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Care Opinion

Royal Perth- needs more support for families.

Posted By Perthy

"Royal Perth- needs more support for families."

About: Royal Perth Hospital / Emergency Department Royal Perth Hospital / State Major Trauma Unit Ward 3G

(as a relative),

I arrived at emergency after my husband has a serious motorcycle accident. It was at night and I was alone. I was quite distraught and settled myself on chairs away from anyone else. A person was outside hanging around the window near where I was and then wandered into the emergency, made a beeline for me and asked for money. I was then verbally abused by him when I refused. I believe security needs to be standing at the door protecting vulnerable people from these undesirables. 

When we made it to trauma, I had to wait in the "relatives room", which we quickly referred to it as the revolting room. The couches were ripped, broken and when you sat on them, you fell into them as the springs were gone. We had to spend so much time in there, it was awful.  Thankfully, the staff were all so wonderful but I think that waiting room is shameful.

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Responses

Response from Lesley Bennett, Chief Executive, East Metropolitan Health Service 5 years ago
We have made a change
Lesley Bennett
Chief Executive,
East Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 24/12/2018 at 5:59 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 27/12/2018 at 10:31 AM

picture of Lesley Bennett

Dear Perthy

Firstly let me apologise unreservedly for your experience at Royal Perth Hospital at what must have been a very emotionally stressful time for you and your family. I’m sorry that you were harassed by a member of the public while waiting in our Emergency Department, I can appreciate how unnerving this was for you. Security of patients, their families and staff is something that we take very seriously and I am sad to hear that you had this experience at our hospital. We do have a security area based near triage that oversee the Emergency Department, including the waiting room, and the hospital also employs the use of security cameras. However, as the security staff are also responsible for responding to incidents within the department, they are unfortunately at times called away from the waiting room.

With regard to the lack of comfort in our trauma family room, we are aware that waiting to hear news of an injured loved one is one of the most stressful experiences a person can encounter and the environment should not be an additional cause of distress. You will be pleased to hear that last week we replaced the furniture and the room now is much more welcoming.

Lastly, thank you for recognising the staff that looked after your husband. We are very fortunate to have such caring and dedicated staff, who work tirelessly in sometimes very difficult circumstances to care for our patients. I will ensure that I pass your praise to the trauma team.

Many thanks for taking time to provide this feedback

Dr Lesley Bennett

Acting Executive Director

Royal Perth Bentley Group

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