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Care Opinion

NICU Experience

Posted By limamc68

"NICU Experience"

About: King Edward Memorial Hospital / Maternity

(as the patient),

I’ve given birth to two premature babies (separate births), at King Edward Memorial Hospital. One in a few years ago and one recently. Both times after birth, I was sent to the maternity ward. I get it. I do. I need a midwife to care for me after birth. But it’s not just me. You chat to other NICU mums and they all have the same story. We go through torment of hearing the babies on the ward. Seeing other mums be able to freely cuddle their babies. And as if the torment of our babies struggling in the NICU wasn’t enough, we get this.

Walking to and from the maternity ward with no baby. It’s torment and a solution seriously needs to be sought. I believe many parents leave the NICU experience with depression, PTSD symptoms and mentally and emotionally scarred. As a health care provider, you need to ensure this is minimalised and one step to take is not enduring mothers to stay on the maternity ward whilst their babies are in the NICU. Surely there’s another solution.  

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Responses

Response from Jodi Graham, Executive Director, Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group 4 years ago
Jodi Graham
Executive Director,
Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group

Submitted on 27/09/2019 at 2:43 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 2:44 PM

picture of Jodi Graham

Dear limamc68,

Thank you for taking the time to raise your concerns regarding your birth experiences at King Edward Memorial Hospital.

We strive to always provide the best start to life for newborns and their families, and I understand the physical, psychological and emotional impact that may be caused due to the separation of a mother and her baby soon after birth for neonatal intensive care. To reduce the impact that this separation has on families, the Family Integrated Care (FiCare) model was implemented in 2017 to encourage greater parent involvement in their baby’s care. The goal of FiCare is to promote more parent-infant interactions, and to build parent confidence despite the limitations of the NICU ward. We also monitor all new mothers for signs of mental health concerns and offer a range of supports and I hope that you were linked with such services.

As you may be aware, we are currently planning for a new Women and Newborns Hospital at the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre in Nedlands to replace King Edward Memorial Hospital. As part of the planning, careful consideration will be given to the facilities available to mums and dads, their babies, and families more broadly to promote the best start as a family. The accommodation for mothers of babies requiring NICU services will be among the considerations.

I would like to assure you that the feedback that you have provided me today, and the feedback from our past, present and future families will form an important part of the planning for the new hospital and the care that we provide. I would like to thank you once again for taking the time to share your experience with me. I wish you and your family all of the best for the future.

Kind regards,

Jodi Graham

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Update posted by limamc68 (the patient)

Unfortunately as a mother of 5, I wasn’t offered any such thing. I’m considered experienced and able. It’s not the case as only my last two babies were premature and very new experience. I wasn’t offered any supports. No advice. No help. I was left to my own devices and left in a maternity ward with no baby, twice. And whenever I would go see my babies in the NICU, midwives would call me back up to maternity instead of someone coming to see me. I felt I was ripped from babies constantly.

Response from Jodi Graham, Executive Director, Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group 4 years ago
Jodi Graham
Executive Director,
Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group

Submitted on 4/10/2019 at 12:38 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 1:04 PM

picture of Jodi Graham

Dear limanmc68,

Thank you for sharing additional information about your experience. I am sincerely sorry that our care fell short of your expectations and that you didn’t feel that we properly supported you or recognised your individual circumstances. If you would like to discuss your concerns further, I would invite you to contact our Customer Service Unit by calling (08) 6458 1444 or emailing kemhcsu@health.wa.gov.au.

Kind regards,

Jodi Graham

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