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Our child who passed away

Posted By arawc93

"Our child who passed away"

About: Warren Hospital

(as a parent/guardian),

Our child passed away in a car accident & when we came to view them at Manjimup Warren District Hospital they were behind a glass window, we were told to limit our touching but as it was we couldn't touch our child because they were behind a glass window. We find this very disrespectful to our child & us as their parents to see our child like this. It was heartbreaking & disgusting as my child’s face was still dirty as nobody bothered to clean my child up. We were never offered to touch our child or have alone time with them. This has caused both of us untold anxiety & heartbreak.

We are now finding it difficult to get passed this stage in our grieving process. We were not impressed & very disgusted in how this came about & don't understand how this could be. I felt we were robbed of the touch & to kiss our child our last goodbye. We will never get that back & we didn't get the closure by having this done to us.

Why was my child presented to us dirty? Why couldn't we touch our child? How long was my child left dirty & at MJP Hospital before taken to Perth? Is this how you normally treat the deceased?

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Responses

Response from Jeremy Higgins, Operations Manager - Inland, WACHS South West 4 years ago
Jeremy Higgins
Operations Manager - Inland,
WACHS South West

Submitted on 16/12/2019 at 12:13 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 12:14 PM

picture of Jeremy Higgins

Dear arawc93,

I am so sorry for the loss of your child. I cannot imagine how you and your family must feel. It is difficult to find words to express how very sorry I am that this was your experience.

Our staff strive to provide compassionate care. I hope by having our Nurse and District Manager meeting with you this week it has helped to explain what occurred and to help us ensure families in your situation are better supported.

My name is Jeremy Higgins and I am working in the role of Regional Director in the South West and am happy for you to contact me directly. My phone number is 0438 062 342 and my email address is Jeremy.higgins@health.wa.gov.au

Regards

Jeremy Higgins

A/Regional Director

WACHS South West

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Response from Jeff Moffet, WACHS Chief Executive, WA Country Health Service 4 years ago
Jeff Moffet
WACHS Chief Executive,
WA Country Health Service

Submitted on 17/12/2019 at 4:02 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 4:03 PM

Dear arawc93,

I am deeply saddened to hear about the loss of your child, and offer you and your loved ones my heartfelt condolences. This must be a very painful time and I am sorry that we have in any way intensified the grief and sorrow that you must feel.

I am aware Jeremy Higgins, who was working in the role of Regional Director of the South West, has responded to you on the Patient Opinion platform and I would welcome speaking with you if you would like that to occur. I have met personally with Jeremy to discuss the circumstances surrounding this event and would like to assure you that we have put measures in place to make sure that this does not happen to another family.

If there is anything that I or any members of my staff can do to help or support you now and into the future, please do reach out and let us know.

Yours sincerely

Jeff Moffet

Chief Executive

WA Country Health Service

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