"A horrible experience"

My partner's knee popped out and they couldn’t get it back in, my partner was in excruciating pain so we called an ambulance, only to be told that an ambulance wasn't coming. My in law and I carefully loaded my partner up in the car and took them to the Bairnsdale Hospital Emergency Department.

Once in the waiting room it took hours for my partner to be checked and given any sort of pain medication. Meanwhile my partner is nearly passing out from the pain. They got told they would Xray my partner's knee but after a few more hours was told that the Xray department was closed and they would attempt to put their knee in a splint so my partner could go home as they didn’t have enough beds. Not once had my partner been properly examined and no extra pain relief was offered before attempting putting the splint on.

My partner was inconsolable and shaking in pain to the point the person next to my partner had to press the call button as no one was seemingly paying attention, my partner had to take the splint off themselves to relieve the pain. The Intern said that the X-ray is most likely not needed but maybe an MRI or ultrasound, I felt they had absolutely no idea what they were doing and had hardly checked my partners knee. My partner said they had never felt so neglected by a service, a service that is meant to have a duty of care.

My partner was told there was nothing they could do until the following day and discharged them with no pain medication and no follow up support at 11.30pm. Absolutely disgusting, in my opinion.

My partner couldn’t weight bare on their leg so they put them in a wheelchair and pushed my partner out the front to wait for me to collect them. A doctor gave my partner a script for oxy with no way to collect until the next day. I felt this was pathetic.  

I walked in a demanded they either keep my partner over night or transport them to another hospital. How did they expect my partner to go throughout the night with no pain medication? I told them I would only call an ambulance again and be right back. We got told there was nothing else they could do.

The doctor eventually agreed to give my partner 2x oxy tabs and supplied us with an Xray form for the next day. The following morning my partner woke up with a purple foot and was still unable to walk or weight bare, back up to the ED to finally get an Xray and then to be told we had to go to the GPs clinic to get a referral for an MRI, which could have been done the day before. We headed to Advantage HealthPoint in town where, luckily they have an emergency walk in clinic available.

Half an hour there was a thousand times better then going to the BRHS ED, my partner was throughly checked, anti inflammatory tablets and pain meds were supplied and the referral was sent. Based on this experience, we won’t be going to BRHS for any emergency health care, we will be attending the medical centre where I feel the right care will be given. 

We have heard multiple horror stories about the Bairnsdale Emergency Department but to experience it I felt was horrific. 

You have a duty of care and we are disgusted at how my partner was treated. I feel my partner was neglected and thrown out the door like they were a waste of their time. We are well aware they are busy and short staffed but I believe it’s no excuse to put someone’s life in danger. We are still without any answers and who knows what permanent damage my partner will have.