Care Opinion
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"Stay in Hospital"

About: Geraldton Hospital

(as the patient),

Recently I was admitted to the Emergency Department with high temperature and difficulty controlling my asthma. The staff were very caring and went about helping me with breathing difficulties. When transported to the ward, the night nurse that was assigned to me came in and explained who they were and that they would be looking after me. There was no water provided for me. This was about 3.30am in the early morning. When the morning nurse arrived to give me my tablets they had to get me a jug of water and when asked if I wanted to shower, I had to get my daughter to find some bath towels. I tended to overlook these small incidents as I felt I was just dumped into the ward.

My main complaint is about the food that I received during my stay. The food during my stay was, how could I explain it, disgusting. The soups were lukewarm with cold bits sitting at the bottom of the bowl (tomato). The main meal was also lukewarm. The meals overall were cold and uninteresting, so on the morning of my discharge when the ward doctor said that I would be able to go home later on that day, I was pleased to get home and make myself a nice hot dinner. The delivery of meals leaving the kitchen needs somehow to be kept warm.

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Responses

Response from Michele Young, Coordinator Executive Services, Executive Services, WACHS-Midwest 2 years ago
Michele Young
Coordinator Executive Services, Executive Services,
WACHS-Midwest

Submitted on 28/05/2018 at 18:21
Published on Care Opinion on 29/05/2018 at 09:52

picture of Michele Young

Dear Shakey

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience at the Geraldton Hospital on Patient Opinion. I was pleased to hear that the care you received in the Geraldton Hospital Emergency Department was of a high standard, staff will appreciate your feedback and I will take great pleasure in passing this on to the team.

I was disappointed to read about the aspects of your care that you described with your stay on the ward. I am very sorry that you have experienced our service in this way, your experience does not meet our commitment to providing high quality patient centred care.

So that we are able to investigate your specific concerns, we would be grateful if you could contact us directly to discuss the issues you have raised. The contact details for Derek Fraser Geraldton Hospital Operations Manager are 9956 2369 or Derek.Fraser@health.wa.gov.au or alternately you can contact me on 9956 8695 or michele.young@health.wa.gov.au. Your call would be very welcome and can still be addressed anonymously if you wish. We will of course respect your decision should you choose not to make contact and if this is the case we will have general discussions with staff about your experience and how we may improve going forward.

WACHS Midwest values feedback like yours as it allows us to reflect on our service and improve in a manner that meets the needs of the community. Thank you again for taking the time and effort to share your story with us. I do hope you are fully recovered and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards

Michele

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Response from Michele Young, Coordinator Executive Services, Executive Services, WACHS-Midwest 2 years ago
We have made a change
Michele Young
Coordinator Executive Services, Executive Services,
WACHS-Midwest

Submitted on 11/07/2018 at 18:37
Published on Care Opinion on 12/07/2018 at 09:31

picture of Michele Young

Dear Shakey

Just to touch base to let you know that while investigating your concerns regarding the meals served at Geraldton Hospital it has been identified that food temperature is measured when dishing up the meal, however not at the point of serving. As a result we are pleased to advise we now also perform temperature checks at the point of service to ensure our patients are receiving their meals at optimal temperature.

Food is an integral part of the healing process for our patients and a significant aspect of overall health and well being. It is important to ensure we, as a health service, are getting it right. The Geraldton Hospital has implemented taste testing sessions where we ask members of the community and our staff to taste test the food that is provided to our patients and we would love to have you come on board as part of the group. I'm actually going to become a member of the group to experience the food that our patients are being served. For further information please contact Derek Fraser, Geraldton Hospital Operations Manager on 9956 2369 or myself on 9956 8695.

Thanks again for sharing your feedback on Patient Opinion for without it we would not of been aware of the issue. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes

Michele

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