"Shocking Patient Experience at the Hospital"

Hi,

My spouse and I came to The Sydney Eye Hospital in Macquarie Street, Sydney recently around 4pm.

We came because I, (an older patient), was experiencing almost unbearable pain. Burning, itching and, in almost every way, extremely irritated eyes. My eyes were inflamed & swollen. My family were extremely worried - as was I.

When I went in to be triaged by a nurse, I told them my situation in great detail. They didn’t seem to be concerned and told me there would be a long (4ish) hours’ wait. I have been to two opthalmologists before - once, many years ago, for bletharitis, & more recently, about two years ago - to have my cataracts done. I phoned both (because they were different practises), and neither had any doctors who could see me, so I had no option but to go to the Public Eye Hospital.

I had spinal surgery recently. I have started attending hydrotherapy classes at another hospital. I have been having outpatients physio there as well as hydrotherapy. I was told by someone else who was attending the classes, that the hospital uses Bromide & not Chlorine to keep the pool clean. I attend on Mondays & Thursdays. I started my rehab and shortly after my eyes started to itch, by the day I attended Sydney Eye Hospital I realised I needed to keep the water away from my face - something was happening. My eyes had got considerably worse (I had had hydrotherapy the day before). I needed to know if this was indeed an allergic reaction & what I could do for the severe pain. I was clawing at my eyes. They felt gritty & I had stabbing pain. I have older children & grandchildren & needed to know if this was indeed allergy, or if I had something contagious like conjunctivitis or if something more serious was starting. I’m an older patient and cannot take chances with my eyes.

I could feel my blood pressure rising with the pain, & indeed the second triage nurse took my blood pressure & it was high for me - I normally have low blood pressure. I believe they took no notice of this. By this time it was around 7pm. They proceeded to tell me there would be a long wait. - another few hours. I told the nurse that both my spouse and I are diabetic. I asked them if there was anything they could do, as I needed to get home. The nurse said “No!” & did nothing. I blame the outcome for this shocking circumstance on the Triage Nurses.

We sat waiting - people were coming and going. At one point there were ten or eleven people in the waiting room - & we still were not called in to see a doctor.

At about 10pm, after my spouse approached the person behind the counter, & then so did I - we were called through to wait in the passage at the back of the ER. We waited for nearly an hour. We became very upset & approached a nurse who was extremely apologetic, & told them we were leaving. The nurse apologised again & again - it wasn’t their fault. They spoke to a doctor, who was treating another patient & I’m sure begged them to see me - which they did! Why did it have to get to this?

Eventually I was seen at about 10.30pm. I was, and still am, extremely upset that I had to wait for nearly seven hours to be seen by a doctor.

I went to an Emergency Hospital because I was in terrible pain & couldn’t wait for the next day to see a doctor. We were not considered to be an emergency - like many other patients - but we are old, with complicated health issues, and should, I believe under no circumstances be made to wait for seven hours for a doctor to spend half an hour with me, so they could tell me what was going on & how to deal with it. In my opinion, one of the triage nurses should have slipped me in, between emergencies, to speak to a doctor. It took half an hour to get me out of there - for heaven's sake!

I feel this treatment is not acceptable under any circumstances. I don’t know what is going on there? Are they understaffed? Why did i have to wait seven hours for a half an hour consultation with a doctor? In my opinion, this is ridiculous!!!

We have attended another hospital fairly frequently when there has been an emergency situation, and never, ever have we had to wait that long -no matter how full the waiting room has been, and I believe it is always much busier than the Sydney Eye Hospital. It was a horrible, exasperating, frustrating and painful experience.

I am still suffering with my eyes. I am really upset with the way I was treated. It was so upsetting to be treated like I was. I am just - plain & simple - disgusted by the whole experience. I felt as if I was completely ignored (which I feel I was).