Cranbourne mother Narelle Scott says she is disgusted at the lack of care her six-year-old daughter Lainey received after undergoing surgery at
By Alison Noonan
A YOUNG Cranbourne girl who had just undergone surgery was forced to walk barefoot out of Dandenong Hospital after her mother’s request for a wheelchair was rejected by a nurse.
Narelle Scott claims her six-year-old daughter Lainey was made to hobble out to the hospital carpark last week wearing only her hospital gown and nursing a badly broken arm.
Ms Scott said she was appalled at the treatment her daughter received from the hospital’s discharge nurse.
The nurse showed complete disregard to the fact her child was in pain following orthopaedic surgery the previous night.
“Lainey was rushed to Casey Hospital after she fell out of a tree on Thursday night,” Ms Scott said.
“Everyone was fantastic there. However, we were transferred to Dandenong to see an orthopaedic surgeon about midnight and she had her surgery at 1am.”
Ms Scott said Lainey endured a series of X-rays before the surgery and was in so much pain her school uniform had to be cut off her.
“We had to cut her school uniform off her as her arm was very swollen and she couldn’t straighten it to remove it, so all she was wearing was a hospital gown.
“She didn’t have clothes or shoes and I didn’t have a car because a friend dropped us off,” she said.
“The next morning, Lainey was still groggy and in a lot of pain so I asked the discharge nurse if we could have a wheelchair to wheel her to the front door.
“She rolled her eyes at me as if to say ‘what a drama queen’ and scoffed at us for cutting her uniform, saying there were ‘ways to get it off’.
“Then she told me if Lainey was OK to go home then she was OK to walk out of the hospital.”
Ms Scott said she held the back of Lainey’s hospital gown closed as she made the humiliating and painful walk through the ward.
“She was still traumatised by the night before and was shaky and dazed from the surgery,” she said.
“Because of the nature of the break they didn’t plaster her arm but just put it in a sling, making it more susceptible to bumps as she walked out.
“She could feel pain with every step she took and was scared that someone would bump her.
“I wouldn’t have thought it would be so much trouble to get a wheelchair. I was gobsmacked.”
Ms Scott said she was furious over the incident and had lodged a formal complaint with the hospital.
“There was just no need for it,” she said.
“My daughter was terrified and had been through a lot the night before.
“I just think it’s disgusting that they made a six-year-old girl walk barefoot through the hospital.”
Executive director of Dandenong Hospital Siva Sivarajah said the hospital took such complaints seriously and would be reviewing the incident.
“It is regrettable that a family member of one of our patients was disappointed with one of our members of staff after being so pleased with the level of care she received at both Casey Hospital and Dandenong Hospital to that point,” he said.
