Recently I was obliged to take my spouse to the Angliss emergency department when they began experiencing chest pains and difficulty breathing.
When we arrived the triage nurse, after being advised of the symptoms, told us to sit in the waiting area and wait until you are called.
About ten minutes later we were called and asked to provide our medicare details, insurance details, etc etc. Then we were told to return to the waiting area and wait to be called.
When I complained that my spouse may be having a heart attack and they required, at least, to be evaluated by a doctor, the triage nurse called security.
Security arrived and I was told that my spouse would not be treated until I left the hospital. I refused to do this and my spouse and I returned to the waiting area.
About ten minutes later a nurse called my spouse, who was then taken to the treatment area.
About an hour later, I phoned my spouse and asked for an update. They said that they had been told that they were next to be seen by the doctor.
When the doctor did arrive, he seemed shocked to find that my spouse was a potential cardiac patient and he had not been informed.
In the end their symptoms were diagnosed as being gastric in origin.
However, it is obvious that if their symptoms had been of cardiac origin, they may have died in the waiting room due to what I believe was the incompetence and negligence of the triage staff.
"Triage experience"
About: Angliss Hospital / Emergency Department Angliss Hospital Emergency Department Upper Ferntree Gully 3156
Posted by Upweyx01 (as ),
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