"Unnessecary early discharge"

Dear early discharge

Thank you for taking the time to write about your concern that you were discharged from the Bentley Adolescent Unit (BAU) too early. Although the BAU is the Statewide mental health inpatient unit for young people aged up to 17 years, the Unit tries very hard to discharge young people only when they have received the help they need and are connected with other services that can continue to assist them in the community. I encourage you to please contact Dr Kavitha Vijayalakshmi, the Head of Department, on 08 6389 5800 to discuss your concerns. We value your feedback and would appreciate the opportunity to explore how we might be able to improve the services that the BAU provides to young people and their families.

Best wishes

Dr Caroline Goossens
Director of Clinical Services
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

Dear early discharge

As we provide health services to children and young people of all ages, it is most often parents and carers who provide feedback about their child’s experience, but receiving feedback firsthand from yourself is extremely important to us. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience at the Bentley Adolescent Unit. I’m sorry to hear that you were disappointed at the nursing care that was provided to you, and that you felt you were discharged too soon. As per Dr Goossens' comments, I encourage you to contact us directly to discuss your concerns, so that we can try to improve the service we provide.

Kind regards

Dr Robyn Lawrence
Chief Executive
Child and Adolescent Health Service; Perth Children's Hospital Commissioning