ABORIGINAL TEENAGER’S FAMILY ‘DISGUSTED’ BY GERALDTON HOSPITAL TREATMENT
Geraldton Regional Hospital (Creative Commons)
BY GERARD MAZZA.
An Aboriginal teenage girl with pneumonia felt “unsafe” after being placed in a ward with adult men at Geraldton Regional Hospital because there was no room in the children’s ward.
A family member of the thirteen-year-old said he was “disgusted” the hospital had “completely neglected their duty of care.”
The girl entered the hospital on Tuesday after suffering chest pain, according to her mother.
The mother said her daughter was initially placed in the maternity ward, because there were no beds available in the children’s ward.
On Wednesday afternoon, the mother left the hospital for a few hours, during which time the teenager was told she was being moved to another ward because maternity patients were entering the hospital.
The woman returned to find her daughter on the floor of the ward in a distressed state because she did not want to move without family support.
The girl has severe mental health problems and a recent history of trauma in an institutionalised setting, according to her mother.
The mother says that when she and her daughter moved to a room in the new ward, they both felt “unsafe” as men were wandering around the ward outside the room.
She said a sign displayed in the corridor warned to keep the ward door closed because of roaming patients.
“It wasn’t right bringing a young child into a ward where you have all men around, even though we had our own room,” she said.
“There were men looking at us that made us feel uncomfortable, and angry too, because we’re not there for men to look at us.”
Another family member said the hospital “did not respect Aboriginal culture and lore” by putting the girl in such close proximity to the men.
The woman said she requested the teenager be placed elsewhere in the hospital, but staff told her this could not be accommodated, which led to a heated dispute.
The girl’s mother said no Aboriginal Liaison Officer was available to assist in negotiating the dispute.
Prior to the change in wards, the family had been supported by a Liaison Officer.
The girl’s mother says she stayed with her daughter throughout the night to ensure her safety.
The teenager was released from Geraldton Regional Hospital with antibiotics on Thursday.
The girl’s mother said she we would like the hospital to respect Aboriginal people more.
“We want to be equal too,” she said.
The other family member said the family wanted an apology and “this young girl’s integrity protected under Aboriginal cultural lore.”
A WA Country Health Service (WACHS) spokesperson told Ngaarda Media they value patient feedback.
“We are very sorry if we did not meet this family’s expectations on this occasion,” they said.
“It’s important to be clear that this patient was admitted to a single room and a caregiver was supported by staff – including an Aboriginal Liaison Officer – on multiple occasions and to stay alongside the patient.”
“At no time was the patient left unsupervised in the presence of adult male patients.”
The spokesperson said WACHS would be happy to meet with the family to discuss concerns.
The mother said she has met with an Aboriginal Liaison Officer from the hospital since the incident for support.
She said she would like to see the hospital have Aboriginal Liaison Officers working or on-call at night-time.
Premier Mark McGowan promised major upgrades to Geraldton Regional Hospital as an election commitment in 2017.
Tender applications for the much-delayed upgrades, which are not expected to be completed until 2026, opened last month.