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Perinatal loss support is appalling

Posted By whisperfd88

"Perinatal loss support is appalling"

About: King Edward Memorial Hospital / Maternity

(as a relative),

I feel perinatal loss support was less than supportive for my sister who lost her baby through, as I understand it, complications overlooked by KEMH staff. In my experience, it takes far too long to be reviewed by the perinatal loss team team. I felt the introductory appointment was a waste of time.

Her first psychologist appointment was 11 weeks after her baby passed away. Far too long to wait I believe.

I did contact KEMH perinatal loss team to have my sister seen urgently as I was very concerned about her and they reluctantly, I felt, saw her within 5 days. A psychiatrist reviewed her briefly and said everything she was going through was normal and sent her home. She had a phone call follow up and subsequent appointments cancelled. The follow up was, in my opinion, appalling and inadequate. Her first psychologist appointment was 11 weeks after her baby passed away. Far too long to wait I believe. 

Sadly my sister is no longer with us. In my opinion, KEMH have failed my family twice now. I will be lodging a formal complaint and contacting the Health Minister. In my experience, this team is not delivering the service we were promised and what is stated on the website page is inaccurate. 

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Responses

Response from Diane Barr, Executive Director, Women and Newborn Health Service, North Metropolitan Health Service 13 months ago
Diane Barr
Executive Director, Women and Newborn Health Service,
North Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 27/03/2023 at 4:46 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 4:46 PM

picture of Diane Barr

Dear whisperfd88,

I was so terribly sorry to learn about the loss of your sister and her baby. I would like to express my deepest condolences to you and your family, and thank you for taking the time to contact us, particularly while you are grieving.

In addition to reaching out via Care Opinion, I am grateful to you for taking the time to speak with me by phone today. I am so sorry to hear your feedback that we were unable to provide the level of perinatal loss support your sister needed following the loss of her baby. I would like to offer you my full commitment that the circumstances of your sister’s care are being thoroughly reviewed by the Women and Newborn Health Service (WNHS).

We are very respectful that this is a challenging time, and as we’ve discussed, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you when you are ready to do so. We have now provided our direct contact details to you by email, and I welcome you to reach out when you are ready so that we can arrange an opportunity for you to share your experiences of the care provided to your sister in a way that is most comfortable to you.

Once again, I am so very sorry for your loss.

Kind regards,

Di Barr

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