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Separated from my baby and not listened to

Posted By Mastitis mother

"Separated from my baby and not listened to"

About: Geraldton Hospital / Emergency Department

(as the patient),

I was admitted with recurring mastitis. Firstly in ED, a nurse complained that I had my newborn baby with me. My baby is breastfeeding/having pumped breast milk and fully relies on me. My spouse also heard the nurse complaining to other staff at the desk. I feel this is very unprofessional.

I informed them that I had private health insurance and wanted to be transferred to a particular private under my GP obstetrician but I was told that my doctor may not know how to treat this which I believe is ludicrous. I then asked the doctor if they could please not place my cannula in my hand or elbow so I could care for my newborn. I felt the doctor didn’t even look anywhere else and placed the IV straight into my hand. 

I was then put into the day surgery unit where I couldn’t have my baby. The primary treatment for mastitis is to drain my breast. I was then told by the doctor in ED I had to throw out my milk due to the medications I was taking but I found out days later from my GP obstetrician and midwives that I didn’t have to do that because it is safe.  This was gutting. 

Now, I believe from being separated from my baby, my milk supply has dropped and I have had to start introducing formula. I fully blame the care of the Geraldton Hospital for what I feel was suboptimal management of my mastitis for this. 

I overheard them asking the patient next to me in day surgery if they would like to go to to the private hospital I wanted to go to because they needed to clear beds but they still wouldn’t transfer me to be cared for my GP obs. 

I cried because I missed my baby and nobody seemed to be listening to me. Eventually, I rang one of the midwives at the hospital I wanted to go to and spoke with the lovey angels and they helped me get admitted there under my GP obstetrician with my private health insurance. 

I don’t want this to happen to another mother. I think doctors and nurses need more education on the management of breastfeeding mothers and mastitis. In my opinion, if you don’t know what’s safe to use in breastfeeding, ring the king Eddie pharmacist or read good literature. 

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Responses

Response from Leanne Sice, Director Of Nursing-Health Service Manager Coastal, WACHS Midwest, WA Country Health Service 3 years ago
Leanne Sice
Director Of Nursing-Health Service Manager Coastal, WACHS Midwest,
WA Country Health Service

Submitted on 27/10/2020 at 12:26 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 12:49 PM

picture of Leanne Sice

Dear Mastitis Mother,

I appreciate the time you have taken to share your story with us on Care Opinion.

I was concerned to hear you felt no-one was listening to you and that your experience at Geraldton Hospital caused you and your baby additional distress. In the circumstances you describe, I would expect that one of our midwives would have been involved directly in your care and I am saddened this was not your experience.

The Geraldton Hospital management team would value the opportunity to investigate what happened and what led to the decisions about your care and treatment. In this regard, I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss your concerns in detail and to offer you the support you need. My name is Leanne Sice and I am the A/Regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery. If you are happy to speak with me, please contact me on 9956 2211 or via email at Leanne.Sice@health.wa.gov.au. I would welcome your call and would like to assure you that you can remain anonymous if you wish.

If you would like some feeding support, you would be welcome to access our feeding support service. Please contact our Paediatric feeding team on 9956 2204 if this is something that you feel would be of benefit. You may already be aware, but I thought I would also let you know about the Australian Breastfeeding Association’s Helpline which is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. You can contact the Helpline on 1800 686 268 and learn more about the service by visiting: https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/breastfeeding-helpline.

We will be working hard to make sure that experiences such as yours do not reoccur, and I would like to let you know that Geraldton Hospital has a process known as Call and Respond Early (CARE) Call for our patients and their carers or families to call for urgent assistance if there is concern about a patient’s health or if it is felt that the healthcare team has not fully recognised a person’s concerns. When a CARE Call is made, a senior staff member listens to the concerns of the person making the CARE Call and makes a full assessment of the patient’s situation. The senior staff member then liaises with the treating medical team and other health care providers as required. If you would like further information about CARE Call please visit the WACHS Website at: http://www.wacountry.health.wa.gov.au/index.php?id=970

I would like to assure you that Geraldton Hospital is genuinely committed to listening and learning from the experiences of our patients and their families and carers and is very grateful to receive your feedback.

I hope that we hear from you soon.

Regards

Leanne Sice

A/Regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery

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Response from Leanne Sice, Director Of Nursing-Health Service Manager Coastal, WACHS Midwest, WA Country Health Service 3 years ago
Leanne Sice
Director Of Nursing-Health Service Manager Coastal, WACHS Midwest,
WA Country Health Service

Submitted on 8/12/2020 at 1:15 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 2:08 PM

picture of Leanne Sice

Dear Mastitis Mother,

I am following up in relation to the story you shared with us recently about your experience at Geraldton Hospital.

I would like to reassure you that if you want to contact me to discuss your concerns your call is welcome and you can remain anonymous.

My name is Leanne Sice and I am the A/Regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery. If you are happy to speak with me, please contact me on 9956 2211 or via email at Leanne.Sice@health.wa.gov.au.

We have shared your experience with our staff so they can reflect on how they can improve the health care experience.

I really hope you and your baby are doing well and apologise for the distress you experienced.

I encourage you to contact me and thank you for sharing your feedback on Care Opinion.

Kind regards

Leanne Sice

A/Regional Director of Nursing and Midwifery

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