“WE ARE not a children’s hospital”: as quoted by the triage nurse who was working on Wednesday night at the front desk at the triage unit in the Tamworth hospital.
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This defensive response was directed to a woman enquiring as to why there was a three hour wait, when there was an infant who arrived and presented at the unit at 8pm with croup and at 11.30pm that evening had not been seen by a doctor.
The triage nurse went on to explain there is a triage system, but when queried got defensive and loud and responded with “We are not a children’s hospital and we see patients as per the triage system”.
This response is unprofessional and demeaning to any parent who has brought their sick child to be looked at. It is unfortunately becoming a common attitude with the triage staff at the Tamworth hospital.
It is evident with responses like this that there is an urgency to get paediatricians to come and work in the country areas, so that we as parents can rest assured that our children will be cared for by medical specialists.
The triage unit at the Tamworth hospital is a constant disappointment, not only with their unprofessional attitude, but also their performance levels in patient response times.
C Collins
Tamworth