"A humiliating experience (Wagga Wagga Base Hospital) "

I presented at the Wagga Base hospital with an ankle injury. It was a busy night and I was seen by the nurse who ordered an xray and told me that they were busy and there would be a significant wait time. Within the first hour I had an x-ray and then waited a further 5 hours to see a doctor.

My problem is not with how long I had to wait, but how I was treated by the doctor when he finally did see me. The doctor opened the door and asked me to come through. When I expressed that it was difficult for me to walk as I had an ankle injury and would like a wheel chair he told me to get a move on and just walk on it. I was in pain and unable to apply much pressure on my foot so relied on my friend to "walk" to the doctor. The doctor then proceeded to make me "walk" into the main desk area to look at the films from the x-ray to demonstrate that there was not a break. I asked him if it was potentially soft tissue or ligament damage and he said that it wasn't and just a light sprain, told me to just wait for the swelling to go down and keep walking on it.

In the 3 minutes that the doctor spend with me, he did not look at my actual ankle, only to x-ray films. Therefore I do not think he could have seen the significant swelling and bruising that had started to come out. I was also not given any recommendation to follow up with a physiotherapist.

I have since self referred to a physio who has diagnosed a significant sprain with torn ligaments.

The doctor made me feel an absolute fool and like I had sat around wanting my ankle to be broken for 5 1/2 hours. This is not the case. I don't feel that it is asking too much for a doctor to make a full examination of an injury before making a diagnosis or judgement. I would also appreciate that a doctor have a little more tact and consideration for patients.