Amanda is a 35-year-old Australian South Sea Islander. Her story brings home the repercussions of providing inflexible, culturally inadequate health care.
My mother was admitted to a remote hospital. A few days later the doctor rang and told us she was dying.
My husband and I immediately chartered a flight and flew out to the hospital to see her. We knew we had only a few hours with her – we had to take the plane back home again that afternoon.
She was unconscious. We stood at her bedside, talking to her and praying, and crying. She knew we were there even though she was unconscious. Your mother knows when you're nearby.
After about half an hour, a nurse walked in and asked us to leave.
We didn't know what to say. I wanted to argue but I didn't know what to say. I was scared. I remember feeling scared because I knew I would never see my mother again.
My husband said to the nurse, 'But Mum's dying. We've got to be with her.'
The nurse replied, 'Don't be silly. She's not dying.'
The nurse didn't know. He didn't know anything about it.
We left because we thought we had to leave. We flew home. I couldn't afford to fly back to the hospital again. My mother died a few days later.This story shows what can happen if health staff members are not sensitive to the needs of their clients.
However, this story is not the norm. Across Queensland, health staff members and Australian South Sea Islanders are working together to come up with creative solutions.
In Food and culture we find out how a health staff member was able to treat a patient's diabetes.
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