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Care Opinion

Discharge protocol and pharmacy service

Posted By Garboo

"Discharge protocol and pharmacy service"

About: St George Hospital

(as a carer),

My husband was recently in the hospital where he received excellent care from a wonderful team of doctors and nurses. However, he was discharged late on a Friday with an inadequate supply of her medications which took the pharmacy 3 hours - yes 3 hours - to fill. He is not the only patient to experience this what I believe is an appalling delay, others have told me of the same experience. In my opinion, this is simply not good enough. My husband is seriously ill, in the final months of leukaemia, he is not well enough to sit around for hours in an unsuitable chair. Fortunately, in his case my daughter was able to bring him home and then go back for his meds. Patients leaving St Vincents Hospital are given a pack of all the meds they need, handed to them on discharge. Why isn't St George doing this? Why the truly dreadful process of hanging about the pharmacy for hours and then be given a miserly amount of medication. I believe this whole system needs a huge overhaul, it is causing patients unnecessary stress.  

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Responses

Response from Leisa Rathborne, General Manager, St George Hospital 5 years ago
Leisa Rathborne
General Manager,
St George Hospital

Submitted on 5/04/2019 at 11:30 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 1:26 PM

picture of Leisa Rathborne

Hi Garboo,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about your experience at St George Hospital.

I was very pleased to hear your very kind comments about the care provided to your husband by the medical and nursing staff. Whilst no thanks is expected, it was lovely to hear your feedback. I will ensure this is passed on to the staff.

I was very sorry to hear of the lengthy delay in providing your husband with his discharge medications.

I understand that Ms Kath Helling, Patient Experience Manager, has contacted you to discuss your feedback.

I do thank you for taking the time to write and share your experience. St George Hospital is committed to improving the service we provide to patients and their families.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Garboo (a carer)

Dear Leisa, thank your for your reply. I hope you might institute some improvements in the discharge protocol. It would also be much better if patients were discharged directly from the ward and not sent traipsing down to the, very unpleasant, "Discharge Unit". I do understand the need for beds, but why not have a few easy chairs in the ward for patients on the verge of discharge. The so called 'Discharge Unit" is a very bad idea from the patient's point of view. Kath Helling told me that the unit is going to be moved to a more pleasant space, but it will still remain a bad idea for patients. More waiting there, and then to the wretched pharmacy for a wait of hours. Next time my husband is in hospital we intend to ask that his prescriptions to be handed to us and we will take them to our own efficient pharmacist. Your discharge system needs a major overhaul.

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