Hawkesbury District Health Service

"What a horrible experience. From the front entrance to triage to the Dr who didnt investigate and gave me a possibility in a scan to be the diagnosis. Asking me why i was presenting in ER. You are all so unprofessional and really make good doctors and nurses look bad. Shame on you i was able to goto an injury clinic where they actually did investigations and read the entire report not fixated on one possibility in the report and i emphasis possibility because it was noted like that. And the facts of ligament damage and fracture that were noted on the reports you were provided that you totally ignored to read the context of the report. Shame on all of you that treated my daughter you failed her."

"My husband has been in here twice now for surgery over the years and I can honestly say there has been nothing to fault.All the staff and nurses are lovely and very professional. i have never met a more caring bunch of people, even when they are so busy they still manage to maintain a sense of humour."

"PLEASE AVOID THIS HOSPITAL AT ALL COSTS. My mother had the worst hospital experience at Hawksbury district hospital. The staff neglected her while she was under anaesthesia and she ended up with SEVERELY swollen and cut lips. The staff refused to give her adequate pain relief after her foot surgery and she cried all night until 4am when she was finally given what she needed in the first hour of waking up - more than 12 hours after the bone surgery. A nurse called Mel put her finger in my mother’s coffee to prove it wasn’t cold (and that she should drink it) after my mother asked her to warm it up in the microwave. I’m absolutely shocked at the level of care and hygiene at this hospital that has emotionally and physically harmed my mother and very likely continues to do so to other patients."

"Midwife Jenny shouldn’t be working with people she is one of the most unprofessional and rude people I have ever met, she makes remarks that just never need to be made such as calling people lazy, fat and asking if the parents planned on their pregnancy. I would be embarrassed to have her as an employee. As for all of the other midwife’s I have no complaints about any of them, they were all lovely especially Annette and Michelle couldn’t thank them enough."

"I’m leaving one star as you can not leave zero. The maternity ward… the drs were good but the midwives were dreadful for someone who is a plus size mother I have never experienced any conditions so deplorable. My dr was away and they had Jenny a midwife do my appointment. She said I was to big for a C-section and I would never heal, that she didn’t believe my glucose test as there was no way someone at my size didn’t have gestational diabetes ect when I was leaving I was a wreck crying my eyes out and she said oh no I fell so bad I made you cry. Then at my next check because I was worried bubba wasn’t moving one male midwife came in and said well you you it’s probably because like me your a bit bigger and you wouldn’t be able to feel as much. At my birth my first nurses where lovely but night where awful I was labouring for 18hrs with only the gass because I wasn’t progressing, beggingfor help I was told that if I was sure I wanted to have a C-section because this would involve waking people up at night to bring the team in. The dr who gave my epidural was the kindest most gentle man and when he was leading me to theatre he looked at my partner and said “ she how clam she is now this is why I do this” then Dr Gulati and her team delivered my son and she was the most incredible compassionate dr I have ever had. Once my son left the room with my partner I asked if someone could hold my hand and sure enough over came a nurse talked to me said I was ok and held my hand till I was wheeled back to my room. The nurse that wheeled me back she made sure to get paper work signed that said my partner was able to stay with me and our baby for the night she was amazing. Then after the birth of my son I had a wonderful midwife who was day shift but once again night shift was awful. Midwife Louise came in and sore my partner in the chair said to him “well you don’t stay here” not even 24hrs after the birth then I asked her for some water and she looked at my partner and said “well your not doing anything”. That morning after a meeting with my dr which she advised me to rest and that if I need to go to the bathroom to call for help as I already had a catheter in.Louise once again came into my room and said “ you need to get up and shower you don’t need to be lay around” I then demanded to leave and said my mother is a midwife she can take care of me. I spoke to Tracey the head of the department and she said they would try and to her credit she did and I was out of there 48hrs after my son was born. Greatful for the good nurses and for the bad ones find a different profession this isn’t for you"