"Terrible behaviour by a nurse"

My spouse was in Short Stay just next to ED at Box Hill hospital in Melbourne. They are a Renal Patient and a regular at the hospital. They have been admitted 6 times since early last year. The staff, Drs and Nurses have been brilliant, especially during the difficult times around COVID-19. 

My spouse was admitted again recently, for a blocked Fistula. They were in a very low mental state and had expressed to me via text that they just were at their lowest. They asked me to bring in some PJ's and toiletries etc, as they had to stay overnight and have a procedure the following day.

I have 2 children who obviously had to accompany me to the hospital. I was met by a security guard at emergency who took all 3 of our temperatures and advised us where to go. We then went to the short stay waiting room, there was nobody there so we rang the bell and waited. A lovely nurse came and I explained why were were there and that my spouse was in a bad way. The nurse advised very politely that there are to be no visitors in short stay due to COVID-19. They asked my spouse's name and asked us to wait while they checked. The nurse came back a few minutes later with another nurse, who was also very polite and explained again that no visitors were allowed.

I had a small discussion with them about my worries for my spouse's mental health, as well as their physical condition. They were lovely and assured me they were safe and they offered to try to get them on the phone with me and to wait to see if there was anything else that could happen, like my spouse coming to us for 5 minutes in the empty waiting room. They took their possessions off me so they could take them to my spouse. 

Then it all went wrong.

A completely different nurse came to the closed door and just started barking at me - why are you here? Who let you in? How did you get here? I started to explain to them that I was already being looked after. They said no, you can't be here, you have to leave, I am your spouse's nurse, you can't stay. I said I understood about the COVID protocols and that the other lovely nurse was checking for me. This nurse continued to bark at me that I had to go and that my spouse was refusing treatment and that they would not let the nurse take blood. This obviously upset my children, particularly my youngest who started crying and didn't understand.

The nurse continued to say we had to get out and that we were not allowed to be there. In my opinion, their tone and aggression were not called for. I was not putting up any resistance about leaving, I was trying to understand why 2 other nurses were perfectly lovely and explaining things to me about no visitors, but to wait to see if they could get my spouse on the phone or for them to come and see us in the waiting room, to a 3rd nurse who was supposedly treating my spouse, was barking at us with all this aggression. I keep saying barking as that is what it felt like from their tone. Even when my child was crying their eyes out and terribly upset, this nurse continued to be nasty. We left with no resistance at all. My child crying all the way to the car, and my other child in disbelief.

I went back to my car and my spouse called me to tell me they were being transferred to the ward. Thank god they were getting away from the person who was looking after their care, particularly their mental care that I had advised the previous 2 lovely nurses was in a volatile spot.

I was pleased that this nurse would no longer be looking after my spouse, given the way they treated myself and my children.

My children and I returned to the hospital straight up to the ward 8.1, who greeted us with open arms and were so lovely us as well as to my spouse. They looked after all of us, and my children got to see that their parent was fine, had not refused any treatment, simply told the nasty nurse, that they required an ultrasound on their fistula, as per advise from the Dr, before they could take blood. 

I get we all have bad days, I get that the hospital system is stretched to its capacity and that its been a hell of a year for all involved, but its crazy that you can have 2 perfectly different outcomes to a situation. 2 people so helpful and polite and able to explain a situation and try to assist, as best they can, to another nurse, who's name I know, but am not disclosing on this public forum, that not only upset me, an adult but told lies to me and my 2 children and continued to be aggressive to us, even when they could clearly see how distraught my children were. I think this nurse needs to reassess their profession if they can't even provide people with common courtesy. 

I deal with customers everyday in local government and if I spoke to anyone the way we were spoken to I would be removed from that position. 

I never make complaints, but the treatment we received by this nurse, in my opinion, was appalling.