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Doctor treatment of patient

Posted By serpenszy77

"Doctor treatment of patient"

About: Geraldton Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a relative),

Took my grandchild in late at night suffering high degree of panic attack and anxiety. Doctor walked in and the first thing they said to my grandchild was - this isn't an emergency. You shouldn't come to the emergency department.

This teenager is nearing the end of their tether and has had enough. My grandchild hasn't been able to see anyone for weeks about it. To my grandchild it was an emergency and I believe the doctor showed no sympathy at all. Even some kind words would have helped. Didn't expect a miracle, but when a patient leaves in worst condition than when they arrived it's not right. If my grandchild had ended up hurting them-self I would have gone off at this doctor.

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Responses

Response from Michele Young, REOC Lead, Executive Services, WACHS-Midwest 5 years ago
Michele Young
REOC Lead, Executive Services,
WACHS-Midwest

Submitted on 7/08/2018 at 2:07 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 2:08 PM

picture of Michele Young

Dear serpenszy77

Thank you for taking the time to share you and your grandchild's experience at the Geraldton Hospital Emergency Department on Patient Opinion. I was saddened to read your story and so very sorry that you and your grandchild have experienced our service in this way. Your experience does not meet our commitment to providing high quality person centred care and the concerns you have outlined are not reflective of our values, particularly that of compassion and the service standards that we strive for. You have provided an opportunity for us to reflect on the importance of empathy and kindness and the importance for us to see our health service users as a person first before an illness, bed number or the reason they are using our service.

I can advise that customer service training will be explored for our broader organisation which will look at providing the skills to respond to our patients/health service users needs in an appropriate manner. Your story and others like it will be shared with staff and management through meetings and forums and we will increase the number of staff who receive alerts when a story is posted on Patient Opinion. Staff have also been spoken to around communication and how they contribute to the patient experience. I will continue to keep you updated on improvements as they are implemented.

I have discussed your story with Derek Fraser, Geraldton Hospital Operations Manager and to allow us an opportunity to investigate this matter and discuss the concerns you have raised. We would really appreciate it if you could make contact. Derek is available on 9956 2369 or alternatively you can contact me on 9956 8695 or email michele.young@health.wa.gov.au your call would be very welcome and can still be addressed anonymously if you wish. Learning from experiences like yours is an important part of continuous improvement for our service and we would really love the opportunity to speak with you to see what we can do better and where we can improve. Please be assured of our commitment to address the issues you have raised.

Thank you again for making contact, we really appreciate your feedback, for without it we would not be aware of the issues and would not have the opportunity to improve our service. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards

Michele

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Update posted by serpenszy77 (a relative)

Thank you. After talking to people at Headspace I was told that my grandchild should have been attended to with help. They said that my grandchild should have been supplied with something to help calm them. After we left, my grandchild got worse and upset that the doctor told them they should see their own doctor, not come to the ED. We were up all night until my grandchild could sleep. I was so angry at the doctor. I would have confronted them but it would have made my grandchild worse. The doctor needs to understand that people going through a panic attack and anxiety are not just having fake symptoms. Thank you for your support.

Response from Michele Young, REOC Lead, Executive Services, WACHS-Midwest 5 years ago
Michele Young
REOC Lead, Executive Services,
WACHS-Midwest

Submitted on 3/09/2018 at 10:09 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 10:16 AM

picture of Michele Young

Dear serpenszy77

Thank you for getting in touch I really appreciate it, it was lovely to speak to you and your grandchild. Dr Jason Fitch has advised that he has spoken to you and the information you have provided will assist us in undertaking a review of your case through the complaints management process. A team member will continue to keep you informed throughout the investigation process.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch in the interim if you require anything further.

Kind regards

Michele

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