Nurse’s extraordinary act as homeless mum, kids seek refuge in hospital ED

A Redcliffe Hospital nurse has been praised after an extraordinary act of kindness where she bent the rules to let a homeless mum and two toddlers sleep in the ED.

A Redcliffe nurse has been commended for her kind act towards a mother and her two toddlers after they turned up at her hospital cold, hungry and needing shelter.

The unnamed Redcliffe Metro North Hospital worker’s compassion was revealed by good friend Rebecca French.

“A woman with her two toddlers turned up at emergency, walked in, set up sleeping bags for the kids on the carpet in the kids play area,” Ms French posted on a public page.

“She said goodnight and curled herself up on one of the chairs and spent the entire night there.”

Ms French told the Redcliffe Herald the nurse approached the family and was told the mother had been unable to find a home for her family due to the ongoing housing crisis.

“She had been living in her car. (At the hospital) she had toilets and water and safety,” Ms French said.

“My friend, along with several other nurses in the emergency section of the hospital, would have been in their rights to ask the family to leave,” She said.

Instead, they brought the children sandwiches and milkshakes and showed them great kindness.

“She (the nurse) was on duty and should have turned them away,” Ms French said.

“No one told her to leave, no one had the heart.”

Metro North Health said in a statement that it encouraged staff to uphold its values.

“This includes compassion. Staff will always endeavour to help out those in need where they can,” it said.