"I would have liked to stay longer in hospital."

About: Ipswich Hospital

(as the patient),

I recently gave birth.  It was not my first labour, but it was a quick labour that came suddenly and was only a few hours start to finish. I was exhausted and my home life was a little chaotic at the time, so it was not a relaxing environment to recover. I asked to stay the night which was fine so waited a few hours for my bed to be prepared. I was finally taken to bed, I was told if I needed to stay longer I would be allowed. I decided that I would benefit from another night rest as I hadn't had much sleep and we were having latching issues. I told the day midwife that I felt I needed another night when she came in and told me I would be discharged. She did not ask how I was or anything just came in to let me know I would be discharged. I told her that I would benefit from another night at least as there was no way that baby and I could settle at home with all the craziness. She said ok, walked out came back about a half hour later and gave me a spiel about how all the beds were needed for people that were worse off than myself and then told me it was my choice. So feeling guilty I left. I am now home and I am now struggling. I don't think I would be if she had've just let me stay. I feel it was unprofessional of her to guilt trip me when I was simply trying to look out for my baby and my health. I went straight home after my other birth and I could've benefited from staying at the hospital that time and I had a relatively calm home at that stage. Considering the lady in the other bed in the room had cleared out that morning and her bed was still empty when I was leaving, I find it very upsetting that they couldn't spare another night for my baby and I to ensure we were prepared physically and mentally to come home.

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Responses

Response from Joy Wyatt, Senior Consumer Liaison Officer, Clinical Governance, Queensland Health - West Moreton 7 years ago
Joy Wyatt
Senior Consumer Liaison Officer, Clinical Governance,
Queensland Health - West Moreton
Submitted on 26/07/2016 at 12:11 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 5:07 PM


Dear Letdown,

Our heartfelt congratulations on the birth of your lovely baby.

We were sorry to hear that you felt the words and actions of our staff member caused you to feel guilty and pressured to leave when you felt that you would benefit to stay another night.

While the arrival of a baby is a joyous event, we acknowledge the demands of caring for a newborn can be very challenging. Your feedback is a timely reminder of the importance of listening to our patients and ensuring that we treat every patient with dignity and respect on each occasion of service regardless of how busy we are. We are sorry to hear you are struggling at present and we would genuinely like to offer assistance.

When discharging new mothers following delivery, we normally offer them information and access to community based support services. For example, home visits or phone contact by midwives, General Practitioner follow-up, Child Health follow-up, breastfeeding support and 13 HEALTH. We are more than happy to speak with you about services that can provide you with the support you need.

If you would like to speak with us, you can contact our Consumer Liaison Service during business hours on 0409 275 503 or email at wmh.clo@health.qld.gov.au.

We very much hope we hear from you soon.

Kind regards

Monica Murphy

A/Director of Operations,

Women's and Children's Services

West Moreton Hospital and Health Service

26/7/16

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