"Poor experience at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Adelaide"

Well I went in to the hospital with SEVERE abdominal pain, I am fairly strong, tough bloke but I was moaning and twisting constantly in the worst pain I have ever experienced.

I had been up all night because of the pain, trying to avoid going to hospital, but I eventually became too desperate.

When I went in the emergency room was severely overcrowded, and every person I spoke to (incidentally all female) were entirely cold towards me. Not the slightest hint of sympathy or friendliness. Flat faces, flat voices, cold stares etc.

I basically begged for help with the pain, but was left for 4 hours sitting in a cold chair, trying to not to break down in front of the various women and children around (all seemed comfortable and not in pain).

Eventually I got a doctor and she was sympathetic, but I felt she rushed me out as quickly as possible- without a specific diagnosis and told me to get more tests from my GP.

I was given 5mg of Oxycodone orally (after 5 hours), but it did NOT help the severe pain.

It was a very unpleasant experience and I felt most the staff I saw could not care less how much pain I was in.

I am not a sook, I have had quite severe food poisoning in my life, acute back pain and even a broken bone and never gone to a doctor. Severe nausea/vomiting alone is not really that big deal to me, but this pain was FAR beyond that.