"Mistreatment in Emergency"

Recently, I called an ambulance in the night for my adult child who has schizophrenia as they were very unwell. It’s very difficult to get them to the hospital because they don’t understand what’s happening.

We finally got them to the Emergency Department (ED) at Kalgoorlie Hospital and we were put in a room, after waiting approx 10 mins my child got increasingly irritable because again, they don’t understand why they're there, my child started yelling, it was just my child and myself in the room and security at the door. A nurse came in and told us to get out, my child walked straight out and I stopped to plead with the nurse and try and explain my child's situation.

They are not normally aggressive, only when they're unwell with their illness but the nurse said it was my problem, not theirs and I said but my child needs to see a Dr and the nurse said I had to call the police if I wanted them seen, to which I started to call immediately, the nurse then told me to get outside to make the call.

I went straight outside and followed my child down the path, it seemed a few nurses and security staff then watched as my child continued to do strange things out the front while I was on the phone to the police. Two nurses came out to the road having cigarettes and I watched them as they were I believe laughing at my child while they were wandering around talking to themselves. 

Nobody helped me while I tried to keep my child there until the police and my parent came. My child can harm themselves while they are unwell and to throw us out on the streets like that was extremely unhelpful. I felt like my child and I were both judged from all the staff watching as if my child was on meth or something, which they weren’t; proved by the later blood test.

I understand the need for other patients and staff, of course, to be safe as well but my child also needed help and if I hadn’t have come with them, then it seems they would’ve just been thrown out on the streets on their own to do god knows what. 

My child has an illness just like any other illness that they can’t help. I don’t know what the answers are to be able to treat and deal with patients that, because of their illness, become aggressive but I definitely know that being kicked out or having to be wrangled by police is in my opinion, not the answer.