1/5 Michelle M. 1 year ago on Google
While
I'm
happy
with
the
care
my
elderly
mother
has
received,
it's
a
nightmare
for
relatives
and
visitors.
I
respect
covid
has
made
it
particularly
difficult
for
all
healthcare
providers
but
I'm
sure
some
smaller
hospitals
are
using
it
as
an
excuse
to
limit
visitors
to
cut
down
on
the
screening
work
for
administrative
staff
at
the
front
desk.
Before
I
visited
I
made
sure
of
their
visiting
hours
on
their
website
and
what
I
had
to
provide
-
RAT,
certificate
etc.
No
problem.
You
can
not
trust
what
is
written
on
their
website!
I
turned
up
on
Saturday
for
the
4pm
to
6pm
block
only
to
be
refused
entry.
On
the
glass
door
their
weekend
hours
are
limited
to
10am
to
12pm.
There
were
three
very
angry
visitors
at
the
door
with
me.
One
lady,
who's
husband
was
newly
admitted
with
dementia,
wasn't
allowed
in.
She
was
apoplectic
over
concern
for
her
partner.
My
mother
is
legally
blind.
I
have
to
help
her
with
cutting
up
her
food,
recharging
her
tablet,
downloading
audio
books
(but
wifi
wasn't
provided
there)
organising
her
clothing
etc.
If
I'm
not
allowed
in,
that
burden
is
shifted
on
to
nursing
staff
or
not
provided
at
all.
So
while
it
may
seem
limiting
visitors
cuts
down
work
for
the
gatekeepers
at
the
front
desk,
it
adds
considerable
work
load
to
nursing/allied
staff
in
the
wards.
Every
patient
gets
both
bored
and
lonely
in
hospital.
Visitors
mitigate
some
of
that.
They
boost
morale.
She
can
not
see
the
phone
or
hear
the
ring
-
so
if
I
want
to
speak
to
her
I
need
a
nurse
to
go
to
her
room
with
the
phone.
They
are
already
understaffed
-
I
don't
want
to
add
to
the
problem.
There
is
provision
for
what
is
called
an
"essential
visitor"
at
all
hospitals
but
most
don't
highlight
it
and/or
make
the
application
so
onerous
it's
just
not
worth
the
trouble.
Before
she
was
moved
to
South
Perth,
she
was
in
Fiona
Stanley
Hospital,
Fremantle
Hospital,
Attadale
Rehab
Hospital
over
the
past
2
months.
All
of
them
have
8am
to
8pm
visiting
hours
so
South
Perth
can't
argue
it's
standard
or
regulatory
mandate.
It's
a
policy
choice
they
made.
My
other
issue
is
the
lack
of
communication
with
me
and/or
my
brother.
Mum
has
an
array
of
complex
health
issues.
She
forgets
things,
doesn't
really
know
the
drugs
she
is
taking
or
even
her
previous
surgeries.
She
knows
this
and
likes
me
to
sit
in
on
every
appointment
as
her
advocate.
My
brother
and
I
have
power
of
guardianship.
I
haven't
received
a
single
call
from
anyone
to
inform
me
about
her
progress,
changes
to
her
meds
or
an
estimation
of
when
she
can
come
home
or
whether
she
will
need
to
go
into
TPC.
I
know
doctors
are
busy
but,
at
the
very
least,
they
could
ring
and
let
me
listen
in
to
the
consult
on
speaker.
It's
not
only
the
limited
hours
but
also
the
way
it
was
implemented.
Some
staff
members
who
spoke
to
me
were
just
rude.
I
am
disabled
-
I
walk
with
a
cane.
For
me
just
to
get
there
is
a
painful
effort.
I
turn
up
on
Friday
with
clean
pyjamas
for
Mum,
I
was
curtly
told
I
couldn't
go
in.
Apparently
she
already
had
the
"allotted
number
of
visitors".
I
asked
if
they
could
take
the
bag
to
Mum.
Fortunately
a
senior
nurse
happened
to
be
at
the
front
desk
and
said
"for
god
sake,
just
let
her
in".
After
battling
a
long
freeway
traffic
jam
just
to
get
there,
I
appreciated
it.
Hopefully
they
will
take
these
issues
raised
seriously
but
I
will
also
be
sending
a
letter
to
the
hospital's
board.
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