"Following a formal complaint"

I am posting this review following a recent presentation to Joondalup Health Campus Emergency Department and after receiving the hospital’s formal response to my complaint.

I initially presented to the Emergency Department because of severe swelling around my left eye, which I believed may have been caused by an infection. I did not attend because of chest pain or a cardiac complaint.

However, when I presented at triage, I specifically advised staff that I had previously suffered two heart attacks. I also told them that I had come directly from Yanchep Urgent Care, where my blood pressure had just been recorded at approximately 190/109. The Emergency Department was therefore made aware from the outset of both my cardiac history and the significantly elevated blood pressure reading, despite this not being the primary reason for my presentation.

My greatest concern relates to the accuracy of my discharge summary. It recorded that my regular blood pressure medication had been given and that the issue had resolved. I knew that I had not been given this medication and raised a formal complaint.

Following its investigation, the hospital acknowledged that although valsartan 320 mg and amlodipine 5 mg had been prescribed, the available records did not support that these medications were actually administered. The hospital also acknowledged that the discharge summary was inaccurate.

I find this extremely concerning and potentially dangerous.

Given that I had specifically disclosed my previous heart attacks and the blood pressure reading of approximately 190/109 at triage, accurate monitoring, medication administration and documentation were particularly important.

Had I suffered another serious cardiovascular event after leaving hospital, my medical record would have incorrectly indicated that my blood pressure medication had been administered. That is an extremely concerning situation and, in my view, goes well beyond a minor documentation error.

A discharge summary becomes part of a patient's medical record and may subsequently be relied upon by other doctors, hospitals and health professionals. Accurate medication and discharge records are fundamental to patient safety.

My experience has made me strongly recommend that patients, or their family members where possible, carefully check their discharge summary and medication information before leaving hospital and question anything they believe is incorrect.

I also believe the conditions in the Emergency Department waiting area need attention. Patients can spend many hours waiting, including people who are extremely unwell, in significant pain, frail or elderly. The old, extremely uncomfortable chairs currently provided are simply not adequate for people who may be required to sit there for lengthy periods. In my opinion, these chairs are well past the point where they should have been replaced.

If lengthy Emergency Department waits are unavoidable, basic consideration needs to be given to the comfort and dignity of the sick and elderly people who are required to endure them. Providing reasonably comfortable, supportive seating should be a basic part of caring for people who may already be extremely unwell.

Taken as a whole, I consider my experience to represent a systemic failure from beginning to end of my visit. This was not one isolated mistake. I was let down at triage, during my care in the Emergency Department, and again at discharge through inaccurate documentation. These are three fundamental stages of a patient's hospital experience, and failures across all three are extremely difficult to excuse, particularly when patient safety is involved.

I appreciate that the hospital subsequently investigated my complaint and acknowledged the discrepancy in my medication records. However, an acknowledgement after the event does not change the seriousness of what occurred. In my view, this represents a significant patient-safety issue and simply is not good enough.

I hope that by making this experience public, it encourages greater care at every stage of a patient's journey — from triage and treatment through to medication administration and the preparation of accurate discharge summaries — as well as better consideration for the comfort and wellbeing of patients waiting for emergency care.