"Messy healthcare then made to feel like your the problem"

Dear sculptorbh85,

Your letter details so many things, and I am really appreciative of you taking the time to document your experience, as much as it is not what we aim to provide, and is a far cry from the "Connected Care, Best Experience" that we strive for. There are so many things that are not good in what you describe here.

I am so sorry that you had such an appalling time. It is really disappointing that your Urinary Tract Infection did not get picked up at your GP appointment at the clinic. I found myself wondering if it had been picked up and treated at that point would your experience have been better.

It is really dreadful that your pathology records were lost, and this resulted in the not best option of antibiotic to be taken to treat.

Then your referral to a geriatrician process- I can see that we do not have good systems in place for how to refer to a geriatrician.

What is disappointing me the most is that our staff were rude when you were trying to follow up on things and navigate through the mess. That it was so complex to work through so many different departments, and that it was left to you to work it out.

Your letter is one of the most important pieces of quality assurance- because it is a very poor experience that shows some of SHDH teams and departments are working in silos and not as "one team", that we have complex processes that our community cannot navigate, and for an elderly frail person it is even more difficult.

I am aware that you are still working through these issues. I will make some follow up conversations with the key areas you have pointed out to look into these matters and to provide their feedback. My contact details are ckeogh@shdh.org.au if you would like to have further discussion, or conversation about this.

Again, thank you for articulating this situation, and I hope that SHDH collectively can feedback some changes we can make to improve these processes that you experienced.

Kind Regards

Chloe

Good afternoon sculptorbh85,

I sincerely hope your situation has improved. It is firstly unpleasant to be unwell, but to have experienced so many difficulties along the way in gaining the treatment you needed must have been both frustrating and tiring. If you are still unwell, I do suggest you come to the Emergency Department for help - at any time. You are not a burden or 'blocking up precious resources' - something we hear so often from our elderly patients. Much to the contrary, we would prefer to see you sooner rather than later - when your condition has probably deteriorated and treatment is more difficult. No matter how minor you perceive your issue, we understand the difficulties in accessing healthcare and would prefer to help keep things manageable for you and well planned for the duration of that illness.

In regard to the pathology results being lost, I am unsure how to explain this. Sometimes when the point-of-care urine testing is completed it shows there is a probable infection - and then the Doctor prescribes an antibiotic that may cover a broad range of suspected urine tract pathogens - whilst awaiting a formal result from the laboratory from the urine culture. Culturing urine can take 3 days (or longer) - and this then pinpoints the exact antibiotic required to eliminate that infection. I suspect the urine that was sent for culture had a number of possible outcomes. It could have been left on a bench and not sent to the laboratory, it could have leaked or been spilt enroute and then needed to be discarded, incorrectly labelled (resulting in disposal by the laboratory) or simply misplaced in a busy environment. Although these things are not common, they are possible when numerous people handle the sample along the way. Very soon the Pathology service will be closely located geographically to the Emergency Department and our samples will be handled in a more direct way through a chute into Pathology - for quicker testing and less chance of 'losing' samples during the process. Not having results available from your sample would have been again frustrating, but as indicated earlier you would be prescribed a broad-spectrum antibiotic at the initial consultation. I hope this helps explain the process - that you may already understand, but this I am sure does not excuse poor delivery of that information by the healthcare clinician. Please be reassured the way in which we converse with our consumers is always being discussed and assessed for improvement.

Again, I hope you are feeling better. If you would like to speak to me directly regarding any of your care, please email me on kacurran@shdh.org.au or call the Emergency Department.

Kind regards,

Kath

Dear sculptorbh85,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. I want to sincerely apologise for the confusion and inconvenience you experienced. I understand how frustrating this must have been for you, and I appreciate you bringing it to our attention.

We are currently facing some challenges with staffing, which has unfortunately impacted certain areas of our service. One key factor in this situation is that Geriatrician clinic appointments are managed separately from the inpatient ward, and our ward staff are not always aware of scheduled outpatient appointments. Typically, only our ward reception has access to that information, and we have been experiencing some difficulties in that area recently.

You absolutely did the right thing by calling us, and I’m sorry that the staff member who took the call was not yet familiar with the process. Once a referral is received by the ward, it is reviewed along with any supporting documentation such as blood tests or imaging. If anything further is required, we will contact the referring clinician. The geriatrician then reviews the referral and provides direction to our administrative team regarding next steps.

Please be advised that due to a high volume of referrals, there is currently a long waiting list. We understand that this can be concerning, and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

We are always striving to improve and provide the best possible experience for our patients and their families, in line with our hospital’s vision of connected care and delivering the best experience.

Once again, I sincerely apologise for any stress or confusion this has caused. We value your feedback and are committed to doing better.

Kind regards,

Jeally