"Ongoing hospital care"

My elderly parent was in the Killara Ward at Sutherland Hospital, had been for a few days.

I had called the ward several times a day, asked the nursing staff (when I was able to visit) and called the switch in an attempt to speak with their treating doctor I recall every day since their admission. A dietitian called to discuss my parent’s dietary/eating habits, however at no point had any member of the team returned my numerous messages and requests for a call back.

Our concern is that we had no idea of what care was being provided, what tests were being undertaken, what the results from these tests were. This was one of my parent’s few visits and admissions to Sutherland Hospital within a couple of months, the reasons for these visits and outcomes are something that I believe are worth discussing with the treating doctor so they can gain a clear understanding of what any underlying health issues may be, or where to direct investigative efforts in order to best treat my parent.

During previous stays, I found the level of communication included daily calls and consultation opportunities with the treating doctors.

It has taken a lot for me to make this complaint however I felt it was necessary to escalate this after I received a phone call informing me that my parent had another fall whilst in hospital, despite the large fall risk label I recall was above their bed. It seemed to me the caller also could not provide any great insight into the range of tests being undertaken and I believe the notes only suggest that monitoring is required with no indication of a care plan or action.

We do not believe this is providing my parent or a patient at the hospital the best level of care they can and with seemingly no communication to immediate family, this was becoming very challenging to understand what the next steps or ongoing management plan/support may need to be.

I do not know what the next steps should be (my parent lives alone and is not able to stay with me) and this is why we rely on what I believe are the highly trained professionals who work at Sutherland Hospital to help guide us. I have been attempting to discuss this and how best to support my parent's health journey with the treating doctor’s team.

We were growing increasingly anxious about where my parent needed to be as they are not safe at home at this time i.e. respite care, or transfer to a private hospital for further testing or rehab. I would expect at the very least a phone call as soon as possible from the team so the doctor can gain a better understanding of the ongoing health concerns that my parent has, which my parent may not reveal themselves.