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Unhelpful staff member

Posted By redgk79

"Unhelpful staff member"

About: Patient Assisted Travel Scheme - WACHS Kimberley

(as a parent/guardian),

Less than a month ago I went to do an application for pats which I have never done before. My child needs to go to Perth for a dermatologist and when I went, I asked the staff member and they gave me a form and said to fill that out and then just turned away and didn’t say much else.

I took it home and I had to get help to fill it out as I wasn’t sure about some parts. I went back to hand it in the next day when the staff member asked me, why do you need to see one in Perth and not derby when derby has dermatologists (which my child has already seen) as if I had to explain myself to them. So I ended up having to explain myself to them and then left it at that.

I just went back there to see how it was going as I wasn’t sure if they were going to ring me to organise appointments or anything. I spoke to them and they said, I have your thing here I need to email it to get it all approved. And so I thought, its already been 2 weeks, wouldn’t it have already been emailed?

Then they ask me again about why I don’t see a doctor in Derby and kept questioning me. They said at the end when I had answered, I suppose I can get this done for you now.

I felt like if I wasn’t to explain myself to them then it wouldn’t have gotten done.

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Responses

Response from Donna Cox, Regional PATS coordinator, Patient transfer, WACHS - Kimberley 2 months ago
Donna Cox
Regional PATS coordinator, Patient transfer,
WACHS - Kimberley

Submitted on 6/03/2024 at 7:05 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 7/03/2024 at 11:48 AM

Dear redgk79

Thank you for sharing your PATS experience, feedback about our service is important so I appreciate you taking the time.

The PATS scheme intends to assist rural & remote residents to access the nearest available specialist. As a Dermatologist visits the Kimberley regularly it is expected that care be provided by this visiting service where possible. As part of assessing eligibility for the PATS scheme, the PATS Officer needs to ask some questions to ensure that the travel meets the requirements of the program. We understand that these questions can include sensitive topics, and we thus expect our PATS officers to show compassion and sensitivity when asking these questions. We also expect that any documentation submitted by patients is actioned in a timely manner. I am disappointed to hear your experience was inconsistent with the service we strive to provide and apologise.

I would like to take the opportunity to follow this up with the staff member involved, to ensure they understand the importance of quality customer service. Unfortunately, it is unclear from your feedback which site within the Kimberley you had this experience at. If you would be willing to discuss further so I can follow-up my name is Donna Cox (PATS Regional Coordinator -Kimberley) and I can be contacted on 9194 2334.

Kind regards,

Donna Cox

Regional PATS coordinator

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