"Orthopedic Care"

More than 5 months ago, I sustained a complex upper arm injury when I tripped from standing. The transfer to emergency by ambulance, was undertaken by very caring and professional staff and the admission to the hospital was timely. 

The emergency department triaged my injuries and unfortunately my elbow was not relocated until more than 7 hours later and the required replacement surgery was not conducted until more than 16 hours after admission.  I now have significant nerve soft tissue and nerve damage which continues to limit daily function and independence.

The follow-up care at Outpatients has been highly focussed on just the alignment of the prosthetic implant, not the ongoing pain and lack of movement, strength and function of both the elbow and my wrist and hand. My concerns have been continuously met with comments that the consultant is happy with the alignment of the implant; additional imaging is not required; it will take time and that I'm expecting a lot.

I feel that the notes from other professionals involved are not valued, if they are even read. The outpatient doctors I've seen seem to have relied on their memory to relay my reporting back to the consultant, who then apparently sends them back with next-step recommendations.  Any treatment notes must then be updated when they again leave the consulting room.   

Seeming to rely on memory has resulted in some recommendations, relayed in the consultation room, such as referrals, to not be actioned or recorded by the doctor.  This causes significant delays in treatment. As a patient, minimal information is only shared, if I know to ask for it, and treatment recommendations seem to be 'done to me' rather than discussed or options explored together with me.  This is very disempowering and isolating, especially between appointments when progress is so slow and many challenges are experienced daily. In my opinion, the consultants and treating doctors I've seen need greater upskilling in person-centred care.