"Incorrect diagnosis"

I was incredibly ill and submitted myself to the Emergency Department (ED) in Collie. Symptoms indicative of influenza/pneumonia and an infection, possibly post op.

Upon entry, I followed the GP clinic sign at the hospital, it was unattended and has a sign saying if it is unattended, to proceed to the front reception. I believe this was when the Coronavirus was just beginning to affect normal operations and I proceeded to the front desk where I felt I was berated by the staff member for being there... being asked, didn’t I see the signs? I came in another door and saw no signs except for GP clinic and was then told to go outside. I felt the staff member was incredibly rude!

I was then contacted in the car park by telephone, provided with a mask and lead into the ED. My vitals were checked and normal but after being seen by 3 different nurses, including the head nurse that day, I was left feeling patronised by comments that it could be anything, possibly my soap. I explained that I was 3 weeks post op and severely ill. I asked to see a GP and was refused and told to go and sit down at the nurses station down town.

I was too ill so I returned home and went back to bed. My spouse convinced me to go to another ED thankfully. I was admitted to this hospital for five days and then released with a diagnosis of Pneumonia, Erythema Nodosum and possibly a post op infection, which led to me being wheelchair bound for a period of time.

After explaining what had happened to staff at both the Collie Hospital and the other hospital, I was asked to publish my comments in the hope of assisting a system clearly in need of fine tuning one way or another. I felt completely let down by our local hospital that day, which led me to becoming anxious about attending hospital to the point where my life was ultimately put in jeopardy.

In my opinion, the head nurse at Collie hospital needs further education in dealing with seriously unwell patients and not making uninformed diagnoses whilst being belittling at the same time.