"Hospital treatment for bruising"

Recently, my partner and I woke to find that our baby (infant) was unusually quiet. I fed them with no problems but on changing them they became erratic and upset. Given their unusual character, we opted to give them some infants panadol at which point they gagged and was sick.

Whilst I changed my baby, my partner cleaned up the sick and noticed some blood in the sick. At this point we opted to go to FSH Children's ED.

On arrival (same day), we explained our concern and also declared that we had noticed some small bruising under my baby’s chin and on their arm. Following triage we saw some health nurses who proceeded to collect a blood sample and take a nasal swab to check for viruses and coagulation properties. The fist heel prick failed and so an arm blood sample was collected, all of which was unsettling for our baby. We were then moved to ward 3A and visited by a junior paediatrician. We were told the results would not be available until the following day so my partner and baby would have to stay overnight.

The following day we were not seen until the afternoon by the Senior Paediatrican at which point we were told tests were clear, no virus and normal blood coagulation. The paediatrician had no explanation for the blood other than possibly our baby had an aggravated oesphogus from coughing we had observed had been common since they had multiple colds (including suspected COVID-19) during a family visit overseas. At this point, it seemed the ‘patient care’ for my baby changed to treatment of an ‘abuse victim’. We were told that because of the bruising we had declared, the Paediatrician had a duty of care to our baby and was required, ‘reluctantly’ (because of our compliance and presentability) to inform Child Protection at PCH. We were understanding and compliant with this situation. The Dr explained that next steps would be in-depth series of x-rays and discussions with a social care worker, neither of which were available that day. We were told once the x-rays were deemed clear, we would be able to go home. Another day passed and there was no further progress.

The following day we were met with a step-in pediatrician who was sympathetic and asked to observe feeding our baby. Their view was that perhaps there was cow's milk intolerance and that we should implement a dairy-free diet and note any change of symptoms. They also explained the day's plan including x-rays and social worker. Our baby was then subjected to another heel prick (full blood test), again unsettling, before we were called for the x-rays. The nature of the in-depth x-rays were further unsettling for my baby as I sat outside the exposure room hearing my baby crying in distress, although my partner was able to be present. After returning to our room, we were informed that not enough x-rays were collected and we needed to return. During the final x-rays I asked if everything seemed clear and was told by a Senior Radiographer that they were unable to interpret the images and a Paediatric Radiologist was not available until the next day. We then returned to our ward and the social worker meet us. My partner and I swapped out caring for our baby and being interviewed by the social worker.

We were then met by a new Pediatrician in our ward who explained to us their understanding of the situation and that they would seek to discuss x-ray results with a Paediatric Radiologist at PCH since we raised the absence of availability at FSH. This Dr explained that the next steps were required since the initial paediatrician had located the bruising, as opposed to understanding that we had declared it on day 1. Following an extensive wait, we were anxious to go home but were met by the medical team late afternoon who explained that after review with PCH, we were to be transferred to PCH despite the x-rays, social worker interview and all blood tests being clear, because the Dr at PCH felt the bruising required further explanation. We were told this may involve an Ophthalmology examination of the eye and an MRI, possibly under general anesthetic for our baby. At this point we raised multiple concerns but ultimately chose to comply. We were told fastest option was to transfer to PCH ED because no beds were available and that a cot would definitely be provided due to child safety requirements. Both upset, I left my partner and baby who were transferred via ambulance to PCH.

Now on day four, my partner reported to me that they arrived to an exposed ED room with no cot and only a bed (no sides) for the evening. This situation is now ongoing. The horrendous series of events has been exhausting for us as a family and I feel it has been completely inhumane. We are alone, as a family of 3, with distant family overseas wondering all the while what is happening. We felt the sense of urgency to care for our baby and treat us (parents) appropriately completely absent. This doesn't include what I see as basic incompetence such as failure to check notes regarding unnecessary multiple weight, length and head circumference measurements. We lost count of the number of staff who commented on how cute, smiley and beautiful our baby was without ever providing any actual meaningful care. My partner recalled that when our baby was transferred from the ward, in a stretcher, nurses were commenting on how cute our baby was ‘in a stretcher’. Whilst my partner and baby await an Ophthalmology and MRI exam at PCH, we will be taking this case further to prevent other families being treated so seemingly inhumanely.