"Emergency Department wait time"

Dear Why am I not surprised,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on the Emergency Department (ED) in Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH).

I would like to apologise for your recent experience; for the long wait time to be seen, the lack of communication from our staff and also for the shortage of seats available for families. I understand and acknowledge the frustration that you must feel, particularly when you experienced a similar issue with long waiting times when attending the ED in Princess Margaret Hospital several years ago.

The wait times in ED are dependent on the number of children presenting and their condition. Currently, our long wait times are a result of an unprecedented increase in activity and presentations to the hospital. This has not been unique to PCH but has affected all the Emergency Departments in Perth. PCH has acknowledged this issue and is currently looking at strategies to improve wait times including: encouraging lower acuity type presentations to attend GPs, urgent care centres or local emergency departments via social media messaging.

Each child’s condition is assessed and prioritised based on clinical urgency rather than arrival time. With the process that we follow (I.e. the Australasian Triage Score and international convention), at times of high patient volumes our focus is on safely managing patients who are the most unwell first, followed by others with less urgent presentations. Regrettably, this can result in patients with less time-critical illnesses experiencing prolonged waits for review.

We acknowledge that the high level of demand in the ED has led to delays in communication with families. Staff are routinely allocated to the waiting room; however, staff can be directed to other areas based on clinical requirement. Even at times of extreme pressure placed on the department and its staff, we still strive to uphold the organisational values of compassion, respect, excellence and accountability and I apologise that this was not your experience.

We apologise for the shortage of seats in the ED. Due to some infrastructure works and maintenance of furniture, there has been a reduction in the number of seating available. We will have full capacity returned in a few weeks.

I am sorry that you had this negative experience; however, I can assure you that PCH, as a busy tertiary hospital, has patients and their treatment needs placed as our highest priority.

Kind regards,

Linda Hop

Acting Medical Co-Director (Nursing)

Perth Children’s Hospital | Child and Adolescent Health Service