"Dermatology Clinic"

I presented to the Dermatology clinic for an appt at 9:30am. This was to be a follow up consultation from a previous appt I’d had in Perth where I’d been treated for Rosacea.

A staff member of the other gender came out (I presumed the Dermatologist that I was seeing) and called my name, I followed them to the consult room.

On entering they said to me to take off my dress, leave underclothes on and hop onto the bed. They drew the curtain.

Now I didn’t think this was strange as at my previous appt I said to the consulting Dermatologist that I would like to get a full skin screen done at my next appt.

The staff member completed the skin check which was just a visual examination. I did let them know that my Mum had a melanoma on her toe many years ago so they did check my feet and toes, however I was surprised that they didn’t do a full check ie under the bra line and underwear.

Treatment without explanation or consent - During this examination the staff member noticed that I had some hardened skin on my upper chest, I recall they said something like ‘I’ll get rid of these’ and proceeded to pick up the freezing tool and froze them. I was a bit shocked that it hurt, there was no pre warning that there would be pain and no consent to actually use that machine on me. I was a bit shocked by it all. They completed the ‘examination’ by saying ‘put your dress on' and went to walk away. I then said ‘can you have a look at the end of my nose as I’m worried about skin discolouration’. They looked and I recall said ‘I’ll just freeze that’, picked up the tool and aimed it at my nose. I was horrified, covered my nose and adamantly said ‘No, I do not want that done’. I said ‘that’s going to really hurt, isn’t there any other treatment’. They put the tool down, said ‘no there isn’t’. I said ‘what will happen if I leave it’. I recall they replied ‘it’ll get worse’ and walked away.

Incorrect patient / no formal identification of patient - When I got dressed and approached the desk I noticed there was a patient folder with a different name on it. I then looked over their shoulder at the screen and they were typing notes into this other person's file.

I said ‘that’s not me’ I repeated ‘that’s not me, I’m not that person’. They asked my name and I told them, they checked the list and said ‘you’re in the other clinic’.

I sat down and said ‘well it’s a bit late for that isn’t it’. I told them that I was there for follow up after treatment for rosacea. By this time the staff member was writing notes on what I think was the clinic list. I recall they made no attempt to stop the consult, go and find my file and seemingly no attempt to conduct a professional consultation. A moment later a different staff member (I’m presuming another dermatologist) opened the door and advised the staff member I was with that they had the other patient in with them and that it looked like the two had been confused. At this point the staff member I was with still didn’t halt the consult. They looked at my facial skin, said the rosacea had cleared and then I recall they said ‘but it will come back’ and gave me a script for two different creams and advised to try both when it returned. I asked them again about my nose and if there was any alternative treatment available to which they replied ‘it’s caused by the rosacea’.

So in actual fact it seemed the staff member was going to freeze my skin off that may or may not have been rosacea, may or may not have been altered cells and may or may not be serious.

In disgust I left.

I will confess that it’s taken me some time to actually write this up. Having rosacea was somewhat debilitating for me and I had months of antibiotic treatment along with various other medications. By the end of this, along with treatment for inflammatory arthritis, I was extremely immunosuppressed. I believe this staff member couldn’t have cared less what my history was and I felt this was a waste of a consultation. Along with this, I observed that they did not:

- use the systems in place to correctly identify me

- Gain consent for treatment

- Explain the treatment that was given or give follow up post treatment care information

- Cease the consultation when they realised they had the wrong patient and make an attempt to rectify the situation.

Overall I’m extremely disappointed with the visiting dermatology service and wish to have my complaint followed up so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.