"Nurses on the ward"

My adult child is a voluntary patient - meaning they admitted themselves at the Hospital for mental health treatment. they volunteered to go themselves and therefore should be allowed to go outside on day leave or inside the hospital to the cafeteria.

They feel like a prisoner. Just to go out to the cafeteria they have to consistently ask to keep being told that they can't due to one reason or another.

Yet - on a day they were allowed out and had not returned on time they called me asking if I knew where they were. I said I didn't know they were out on day leave. They respond by telling me that they can't stop them leaving as they are a voluntary patient. They are allowed to go.

So why do you keep seemingly changing the rules from one day to the next?

If they are allowed to go out - why do you tell them they can't go out even if it is just to the hospital cafeteria?

Makes no sense to me.

Patients are there to get better. In my opinion, not for you to cage them up like dangerous animals and in turn affect their mental health by deflating their spirit even more - as humans do to cages animals.

Sounds to me like nurses are just on an ego trip.

Which brings me to my next issue - the apparent rude nurses on the Karri ward.

Some of the nurses on the Karri ward I found are very rude to talk to. It seems to me they can't speak clearly and don't understand what I was trying to say to them. In particular, I recall one nurse cut me off every time I tried to speak to them about my adult child. I felt they twisted my words and was speaking in a threatening manner to me. Threatening to tell the Treatment Team that I had made a final decision to not want to know about or be a part of my adult child’s mental health treatment. Which appears to me an utter lie! I simply called to say we don't understand the point of us coming in to attend a family meeting when my adult child has made no progress in their medication being changed. Therefore, I feel they are in exactly the same mental situation they presented to at the hospital the day they voluntary admitted themselves. We asked to cancel the meeting and have the doctor call us instead if they had any questions to ask us about our adult child or family life etc.

I felt the initial nurse could not process a seemingly simple request. And I recall became rude in their mannerism. Repeating over and over so this is our final decision? This is our final decision? No. My final decision is to have the doctor call us. I have never been more frustrated. I believe a simple phone call was so dramatic due to their rude attitude and lack of communication skills.

My adult child told me they had me on loud speaker in the hospital when I called to talk about their treatment. They said my voice could be heard all over the ward!

I feel this is a breach of my privacy and my adult child’s privacy as a patient!

My conversations regarding my adult child are private and confidential, I recall the hospital has a duty of care to respect my privacy as a carer to my adult child. As well as respecting their privacy as a patient too.

In my opinion, absolutely appalling behaviour.