"Broken elbow treated at Redcliffe Hospital."

I attended Redcliffe Hospital after falling off a bicycle with a dislocated elbow. When I arrived the nurses I saw seemed to see I was in a lot of pain and sent me straight through for an x-ray to see what damage had been done. The radiologist was very abrupt, rude and unsympathetic and told me to straighten my elbow so that he could take pictures properly. As I was in a lot of pain I tried my best but was unable to straighten my elbow as it was obviously out of shape. He seemed to get very frustrated with me and said that this was the best that he could do. Not surprisingly the xrays did not reveal any breaks but showed dislocation. My arm was placed in a plaster on a 90 degree angle and I was sent home. 4 weeks later the plaster was taken off and I was unable to bend my arm. It remained at the 90 degree angle no matter how much I tried to straighten it. I returned to Redcliffe Hospital and was told to just straighten it and it was psychological, that if I wanted me straighten my arm I could. I was absolutely shattered to be dismissed like that. After consulting an Orthopeadic Surgeon, I was told that I would need extensive OT to straighten my arm as it was misdiagnosed and should never have been put in plaster. I, did in fact, have a broken elbow and should have had surgery to fix it. As some months had passed since my initial visit to the hospital there was now no chance of proper healing and it isn't a viable option to now go into surgery. 12 months later, numerous OT sessions, and major out of pocket expenses, I still can't fully straighten my elbow and according to the Orthopeadic Surgeon most likely never will. This could all have been avoided if a certain radiologist showed some empathy and understanding and listened to a woman who was trying to tell him that she could not straighten her arm and was in a lot of pain instead of treating her with disdain and contempt.