"ED and Advanced Physio - great staff but outdated, too small facilities that don’t allow for privacy or social distancing"

I was seen in the Rockingham Emergency Department earlier this year when I injured my ankle playing sport.

The first thing I noticed on arriving to the emergency room was the size of the waiting room and the way that people were stacked in there like sardines. I understand that Rockingham is smaller than some of the other hospitals in Perth but the line to speak to the triage nurse was out the door and there didn’t appear to be any seats to sit at whilst waiting. Once I’d spoken to the nurses (who appeared knowledgeable and very quickly organised me pain relief) there were no seats remaining to sit down. Seeing that I could barely stand, another patient kindly stood so that I could sit but there wasn’t enough space to elevate my ankle. 

The chairs that the waiting room does have are stacked closely together with absolutely no room for social distancing or privacy. I was worried about catching illness from other waiting patients as it felt like they were close enough to cough and breathe on me. I also didn’t see any regular sanitising of chairs or armrests whilst I was there. 

Both seated in the waiting room and when I was standing in line to be seen, I could hear what was being said to the triage nurses. I heard details of other patients conversations with the nurses including private medical information. 

I was seen very soon after being triaged by the Advanced Physio. Whilst I appreciated the speed with which he saw me, he didn’t seem to have a dedicated space to see me in the waiting room and asked me lots of questions related to my health and injury directly in front of other patients. This made me feel uncomfortable. I feel like even a chair off to the side or a curtain would have given me the illusion of privacy and made me feel more comfortable. Instead he was asking me questions whilst I sat next to other patients who were actively listening to every word that was being said. 

The Advanced Physio took me to x-ray and then a different area separate to the ED where they seemed to have more space. The physio appeared to have good knowledge of the xray and injury. He gave me a boot and crutches and referred for me to be seen by the Rockingham Orthopaedic doctors. 

Whilst I did later choose to instead be seen by a private orthopaedic doctor as the wait was shorter, the diagnosis made by the Advanced Physio was correct. I felt like his advice set me up well for the surgery I ended up having privately. 

So in summary, whilst the nursing staff and Advanced Physios seemed caring and knowledgeable, the ED waiting room needs a serious overhaul. I was very happy with the care that was individually provided to me but I was disappointed by the lack of privacy, social distancing and cleanliness in the waiting room. —Injured patients should be able to sit when waiting to be seen. 

—Patients in the waiting room should have appropriate space to be comfortable and not have to worry about being made sick due to having to sit elbow to elbow with other sick patients. 

—Staff should have the available space and distance from other patients, to be able to have private conversations with patients, without patients having to disclose private information within earshot of everyone in the waiting room. 

I hope that this review gives some insight into the patient experience in the Rockingham Emergency Department and contributes to consideration of an expanded and more private triage/ waiting area.