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Child health substandard care

Posted By Angryadvocate

"Child health substandard care"

About: Broome Community Health Service Broome Health Campus / Maternity/Midwifery

(as a volunteer/advocate),

Immersive Reader

I am angry and saddened to hear that women and families are receiving seemingly appalling care after having babies.

The feedback I have had from many women is that the child health care services are so bad that they don’t even bother utilising the service, and instead go to their GP or elsewhere for help.

I understand many women have left the centre feeling inadequate, unsupported, sad, and like their needs were not met. I feel that these women are some of our most vulnerable in society and the fact that there is, in my opinion, no decent help in the community is a disgrace.

I believe it is obvious that there are huge gaps in the system between leaving the care of the hospital and being cared for by the community health team. I understand that women feel lost and don’t know where to go for help if they are struggling, whether it’s breastfeeding assistance, mental health concerns, baby issues etc.

In my opinion, this has been a well known issue for several years but, I believe, nothing has been done to improve it. It seems the staff are out of touch and have clearly lost their passion for providing compassionate, evidence based best practice.

Being geographically isolated and away from family is difficult enough for new parents, but even more so when there is seemingly no support from the health care team that you then rely on.

I can only hope that this will change in the near future. 

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Responses

Response from WACHS - Kimberley 3 years ago
We have made a change
WACHS - Kimberley

Submitted on 19/08/2021 at 4:44 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 5:07 PM

Immersive Reader

Dear Angryadvocate,

Thank you for taking the time to share the feedback you have received from parents in Broome about our child health service.

The team were shattered to read your story and the concerns you have raised regarding the quality of the service and perceptions of the community we serve.

We acknowledge that there have been concerns raised previously relating to the child health service and the team have been actively addressing these to strengthen the connection with community. Some of the strategies prioritised by the team include:

* Improving the patient journey between the hospital and community health

* Enhancing the drop-in clinic structure to increase attendance

* Strengthening the multidisciplinary team approach to care of families, including allied health and paediatrics

* Increasing our presence on the My Healthy Kimberley Facebook page as a way of promoting the great work of our team to our community.

We also acknowledge our shortfall in Child Health nurses, which impacts on the continuity of service received by families in Broome and is a known source of frustration for all involved.

I can assure you that the team is committed to compassionate and evidence-based care, with this year’s Regional Community Health Forum focusing on vulnerable families, communication, strength-based approaches and trauma-informed care of self and others.

I would love to speak with you to find out more specific details about the experiences you have described. I would also love to speak to any of the families for whom you are advocating. I encourage you to share my details with them to discuss what happened and identify further changes we can make to ensure our service supports families and babies. I also invite those with a similar experience reading this story to please contact me.

My name is Kato Matthews and I am the A/ Director Kimberley Population Health Unit. I am available on 0428 285 488 or email kate.matthews@health.wa.gov.au.

If you are interested in further advocating for improved health care in Broome, you are most welcome to apply for a consumer representative role on the District Health Advisory Council (DHAC). Consumer representatives are a vital link between the community and the health service and provide valuable insights in supporting improved health services and health outcomes for people in their local communities. You are welcome to contact me if you would like to learn more about opportunities that are available.

I hope to speak with you, and those for whom you are advocating, soon.

Best wishes,

Kato Matthews

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