"Poor Mental Health Care & Lack of Communication"

My parent was recently admitted to the Acute Psychiatric Unit at Bunbury Hospital. I was extremely disappointed with the care they were given.

A few months ago, they were diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder. Since the diagnosis, my other parent (referred to as ‘my relative’ in this story) has been acting as their carer, but my other parent recently came to the conclusion that my parent needed urgent help. So, they took them to the emergency department of Bunbury Hospital. The next day, my parent was moved to the APU. The hospital did not communicate this information to us. Rather, my relative found it out when my parent telephoned the next day.

When my relative visited my parent, they found it extremely difficult to get any details about their care. When they asked a nurse, my relative was told there were no doctors available on a weekend to answer their questions. On the fourth day of my parent’s hospitalisation, my relative again asked for information about my parent’s medication and care plan. This time, the nurse apologised that they had not been contacted. They told my relative they would be contacted following our parent’s next appointment with the doctor. On day six of my parent’s stay, we received a phone call requesting a family meeting for the following day.

We arrived at the family meeting around mid-afternoon as requested. We were taken to a room in the APU ward and shortly after met a senior psychiatrist, another doctor and a nurse. From the outset, I felt shocked by the doctor’s apparent aggressive tone, defensiveness, and lack of compassion. During the meeting they said a number of things that made me very concerned. They told my relative that visiting my parent had exacerbated their stress. This doctor then suggested that my parent’s condition was related to financial concerns, despite our family not having any immediate money worries.

When my relative started asking why it had taken so long to give us an update about my parent’s condition, the psychiatrist appeared irritated. My relative also wanted to know more details about the medication the psychiatrist had given my parent. At this point, I recall the psychiatrist said that the meeting had become “unproductive” and abruptly walked out.

I stayed in the room with the nurse and the other doctor who apologised for the meeting. They expressed understanding about why we were concerned. Both spoke in a calm and caring manner but had not spoken at all while the psychiatrist was in the room.

Apparently, my parent only interacted with a doctor three times during their 8 days of hospitalisation. The third occasion was the family meeting described above. My parent eventually decided, with our support, to leave the APU the following day. When this request was made roughly late afternoon, we were with my parent. The nurse we called in was supportive in organising the paperwork and appeared empathetic.

They left the room and then returned to inform us that the senior psychiatrist who had walked out during our family consultation was happy to go ahead with the paperwork. They did, however, want to see my parent again around the afternoon if possible. The three of us reiterated that we did not want this to happen. The nurse returned a third time to state that the psychiatrist would like to discuss yesterday’s meeting, and for a third time we said, “no thank you”. I also made it clear that I felt uncomfortable in the psychiatrist’s presence because of their behaviour in the meeting.

Minutes later the psychiatrist seemed to storm into the room followed by a team of staff. I stated to the doctor that I was uncomfortable being in the same room as them, to which they said that I can leave the room then. The psychiatrist then proceeded to point their finger at my relative and I, and told us they had never, in their many years of experience dealt with a family like ours. They raised their voice and handed us pieces of paper with highlighted observations and comments about my parent during their hospitalisation, which we were already aware of from daily phone calls and visits. My relative chose not to speak during this interaction, despite the doctor making what I felt were irrational comments about their responsibilities as my parent’s carer.

The doctor showed no apparent concern that their patient was with us during this time. I felt they continued to verbally attack my relative. They then spoke to me in a manner I felt was very uncaring, confronting and unprofessional. I felt physically shaken as I repeatedly asked for the discharge papers. This request was seemingly ignored.

This experience was extremely disturbing for all of us. I eventually said I would no longer talk to the doctor, but when I did speak up again, I recall they rudely retorted that they thought I was not talking any more. After this final insult, the doctor left the room. The other doctors and nurses did not speak at all while this doctor was present, but they did stay in the room after the psychiatrist left and I felt they tried to persuade us to change our minds about my parent’s discharge. After this baffling experience it was an easy decision. My parent signed the paperwork and we left feeling even more traumatised than we had upon our arrival. We were given no medication or advice on what to take, as this was supposedly standard procedure for a discharge against medical advice. I recall we were told the paperwork would be sent to our local GP in 24 hours yet one week later they did not have this paperwork.

Based on this experience, we would not recommend the APU ward to anyone. My family’s experience there was horrible and will take a long time to overcome.