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Care Opinion

A bad night out.

Posted By GirLovesCupcakes

"A bad night out."

About: Royal Perth Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a friend),

My friends and I were innocently enjoying ourselves on a night out. One of my friends left myself and our other friend to go to the bathroom. Minutes later I received a text from a stranger with my friend's phone saying she was outside passing out and throwing up so we dropped everything and went out to help her.

After calling an ambulance we waited nervously in the waiting room for a good hour or more until finally one of us was called in to see my friend. She wasn't drunk enough for it to be the alcohol doing this to her, so we think she was slipped something, but the hospital refused to take a drug test! Claiming, I believe, it was "too expensive"! In my opinion, they also basically accused my friend of taking it herself and said she should have been more careful! !

So after a few minutes of the nurses playing blame the victim, my friend and I were allowed to walk out with no further testing or anything. I am upset and angry that nobody was really willing to help my friend in her time of need.

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Responses

Response from Aresh Anwar, Executive Director, Royal Perth Bentley Group 6 years ago
Aresh Anwar
Executive Director,
Royal Perth Bentley Group

I am a doctor and my job at Royal Perth and Bentley Hospitals is to help co-ordinate all the elements of the hospital to ensure patients get the best clinical outcomes and experience

Submitted on 13/06/2017 at 12:09 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 12:33 PM

picture of Aresh Anwar

Dear GirLovesCupcakes,

Thank you for taking time to tell us about your experience in our Emergency Department. We appreciate the concerns regarding the potential effects of drugs. This is a real modern day challenge, a frightening one, and sadly our Emergency Department is all too familiar with some of the toxic effects of illicit drugs.

Their decision to test an individual however is by necessity a clinical one that is based on symptoms and the benefit that drug analysis can bring in helping manage a persons care. As you can appreciate there is a huge range of drugs that we could potentially be testing for and for the vast majority there is a delay before the results are available.

I can only apologise that you felt that you were being judged and blamed – the staff will be upset as I am only too aware from the regular feedback that I receive that this is not a culture that they in anyway endorse. Whilst I will not refute that we do also think about how we spend money can I please reassure you that this is never the main driver.

I hope that your friend has made a speedy recovery.

With kind regards

Dr Aresh Anwar

Executive Director

Royal Perth Hospital Group

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