"Concerning experience and lack of monitoring"

To the SCGH Patient Safety Team,

I am writing to share a distressing experience my parent had at the SCGH Emergency Department shortly before New Year. While we encountered some wonderful individuals, the systemic gaps in my parent's care have left us too anxious to return to this facility in the future.

My parent was brought in by ambulance for chest pain. Although the initial ECG was clear, a cardiac event had not yet been ruled out, and they were sent to the ED as a precaution.

Concerns regarding bed placement and monitoring

Upon triage, my parent was placed in a bed at the very end of the ward, completely out of the line of sight of the nursing station and adjacent to the toilets. They remained there for over 30 minutes without a single staff member checking on them. We feel this was a significant clinical risk; if my parent had suffered a cardiac event during that window, they were positioned where I believe no one would have seen or heard them.

The bathroom incident

The most upsetting part of the night occurred when a staff member assisted my parent to the patient toilet but did not wait for them. My parent struggled with a faulty or "funny" lock and found themself trapped. Without their phone and panicking, they began banging on the door and screaming for help. No one responded.

Eventually, my parent managed to force the door open themself. They was deeply distressed, and we are concerned that the physical and emotional stress of being trapped could have triggered a serious event had their condition been cardiac-related.

Summary of seemingly sub-standard care:

Inappropriate Triage/Placement: I believe that a patient with "unruled-out" chest pain should not be placed in an unmonitored "blind spot" of the ED.

Lack of Supervision: Given their symptoms, I believe they should not have been left unattended in a bathroom.

Safety Hazards: The lock on that specific toilet door appears to be faulty or difficult to operate, posing a risk to vulnerable patients.

The "Silver Lining"

I do want to mention that the Irish doctor on duty (I unfortunately didn't catch her name) was absolutely lovely. She was attentive, professional, and was one of the only reasons my parent felt heard that night. We were also relieved that cardiac issues were eventually ruled out and the pain was attributed to a strained muscle.

Conclusion

Despite the kindness of that doctor, the overall experience felt like my parent was "just another number." The realization that this apparent lack of monitoring could have, in my opinion, been fatal has broken our trust in SCGH. We will likely seek care at a different hospital in the future, which is a shame given the many good people who work there.

I hope this feedback helps improve the protocols for monitoring chest pain patients and leads to a check on the maintenance of the bathroom locks.