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"Emergency room priorities"

About: Maroondah Hospital Maroondah Hospital / Emergency Department

(as the patient),

I went in with a bleeding head injury. Because we have two little kids my wife had to bring them with us.

The ER staff was horribly slow, could be process or habit to react. This much I can probably understand.

A bleeding head wound normally calls for quick checking, stitches, ear and eye check up to see if there are any internal brain damage. Pretty standard response (mind you, a pretty deep wound/ gash with constant bleeding). But I got no thing. Instead the staff sent me for foot xray! ! ! ! That too after I was complaining to them about headache. They offered neurofen! ! ! Helloooo bleeding head wound, the patient complaining about head aches and your focus is his swollen toe? ? ? ! ! ! !

No one checked, ears, or vision or even attempted to clean the wound to see how serious or not serious it was. And then they put me under observation - in the waiting room. With no one observing jack s**t! ! ! !

After waiting for a few hours I thought better to go home and rest. Ended up going to a private clinic next day, and they said stitches were needed and would help heal but it's too late  (apparently you need it first 6 hours)! ! !

I worry about a patient who comes in with serious internal head injury to that Emergency division and that apathatic staff. Slack.

From personal experience, I do empathise with problems medical staff face but this was just slack and devoid of any professionalism. I feel a horribly managed center.

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Responses

Response from David Plunkett, Chief Executive, Eastern Health 8 years ago
David Plunkett
Chief Executive,
Eastern Health
Submitted on 26/08/2016 at 8:09 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 9:35 AM


picture of David Plunkett

Dear Bleeding Oz

I'm sorry to hear of your experience at the Maroondah Emergency Department not only for the time you needed to wait but also that observations were to be undertaken and your feedback is clear that this didn't happen.

As you would have experienced, the Maroondah Emergency Department is a very busy service, especially at present with the increased demands caused by people affected by the winter illnesses. When patients present to the Emergency departments, they are triaged by an experienced nurse according to the scale adopted across Australia measuring the severity of their injury or illness. I'm sorry to say that during these winter months, the waiting time can be longer than normal. We have been making steady progress to improving this, but have more improvements to make.

I would welcome the opportunity to review your experience and treatment in further detail and if you would like me to do this, please email me privately at david.plunkett@easternhealth.org.au. I will respect your decision Bleeding Oz if you do not wish to take up this offer.

I do hope you will contact me but if you don't I wish you the very best of health. Thank you so very much for providing your feedback on Patient Opinion as it is through experiences such as yours that we are able to improve the care and services we provide.

Kind regards

David

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