"Staff bullying while my spouse was dying"

After a horrendous outcome from surgery at a different hospital, misdiagnoses last year and a two month stay, my spouse was transferred to Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) and became a patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for 6 months.

I feel that the constant abhorrent inhumane, narcissistic bullying, control and silencing to both of us made a mockery of our human rights and made our lives an absolute living hell, especially right up to the time of the last breath my spouse took. On many occasions my spouse was fighting for their life and I was respecting, supporting and backing my spouse’s wishes and needs, spiritual beliefs and rights whilst I feel all levels of ICU staff banded together and made it their mission to do the dead opposite. When a prognosis of death is made you wouldn’t expect staff to make the patient and their spouse’s last weeks and hours together a living hell.

I feel that it was traumatising and undignified, with constant threats to separate us by calling a group of heavy handed security guards to congregate at my spouse’s bedside to kick me out. Even while my spouse was taking their last breath this threat was made to me by an ICU doctor because I swore when I told a couple of nurses that were gawking and having a personal conversation, yacking away at my spouse’s open doorway to get away and take it somewhere else because this was a sacred and private time. That’s what my spouse’s last experience on earth was. That’s what my spouse took to the grave, me being threatened, yet again, with being escorted out by security guards whilst taking my spouse took their last breath.

After months of this problem supposedly being un-resolvable by the powers that be, why wasn’t I able to get an appointment with the CEO? Why was I redirected back to the Consumer Complaints again only to be told to go elsewhere when it was an in house problem? How unreasonable and callous to be told to address the problem with another organisation when all my time and main priority was to be with my spouse every day and for every precious minute that I was allowed to be. I feel that the social work department is a ridiculous joke, disgusting and lacking empathy and skill.

I believe the leadership at this hospital are fully aware of the longstanding bullying epidemic at the RAH but they seem to think it is only amongst staff, it’s obviously not the leaderships concern or problem if the bullying happens to patients by medical staff.

Take control of the bullies before they end up governing and taking control of the hospital as well as their patient's life and death!