"The way I was treated"

I am writing to make a formal complaint about what I perceive as disrespectful and unfair treatment by a doctor who was the treating practitioner during my attendance with my child less than two months ago.

I presented to the Emergency Department (ED) to have my child treated following chemical burns. This was an unfortunate accident, which I was honest and transparent about when communicating with medical staff. Off course as parents, myself and my partner already held sufficient guilt around this, and this did not need to be further exacerbated by the response of health staff. Whilst I respect that health staff need to be thorough in understanding and treating injuries, this can still be done whilst treating patients and parents with dignity.

On attendance at the hospital, I informed staff that when we became aware our child had spilt floor cleaner on themselves, we immediately placed them in the shower to wash off any of the product. At this time my child displayed no discomfort and we therefore thought we had appropriately responded. During the night they woke, were a little unsettled and so I gave them some Panadol & Nurofen, changed their nappy & applied Sudocream. There were no further indicators of concern. Unfortunately, the next morning, after putting them in a bath and continuing to monitor them & applying more Sudocream, I noticed my child had what appeared to be burns in their genitals. Upon noticing this, I took them straight to the ED.

Initially we were seen by a doctor; they sent photos to Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH), and we began applying ointment as recommended. Approximately an hour later, we saw the Gynaecologist to assess whether a catheter was required; at this stage there did not appear to be an immediate need. Following this we met with a Paediatrician; at this stage my child was awake, happy and had no signs of being uncomfortable or in pain. The doctor advised they wanted to send us to Perth to be reviewed at the PCH burns unit. I queried the necessity of this given my child wasn’t displaying any discomfort, and we were applying ointment as required. I appreciate I may not have responded with the ‘necessary’ or ‘appropriate’ concern as expected by the doctor, however this quickly escalated into the doctor suggesting there were concerns for my child’s welfare and informing me that they would be submitting a report. The doctor also proceeded to tell me I had ‘neglected’ my child by not bringing them in to the Hospital the night before; although I maintained there was no evidence of burning at this time. In reflection on this experience, whilst I appreciate, I may not have fully grasped the potential risk with burns, I would think that this may have presented a greater opportunity to educate, rather than to treat me as, in my opinion, a ‘bad’ parent who ‘neglected’ their child.

Following this interaction, we were admitted to the ward. That night I ordered pizza from across the road, when the pizza was ready, I was told by Hospital staff that I wasn’t allowed to leave the ward with my child, and I would need to get someone else to collect my pizza. I was not clear on why I was not allowed to leave; this had not been communicated to me, but the Hospital staff subsequently sent a security guard over to collect this. That night and the following morning I continued to adhere to required treatment, by applying necessary ointment, and tracking my child's urine output in their nappies, although I note that with hindsight with all the concerns there appeared to be surrounding my capacity to care, that no one appeared to be monitoring or reviewing this.

The following morning a different Paediatrician came to see us and explained in detail why we needed to travel to Perth. I communicated I was always happy to take my child to Perth if this was necessary, I just wanted to feel like I had an understanding on why this was required and what would be achieved, as I also have 2 other children to care for at home.

Prior to travelling to Perth, I asked if I could take my child home for a couple of hours and committed to returning via the hospital if needed prior to travel. After this request, the Paediatrician, along with two nurses came and spoke with me and told me that I was not allowed to leave. I was told that on the day of admission the Nurse Manager had documented something in my child’ s file indicating concern for their welfare. When I queried what would happen if I left, I was advised Police would be called and I would be escorted back to hospital. As you can appreciate, I was devastated, I burst into tears and could not genuinely comprehend how I had gone from bringing my child in to ensure their injuries received treatment, to being painted as someone who could not care for their child and would require Police intervention. No one from the hospital had contacted my partner, their other parent either, even though they held such serious concerns.

My experience at Karratha Health Campus did not improve until a later interaction with Nurse Manager Jess. I asked for further clarity of my situation, and post some follow up, Jess later apologised to me about the way I had been treated and communicated that I was able to leave the hospital. My child and I did so, I then drove to the airport and travelled to Perth with my child as was required; of course I was always going to prioritise the health of my child, as I am sure all the medical files of my child, and my older two children would show.

I still to this day feel like it was one big nightmare.