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Care Opinion

Emergency Department

Posted By microscopiumrs75

"Emergency Department"

About: Geraldton Hospital

(as a relative),

I feel it is not satisfactory enough that young children are made to wait in the main waiting room to receive treatment. I also feel their treatment should be preferential.

My grandchild required treatment at the ED and they were subjected to a long wait as well as being exposed to undesirable influences that also attended the ED i.e. people who I believe are addicts collecting needle packs and foul-smelling patients also waiting to be seen.

As there are plans for an extension to this department, I believe consideration should be given for a separate waiting area for young children. One that is less barren and clinical. I also feel that a doctor should be appointed to directly attend to this area and this hopefully will lessen the burden of the long queues that continually occur for children.

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Responses

Response from Michele Young, REOC Lead, Executive Services, WACHS-Midwest 4 years ago
Michele Young
REOC Lead, Executive Services,
WACHS-Midwest

Submitted on 7/06/2019 at 5:48 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 10/06/2019 at 9:39 AM

picture of Michele Young

Dear microscopiumrs75

Thank you for taking the time to share you and your grandchild’s experience on Patient Opinion. I was sorry to read of your experience at the Geraldton Hospital Emergency Department. As a mother, I know how stressful it can be when a child in your care is unwell and particularly if you have a long wait to receive care.

The Geraldton Hospital Emergency Department uses the Australian Triage Scale system to prioritise patients based on how unwell they are, which includes the level of discomfort your grandchild was experiencing. When you arrive at the Emergency Department either by ambulance, Royal Flying Doctor Service, by yourself, or with your family or carer, a Triage Nurse will assess the urgency of your condition. You will be given a rating from one to five, with category one being patients in need of the most urgent care. You can ask the Triage Nurse what rating you have been given. If you are critically ill or have life-threatening injuries you will be taken immediately into the department for treatment and care. If you have less urgent clinical needs you will either be made comfortable in a treatment area or asked to go to the waiting area. Unfortunately on some occasions there may be a wait.

Planning has commenced for the redevelopment of the Geraldton Hospital and I will forward your feedback onto the team. I have discussed your story with Derek Fraser, Geraldton Hospital Operations Manager and if you would like an opportunity to further discuss your concerns we would be very grateful if you could please contact us directly. Derek Fraser, Operations Manager, Geraldton Hospital can be contacted on 9956 2369 or 0409 045 153 or alternatively, you can contact myself on 9956 8695 or michele.young@health.wa.gov.au. Your call would be very welcome and can still be addressed anonymously if you wish.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your story on Patient Opinion. I hope your grandchild is well and truly on the mend and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind regards

Michele

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