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"Newborn fell from bed"

About: Armadale Hospital / Maud Bellas Maternity Ward & Neonatal Nursery

(as a carer),

My wife gave birth to my baby recently. It was a vaginal birth and my baby was born in the early hours of the morning. She had a catheter put in as she couldn't pass urine by herself. Due to that, she had to stay overnight in the hospital.

When asked about changing blood-soaked pads for herself and nappies for the bub, I understand it was advised by the nurse that it is expected to be done by herself and no bystanders were allowed.

She was on painkillers and didn't get any sleep the night before as she was in labour pain.

During the night, she took the baby and was feeding. She dozed off and woke upon hearing the baby screaming from the floor. This could have been a tragic incident, luckily nothing happened.

Hospitals cannot have nurses watch the babies and mums all the time which is understandable, but in scenarios like this, I believe the option to have a bystander would have helped the situation.

Also, there were side rails for the bed; had there been an orientation on its usage following the transfer to the ward would have helped as well.

In my opinion, if this incident had happened in a manufacturing industry, a near miss is marked and corrective actions would have been taken.

Not sure the procedure followed by the health industry.

The mental trauma she and all of us had to go through is not expressable in these 1000 words!

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Responses

Response from Diane Barr, Executive Director, Armadale Kalamunda Group 2 years ago
Diane Barr
Executive Director,
Armadale Kalamunda Group
Submitted on 2/07/2021 at 2:34 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 2:35 PM


picture of Diane Barr

Dear squatnh76,

I am extremely sorry to read of the experience you have described. I can only imagine how distressing this incident would have been for you and your wife, during what in supposed to be an incredibly exciting and special time of your life.

I would like to reassure you that we take situations such as the one you have described incredibly seriously. I have been advised that the Paediatric Doctor reviewed your baby immediately post-fall and thankfully was assessed to be well. I also understand that on the day following the fall both the Coordinator of Nursing and Midwifery and the Director of Clinical Services visited your wife on the Maternity Ward to discuss the experience and provide assurance that we would be investigating the matter.

I can confirm that this investigation is expected to be finalised this week and, once concluded, we would be grateful for the opportunity to share the findings with you and your family. As an organisation, our primary aim is to deliver safe and patient-centered care, and we would be grateful for your involvement in developing any recommendations following this investigation.

If there is anything we can do to support you further at this time please do not hesitate to contact our Consumer Liaison Office on (08) 9391 1153 or via email AKG_consumerliaison@health.wa.gov.au and we would be happy to facilitate.

Thank you for taking the time to write to us and bring your concerns to my attention.

Kind regards,

Di Barr

Executive Director

Armadale Kalamunda Group

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