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Care Opinion

Options for single parents

Posted By marchwg93

"Options for single parents"

About: Geraldton Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a volunteer/advocate),

I work for an Aboriginal organisation and I was speaking with a parent who presented at the emergency department at Geraldton Hospital with their young child that was struggling health wise. Their child has impetigo which they had been treating with antibiotics and the child had a couple of doses and they said the child might need something stronger if it doesn’t get better. It didn’t get better and so the parent took their child to the hospital and the doctor tried to give them more antibiotics and discharge them, but the parent said they wouldn’t leave until a paediatrician has seen their child. Eventually, they got a doctor and their child ended up being admitted and put on an IV drip for stronger antibiotics.

The issue was that this was a single parent with 3 children, one being a toddler, and they were forced to leave the other 2 children because they had to stay at the hospital with their sick young child. The problem is the parent's only options were leaving their 2 children with family members or with child protection. The parent didn’t feel safe leaving their children with child protection as the parent was worried they wouldn’t get their children back, and they also didn’t feel safe leaving their children with family because there were issues at the house like overcrowding and the parent felt especially scared for their toddler.

When we spoke to the hospital with the parent, apparently previously they had allowed the parent and their other 2 children to stay at the hospital but this time they refused to let the parent do this and they had to do this for nearly a week. When we spoke to the hospital they were saying that there used to be a unit. Apparently, these units haven’t re-opened since COVID and that’s the issue. I mean even for Geraldton’s unit to still be closed when it is quite rural. I’m sure there would be other single parent's needing to look after their other children so I wonder what happens for them? Obviously this parent had to go through this situation, but this shouldn’t be happening.

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Responses

Response from Gordon Millar, Clinical Governance Support Officer, Safety and Quality, WA Country Health Service Midwest 11 months ago
Gordon Millar
Clinical Governance Support Officer, Safety and Quality,
WA Country Health Service Midwest

Submitted on 30/05/2023 at 4:39 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 4:45 PM

picture of Gordon Millar

Dear marchwg93,

Thank you for reaching out on Care Opinion and for advocating for our community.

It is very difficult for single parent families when one child requires admission to hospital. The Geraldton Hospital has some capacity to provide a parent with a temporary bed to stay with a child however the hospital does not have dedicated family suites that can accommodate multiple children and a parent with an admitted sibling.

The hospital staff are very aware of the choices that some parents are required to make and will try to assist, either caring for the admitted child without the parent present or assisting the parent to source temporary care for siblings. On some occasions the hospital team have been able to accommodate admitted children and siblings however this is not routine.

Each circumstance is unique and I am sorry there were limited choices for this parent and children. The Geraldton Hospital does rely on assistance from the Department of Communities to assist with children requiring care in the community.

If at any time either yourself or your relative feel they are not receiving the care or treatment they need, we have a service at the hospital called Aishwarya’s CARE Call. You may notice in our Emergency Department, posters about Aishwarya’s CARE Call, which is a 1800 number for patients, carers and families to raise their concerns if they or someone they care for is getting sicker. In the Midwest, no matter what hospital you go to this number is 1800 316 729 or you can find out more here at: WA Country Health Service - Aishwarya’s CARE Call

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the matter in more detail. My name is Gordon Millar, I am the Consumer Engagement Coordinator for WA Country Health Service, Midwest. I can be reached on 08 9956 2427, or email WACHS-MidwestCGU@health.wa.gov.au

I do hope the child is now recovering back at home with their family.

Regards

Gordon Millar

Consumer Engagement Coordinator

WA Country Health Service – Midwest

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