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Accessing the ward

Posted By StressedMum76

"Accessing the ward"

About: Perth Children's Hospital / Ward 2A - Medical

(as a parent/guardian),

This admission has seen the introduction of a few new procedures to access the wards. I understand the reasoning behind them. I feel the execution needs a lot of work.

When at the ward entrance I understand you are required to use the intercom to announce your arrival and name the person you are visiting before access is granted. Unfortunately, over the weekend, I understand the desk isn't "manned" and nurses are expected to perform this task. Unfortunately, I believe this lets the whole system down as it seems they are way too busy to do this. Therefore, I believe parents and carers are left stranded at the doors waiting up to, in my experience, 15 mins to gain access.

Also, we were asked for a list of approved visitors. Again I understand the reason behind this. It hasn't been accessed or required once and at the time of writing this we had been admitted for a number of days. Why bother with extra paperwork if it's seemingly not going to be used?

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Responses

Response from Sue Baker, Nursing Co-Director (Medical), Child and Adolescent Health Service - WA 2 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Sue Baker
Nursing Co-Director (Medical),
Child and Adolescent Health Service - WA

Submitted on 16/09/2021 at 11:00 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 1:18 PM

Dear StressedMum76,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your difficult experience accessing the ward to visit your child at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH) recently.

I apologise that you had to wait a considerable amount of time before you were able to gain access to Ward 2A to visit your child during a weekend visit to the hospital.

As a child safe organisation we ask parents and carers on admission for a list of approved visitors to be granted access to our wards at any given time. I understand this may seem like unnecessary paperwork, however we have implemented this process to provide an increased level of safety related to external visitors.

We endeavour to answer the intercom in a timely manner, however, on occasions nursing staff may need to prioritise clinical care. I do acknowledge that this can be frustrating for parents and carers waiting to gain immediate access to the ward. The hospital is currently reviewing options to improve the visitor access.

I want to reassure you that your feedback is valued and will be used to improve our services for patients and families as we strive to meet our consumers’ needs more effectively.

Kind regards,

Sue Baker

Nursing Co-Director (Medicine)

Perth Children's Hospital | Child and Adolescent Health Service

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