More parents have come forward with complaints about the new $1.5 billion Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.
One mother said her child’s operation was cancelled at the last minute while another said she was told her daughter’s medical records were gone.
The hospital said it was managing the surgical demand “really well” and was getting positive feedback from parents and staff.
Since the hospital opened in November, some parents have complained about a lack of available food, microwaves and the size of fridges.
There were also unsubstantiated reports of a delay in giving medication.
Tenille Yourell said her two-year-old son Jett, who has leukaemia, fasted for 17 hours before an operation in late January, only to have it cancelled.
“We were told that they had just ran out of time – there wasn’t enough time obviously in the day, it was too late,” Ms Yourell said.
“There was only one theatre operating and not enough staff to cover everyone.”
Ms Yourell said managing a sick toddler who could not eat was a nightmare.
“We spent 90 per cent of the day in a screaming rage – he was just devastated,” she said.
Children’s Health Queensland chief executive Fionnah Dougan said there was increased demand for emergency operations in January, which led to some delays.
Ms Dougan said all 14 operating theatres were now running, with two dedicated to acute and emergency cases and the rest available for elective surgery.
“We’re not cancelling any cases at the moment and we’re managing that acute and elective demand balance really well,” she said.
Belinda Menzies’ three daughters have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a disorder that affects their connective tissue.
Two of the girls get some of their nutrition through gastrostomy buttons.
Ms Menzies said she called the hospital for fresh tubes and formula and was told her daughter Savannah’s medical record was gone.
“They just said ‘she’s not on our system, we don’t have any record of her’,” she said.
“I’m like ‘well, she’s got four years of history’.”
But the hospital said her file was available all along and that everyone’s records were accessible.
“All patient records were available, so they were either available at Mater in a hardcopy or available at Lady Cilento,” Ms Dougan said.
She said the hospital took all complaints incredibly seriously and the feedback had improved since the hospital opened.
“As people, staff and patients and visitors have become more familiar with the new environment, we’re hearing a lot more about the positives,” Ms Dougan said.
Queensland’s Health Minister Cameron Dick said there was no doubt there were problems with the commissioning of the hospital.
“I want to get to the bottom of that,” he said.
“I’ll talk to my cabinet colleagues about that and we will make a decision in the near future about what action should be taken.”
An independent clinical review of the hospital’s first two weeks of operation is due back this month.