"My concerns weren't heard"

Recently I presented at Cunderdin Emergency as my child had been unwell for a few days. They had a high temperature, vomiting, loss of appetite and sleepier then normal. Their fever had broken on the day before and was well enough to go to daycare. My child was at daycare all day and was fine. The following day I had the daycare call and say my child had a high temperature of 38.3 and that I needed to collect them. Normally I would have let my child’s illness run its course, however, their other parent had just been in intensive care at their work with a respiratory infection, diagnosed the night before. They were fine the previous day, flying back to site. I tried to book my child into the local medical practice and medical practices in Northam. No where had any availabilities until late next week.

Upon arriving at Cunderdin emergency I felt my concerns weren't heard and the nurses didn't listen to the symptoms I had given and jumped to their own conclusions regularly. They didn't introduce themselves to myself or my child and down played my concern for their well-being and made me feel as my child’s mother I didn't have the right to be concerned about their condition and that with a dose of panadol or nurofen they will be fine. They even said that after giving my child panadol and nurofen that they were better and had improved. They hadn't improved, it had dropped their temperature down from 39 to 37.4 over an hour but the rest of their symptoms still remained. They answered questions incorrectly to the doctor to which I had to correct them on and failed to mention my spouse’s current condition, my main concern in regards to my child’s condition as they had been in contact with my spouse before they left for work.

They didn't try to accommodate myself or my child. I was sat on a stool the entire duration holding my daughter as she drifted in and out of sleep. When I was able to get her on the bed she only had a small blank that we had brought along to keep her warm.

I don't go to emergency unless I am concerned or I have no other alternative. This was the second time I've had to go there, previous was for perforated eardrums over a weekend when I dont have access to the Local GP, my experience that time wasn't much better either. I was concerned and had no other alternative other to bring my child there. To be made to feel like I was wasting their time, like they had better things to be doing, other patients to attend to. We were the only people in emergency.

I feel nursing staff that behave like that are the reason parents are so reluctant to bring their children in. To be made feel like you don't know your child best and that your concerns aren't valid is rude and frustrating as a parent. You are always told it's better to safe then sorry when it comes to your child's health, take them in to get checked if you are concerned, but when you are treated poorly for your concerns, dismissed and have nursing staff seemingly fabricate their own version of the scenario you are less likely to take your child there the next time they could be critically ill.

Nursing staff need to have more diplomacy and empathy for people's feeling, concerns and situations. Which you would think they have becoming a nurse in the first place.

In future events I will not waste my time or the Nursing staffs time here and I will go straight to another hospital for medical help.