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"Attitude is everything"

About: Wonthaggi Hospital / Theatre

(as a service user),

A few weeks ago, I along with my partner attended a Pre-admissions clinic at Wonthaggi Hospital. The receptionist was pleasant and helpful, as was the anaesthetist consultant. In between seeing the receptionist and the consultant we were seen by the clinician. A most officious individual with a decidedly bad attitude in my opinion. They fronted my partner about the documentation we had filled in and insisted we had filled in a section incorrectly. When my partner pointed out to them that the form was correctly filled, I felt they dismissed what was said and demanded that it be corrected. My partner found them to be abrupt, dismissive, rude and with a total lack of manners.

My dealings with the clinician were much similar. Upon calling my name and my acknowledgment I felt they demanded, not asked, to see verification of my COVID-19 screening test and was quite irritated when I could not immediately provide the requested information. There were no pleasantries when I went into the interview room, their manner in my opinion, was officious and off putting. I felt they refused to listen to what I tried to tell them about my rather complex health issues. To say the least based on my experience, they had no empathy and no idea as to how to interact with patients or those attending with them.

By the time the session was over, I had resolved not to go ahead with having the procedure done at Wonthaggi Hospital. 

I did try to contact a particular Dr who is an Executive of BCH, I was unable to do so, but was put through to their Executive Assistant. No luck there either so left a message on their answering machine. That was 24 hours ago, from the time of writing this story. No call back whatsoever.

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Responses

Response from Jan Child, CEO, Bass Coast Health 2 years ago
Jan Child
CEO,
Bass Coast Health
Submitted on 6/08/2021 at 1:38 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 1:42 PM


picture of Jan Child

Dear beidgt94,

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback - I would be very happy to talk to you to get some details and investigate - if you can text me with your details, I will get back to you at a mutually agreeable time - my number is 0472846355.

I will say at the outset that I expect all staff to be kind and courteous, whilst making sure they follow all our processes that keep our staff and community safe. I am keen to be able to talk to the individuals involved.

I understand that you would be keen to get a phone call back from an Executive member quickly but I will apologise in advance for all my staff, executive and non-executive, for our delay in responding as quickly as we might have in the past - the work effort and demand for health care workers is currently extreme and we prioritise critical matters first - that doesn't mean your issue isn't important, it just means that some will be life saving and they matter most.

I hope you call me.

Kind Regards, Jan

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Response from Jan Child, CEO, Bass Coast Health 2 years ago
Jan Child
CEO,
Bass Coast Health
Submitted on 7/08/2021 at 7:12 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 9/08/2021 at 9:15 AM


picture of Jan Child

Dear beidgt94,

Thank you for talking with me and providing some detail so that I can follow up with the staff involved. Your feedback is hugely important because your experience did not meet our expectations. Please accept my apology and know that we will investigate and manage so that your experience does not occur with others.

Thanks also for telling me that all of your other experiences with our health service have been positive. It makes it all the more important for us to get feedback when that is not the case so we can aim to provide consistent excellence.

One of my team will be in touch to give you some feedback.

All the best, Jan

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