"Complaint Regarding Emergency Department Care"

This is about the treatment my parent and I received during an emergency presentation to the Mater Public Hospital Emergency Department recently. 

My parent is in their 60s and has been recently diagnosed with blastoid mantle-cell lymphoma. They have had to temporarily relocate from rural Queensland to Brisbane in order to undergo an intensive 12-week chemotherapy regimen under the care of Icon Cancer Centre at the Mater Hospital. Due to the severity of my parent's condition and the profound immunosuppression caused by treatment, we were explicitly instructed that if their temperature rose above 38°C, they were to immediately present to the Emergency Department because of the high risk of serious infection and neutropenic sepsis.

On the evening in question, Queensland Ambulance Service transported my parent to Mater Public Hospital after they developed a fever. From the moment we arrived, both of us felt unheard, dismissed, and treated as though we were an inconvenience rather than frightened people navigating a serious medical emergency.

We presented the emergency alert card provided by Icon Cancer Centre to triage staff, outlining the urgency of my parent's condition and treatment status. This appeared to be disregarded. Despite being triaged as a Category 2 patient, my parent remained waiting for approximately 1.5 hours before seeing a doctor, while left lying on an ambulance stretcher for the duration.

What was most distressing was not simply the wait itself, but the complete lack of empathy, communication, dignity, and compassion shown throughout the night. No one introduced themselves to us. No one explained what was happening or what delays were occurring. At no point did we feel supported or cared for as patients and family members in a vulnerable situation.

Particularly upsetting was witnessing a disagreement between nursing staff and the attending paramedic regarding bed allocation and transfers, during which my parent was referred to dismissively by their gender only in front of us, rather than as a person deserving of dignity and respect. My parent was exhausted, frightened, unwell, and undergoing aggressive cancer treatment, yet was treated with what felt like blatant indifference.

Another interaction that deeply upset me occurred when a nurse asked my parent whether there was anything they needed, my parent replied that some water would be nice. The nurse responded that they were unable to accommodate this, and instead instructed me to leave the department and obtain water myself from the public bubbler in the triage waiting room. While this may seem like a small incident in isolation, in the context of the night it was profoundly upsetting. My parent was a severely unwell cancer patient, weak from chemotherapy and at high risk of infection, yet even the most basic act of care and kindness appeared to be considered too much trouble. It reinforced the overwhelming feeling that my parent was viewed as an inconvenience rather than a vulnerable human being deserving of compassion and dignity.

When I attempted to advocate for my parent and ask questions about what was happening, I felt I was spoken to rudely and dismissed repeatedly. We were given virtually no communication regarding my parent's care, expected waiting times, or treatment plan. By approximately 1:30am, after hours without adequate communication or any possibility of rest for my parent on the emergency stretcher, we expressed that we may need to self-discharge because their condition was worsening from exhaustion and distress. Rather than responding with understanding or attempting to address our concerns, security was called.

I cannot adequately express how mortified I am by the treatment my parent received. They are a kind, country person who has just received a devastating cancer diagnosis and is enduring intensive chemotherapy far away from their home and support systems. At a time when compassion, reassurance, and basic human kindness were needed most, the overwhelming experience felt one of coldness, dismissal, and lack of humanity from nearly every health professional we encountered.

I fully understand that emergency departments are under pressure and that staff work in challenging environments. However, this does not excuse the complete absence of empathy, communication, and dignity we experienced during what was already one of the most frightening periods of our lives.

I request that this complaint be reviewed and that appropriate feedback and education be provided regarding communication, compassionate care, and the treatment of vulnerable oncology patients presenting with potential neutropenic sepsis.

I would also appreciate acknowledgment of this complaint and information regarding any outcomes or actions taken in response.