"ED doctor dismissed my dehydrated infant"

I presented to Bunbury Hospital Emergency Department one morning recently with my very young infant who had not been feeding properly and had not had an appropriately wet nappy in 16 hours. We had seen the GP and was referred to ED for “appropriate management”.

When assessed by the Dr in ED the Dr took a look at my baby who was asleep on my arms and said that they look content and asked me what my concern was, to which is explained they had not been tolerating more than 10mls of milk, had multiple vomits, no wet nappies since the previous afternoon and was considerably less alert than they normally are.

The Dr looked at my infant's vital signs and said they did not have a temperature and looked comfortable sleeping and wasn’t sure what my concerns were. I complained to the treating nurse that I felt like the dr was dismissing me based on the fact that my baby looked ok, even though I had explained that this behaviour was uncharacteristic for my child.

This doctor repeatedly returned to the cubicle to say they think my baby looks content, what do I think (as if, in my opinion, to try and get me to agree my baby was ok so we would agree to being discharged), regardless of the fact I repeatedly told the doctor I was concerned for my baby's well being.

Eventually, a more senior doctor came and looked at my child and agreed that they needed to be reviewed by a Paediatrician. They looked at my baby's veins to see if they could get a cannula in and said they would return. The original treating ED doctor returned to attempt to put in a cannula, tried and failed (which is understandable as my baby was dehydrated and is very small). They then proceeded to tell me it would make their job easier if my baby was well fed. In my opinion, it was like the doctor was accusing me of not feeding my baby. Eventually, my baby was seen by a Paediatrician who admitted them for IV antibiotics, tests and monitoring.