"From poor to excellent care"

I attended Armadale Kelmscott Hospital in Perth WA earlier this year with a leg/hamstring injury. I was triaged promptly and taken into the ED in a timely manner, then it went all downhill for a while, in my opinion.

Instead of being placed onto a bed, which I believe would have been appropriate considering my injury, I was left to sit in the wheelchair with my foot resting on a chair that kept slipping away. It took over an hour for the Agency Nurse managing this section to approach me to ask if I needed pain relief - despite tears rolling down my face with my pain fluctuating between an 8-10/10 over this time period, and despite them walking past me frequently. It was like they were wandering around trying to look busy, but not doing anything except looking behind various curtains in my opinion.

Another nurse was attending to a patient with a foot injury in a cubicle across from me. The patient suggested to the nurse attending to them, that they swap places with me as their injury wasn't that painful, however, this nurse said, no, they're ok (referring to me). Eventually, I was given Tramadol to assist with the pain relief but still left in the wheelchair, despite there being an empty bed I believe, during this entire time.

After approximately 2 hours, Dr Reg came and saw me, assessed my situation and immediately arranged a transfer to a bed and to a different section of the ED under the care of an Armadale Kelmscott Hospital nurse. This nurse was fantastic in my opinion, very efficient and very caring.

Dr Reg, the Senior Medical Consultant on at the time, was fantastic in his care of me. I felt he showed empathy, care and compassion for my situation. I believe he acted promptly to ensure I was given a bed so that I would be more comfortable. He ordered appropriate assessments (blood tests and leg x-ray) and these were carried out promptly by lovely caring staff. He was the catalyst in providing me with excellent and compassionate care in my opinion.

So I'd like to say a huge thank you to him and to your regular nursing and allied health staff.  Perhaps greater supervision of agency staff is needed to ensure this high standard of care is met by these staff as well.