"Broome staff went above and beyond!"

I crushed my foot and was an inpatient at Broome Hospital.

As soon as I got to the hospital, a Security Guard rushed up to me and tried to help me. The Triage Nurse looked at me and asked what happened and I said my foot got crushed. They took me straight in and within 5 minutes had morphine in me. 5 minutes after that they had me getting X-rays and 15 minutes after that, I was getting CT scans. They were just bang, bang, bang - no stuffing around.

I got there pretty late and then they had to make me fast just in case. By about midnight I believe the kitchen had closed but the staff went and got me some yoghurt and soup. 

The scans showed severe damage which I believe requires surgery.

I was in constant pain and being treated with extremely strong pain medication; even then it only made the pain tolerable as nothing took it away.  They wanted to transfer me to another hospital for surgery but that hospital wouldn't accept me at first.

The treating doctor in the Broome General Ward, Hoods, was brilliant. He asked three times for my case to be reviewed. The third time the physio came and checked on me. They unstrapped my foot and compared both feet and said there is a problem here and that I needed to go into Perth as there was no arch in my foot at all. They also said my foot was clearly damaged and I was in excruciating pain. 

Because the other hospital wasn't agreeing to treat me, I contacted a private foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon in Perth (I had been in Broome for days while they tried to get the other hospital to accept and treat me). I sent my CT scans to the surgeon and asked for their professional opinion. This surgeon said it was a dislocated foot with broken bones all through it. The surgeon spoke to Hoods who really advocated for me. He spoke to the other hospital again and told them the private surgeon's (who I think may have been a well-known specialist) opinion and suddenly it all happened. 

Within a few hours, I was flown to Perth by the Royal Flying Doctor's Service (RFDS). Staff at Broome Hospital gave me a nerve block for my crushed foot as they didn't want me to suffer on the flight. They also gave me lots of painkillers and medication for constipation. 

On the flight, they gave me more painkillers. The staff from Broome hospital, the crew aboard RFDS and the ambulance officers (from Broome to the RDFS and then from RDFS to the other hospital) have all been amazing and understanding. They all gave me dignity and were being so nice and so helpful.

They all went above and beyond. One nurse that I highly commend is Jack. He really looked after me in Broome in the General Ward. He was excellent. He was there during the day the whole time. He even stayed back after he knocked off his shift and came to talk to me. He was excellent. 

I even had the pharmacist come in to see how the pain was going. He was brilliant as well. 

Because I also have a broken jaw as well from a previous injury, the nurses talked to the kitchen and made sure I had the right food there - like soups and crushing up my chicken and making sure I got soft mashed potato and carrots. 

I cannot fault the care I have been provided at Broome Hospital. I have never before experienced that in any other hospital. Everyone who looked after me went above and beyond and if I had a choice I would give them all a pay rise.