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"My parent's treatment and untimely death"

About: Wonthaggi Hospital

(as a relative),

My father attended the Wonthaggi Emergency Department twice in 2 days - sent home the first time and admitted to the ward the second time.

The doctor took my sibling and I aside and said it would be unkind to give him a CV line and inotropes. The doctor did not say my father needed specialist treatment to live. He languished for a week, his condition worsening by the day - near death at times.

When he became critical and we were told he had a multi-organ failure and was going to die, my father told me he felt too good and was too young to die. He was a whole decade younger than his parents and brothers were when they died.

He trusted the doctors and the hospital. My sibling and I are both nurses and feel we also let him down. We feel that he was written off as a sick poor old man. He was immeasurably more than this. He was delightful and irreplaceable and had many years left to live. We are profoundly disappointed that he was denied the care he needed, and how traumatic his final days were.

The Specialist medical staff who cared for him in the ambulance to Melbourne and at the other hospital indicated he was a good candidate for intensive intervention and that he could survive. I believe he may have if treated earlier. I have completely lost confidence in rural hospitals, especially the Wonthaggi hospital. 

My sibling and I were not given the option of sending him to a Melbourne hospital or given the key information that he would die without treatment at a tertiary hospital.

I look forward to your reply.

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Responses

Response from Jan Child, CEO, Bass Coast Health 4 years ago
Jan Child
CEO,
Bass Coast Health
Submitted on 1/05/2020 at 11:43 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 11:44 AM


picture of Jan Child

Dear Not my name,

I am so very sorry to read about this terrible experience. This is extremely concerning and I would be very keen to talk to you to get some details so that I can undertake a full investigation.

I offer my sincere condolences to you and to your family and whilst I understand this will be a distressing time for you, I would very much appreciate the opportunity to talk with you to understand what happened. Please call me at a time that suits you on 0472846355.

Jan Child

Chief Executive Officer

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Response from Jan Child, CEO, Bass Coast Health 3 years ago
Jan Child
CEO,
Bass Coast Health
Submitted on 11/05/2020 at 9:38 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 12/05/2020 at 8:49 AM


picture of Jan Child

Dear not my name,

I am writing to follow up on your post last week. I have not heard from you and am extremely keen to talk to you.

In the absence of hearing from you, we have reviewed presentations to our service and transfers out from our service and I have not been able to identify a scenario similar to that which you have outlined.

We are extremely keen to talk with you directly so that we can hear directly what occurred, and make sure we do whatever is necessary to ensure they do not occur again.

I hope that you will call me on 0472846355. If it is too hard for you to speak directly to me, feel free to ask a friend to phone on your behalf. I hope you are ok.

Jan.

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