Child forced to sleep on floor of Covid ward at Gold Coast University Hospital

A child and parent have been cleared to leave the Covid-19 ward at Gold Coast University Hospital to complete their quarantine at home after controversy over their conditions. DETAILS >>>

A CHILD and parent have been cleared to leave the Covid-19 ward at Gold Coast University Hospital and complete their quarantine at home after controversy over their conditions.

Bonney MP Sam O’Connor on Thursday asked Yvette D’Ath to explain why the 15-year-old was forced to sleep on a rollout mattress at the hospital, while another person infected with Covid-19 and part of the same cluster was allowed to isolate at their home in Brisbane.

The pair were later informed they could leave the hospital on Friday after approval from Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young.

It is understood they will complete their remaining days of their quarantine period under Queensland Health’s ‘Hospital in the Home’ program.

The parent of the child had originally been due to be released on October 10 and the child October 13.

PREVIOUSLY:

QUEENSLAND’S health minister has been asked to explain why a 15-year-old in the Covid-19 ward at Gold Coast University Hospital was made to sleep on a rollout mattress on the floor for a week.

Bonney MP Sam O’Connor asked Yvette D’Ath to allow the child and a parent to return home to carry out their isolation, stating the pair are not suffering any adverse health effects from the virus. The parent has been asymptomatic the entire time, while the child had a headache for one day.

It is understood another person infected with Covid-19 and part of the same cluster has been allowed to isolate at their home in Brisbane instead of having to be admitted to a hospital.

POP-UP PFIZER CLINICS BEING SET UP ON GOLD COAST

The girl on the rollout mattress at Gold Coast University Hospital.

PLANS REVEALED FOR MAJOR COAST HOSPITAL EXPANSION

Mr O’Connor said the pair were in the isolation ward and that the young person had been sleeping on a “thin, rollout mattress” on the “ground for almost a week”.

“I ask you to clarify why they are in a room with only one bed,” he said.

“The broader issue is they are both struggling with their mental health as a result of not being able to return home.”

The MP said the family had done everything they could to protect themselves and the community against Covid, with both parents of the child double vaccinated.

The 15-year-old, who has medical issues, will also be vaccinated on advice from their doctor after they turn 16.

“They have no issue with quarantining and are happy to abide by any necessary measures, they just don’t understand why they are being treated differently to the Brisbane families in the same cluster or the many other Queenslanders in similar situations,” Mr O’Connor said.

COMMENT: WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF COAST OPENS UP?

Bonney MP Sam O'Connor MP. Picture: Jerad Williams

Queensland Health did not respond to questions in regards to why the teenager had slept on the floor.

However, health sources said the family had been offered separate rooms with beds and had refused. A second physical bed could not be placed in an individual room and this had been explained to the family, they said.

“Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service is currently working with the family to facilitate care via hospital in the home.”

In relation to why the family was in hospital, a Queensland Health spokesperson said: “Covid-positive patients in Queensland have generally been cared for in hospital with some minor exceptions, such as low acuity cases associated with the recent Indooroopilly cluster. Patients cared for via hospital in the home are identified case-by-case on the basis of clinic appropriateness.”

The parent of the child is due to be released on October 10 and the child October 13. Queensland Health advised the family another guardian would have to enter the hospital to be responsible for the minor or the family would have to sign a waiver leaving their child in the care of the Covid-19 ward without a caregiver.

However, the person who entered the hospital would then have to have another 14 days isolation, on top of the 14 they were already undertaking as a close contact of a Covid case.

Mr O’Connor said when someone was unfortunate enough to get the virus “we should be treating those people with the utmost compassion and care”.

“I ask you to urgently investigate this case so it can be dealt with swiftly to ease the pressure this family is under and the serious mental health issues it is creating,” he said.

Follow @emilytoxward