"Life saving excellent ED care"

My parent was recently sent to the Austin hospital by ambulance in a fairly critical condition after being generally unwell for a week with no specific issue, and rapidly deteriorating on the day they were sent. 

The care they received for 7hrs in ED/resus was exceptional and both of my parents spoke very highly of the nurses and doctors who tended to my parent who was the patient. 

Initially, their hb was <50 and they were peripherally shutting down (or shut down) due to a perforated ulcer in their small bowel which had caused a significant bleed. 

My parent ended up having 2 blood transfusions in ED, and a further 2 on the ward, followed by surgery the next morning to repair the hole. 

A gastroenterologist and vascular surgeon were both involved in their care, and were both fantastic and kept my parents in the loop the whole time with their suspicions and plans. 

The care on the ward was okay. I understand how busy metro hospitals are, however I was very disappointed to hear that my parent's diet post-op was completely normal and not clear fluids/soft food/light diet for a period of time. 

My parent has private health insurance so my parents were asked if they were happy to sign to use that, when they said no they were met with surprise. However, there were no apparent perks for using private health- my parent was sharing a room with 3 patients of the opposite sex, their privacy curtain wouldn’t completely close (by a lot, missing a whole curtain), and the meals weren’t overly appetising. Didn’t always get morning tea or supper. Had to pay for the TV, which didn’t work for one of the nights my parent was in. 

It was also disappointing to hear that my parents felt rushed out by someone who responded to their questions with ‘I don’t know, I’m not a nurse’, and was discharged 3 nights after their arrival with a hb of 80-ish and an iron level of 5- which they were meant to have an infusion for prior to discharge. My parent was told the infusion wasn’t happening and their cannula was then removed. 

Then while waiting in the transit lounge with several other patients, my parent was re-cannulated and received their first ever iron infusion. This was given in the transit lounge with no privacy,  and no vital signs taken before, during or after the infusion. I am aware that this is not best practice. 

Overall - great praise for the emergency department at the hospital and their caring staff who provided great emergency treatment and investigations, as well as reassurance to my mum and caring attitudes. 

I believe there is room for improvement on the ward. I understand it is busy, and there is a lot of complex patients requiring nursing care- but small things could make a big impact on the patients overall experience.