I arrived at the hospital with my teenager who had self-harmed and was suicidal; we were seen by the triage nurse and directed to the waiting area. My child was very distressed and took off out of the hospital. I went after them but couldn't keep up so I alerted the triage nurse who organised security to search. The security team was faultless but as my child had left the grounds I had to call the police. We eventually found them and returned to the ED.
A doctor saw my child and assessed their wound; it took at least another 2 hours to have the wound stitched. My child suffers from BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) and was very distressed. I can only assume the doctor was not experienced dealing with BPD as all the doctor did was distress my child further.
We were then left waiting for another 10 hours for the psych nurse. Each time we inquired what was happening we were told a different story. We are talking about a suicidal teenager who is extremely distressed being left for 10 hours! What an absolute disgrace! We eventually walked out untreated.
I am sure that my child had a temperature when their initial obs were taken, though not once did anyone take any further obs, and my child was not offered any assistance at all.
I cannot stress enough how disgusted I am with the entire process. If we can't rely on our emergency department in a time of crisis what are we supposed to do?
"Mental Health Crisis Care"
About: Fiona Stanley Hospital / Emergency Department Fiona Stanley Hospital Emergency Department Murdoch 6150
Posted by Mother of BPD (as ),
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