"Treatment in ED"

My spouse has been suffering severe and debilitating pain in their back and legs for some time. Recently, I had to call an ambulance as the pain in their right leg was excruciating. The paramedics were wonderful and treated my spouse with dignity and respect. They gave them some morphine and made them comfortable, then drove to Sutherland hospital.

After a short stay in the ambulance bay, my spouse was taken into the ED and placed into a bed. After hooking them up to a heart monitor, they were basically left alone for most of the day. We were hoping they might do a scan on my spouse's back and leg but that did not happen. No blood tests, no X-rays, nothing. My spouse laid in the bed for eight hours without any kind of treatment. No water, no food.

The doctor did do an examination making my spouse lift their legs and getting them to do different exercises. This only made the pain worse. The doctor tried to take blood from my spouse's arm but had to try two times as the first time the doctor had to discard the first lot. I believe my spouse was very dehydrated from having no fluids all day. They were also very hungry and fed up with the seeming lack of care being given to them. In the end, they had to sign themselves out as they had had enough.

We feel that the hospital had a duty of care to make sure my spouse had scans or x-rays and blood tests when they first arrived but they got nothing. Very disappointed in their treatment on that day.

After having scans done at our nearest medical imaging office, it was discovered my spouse had bulging discs in their spine that required three cortisone injections to relieve the pain. Something we feel could have been done at Sutherland hospital if they had just taken the time to care about my spouse's needs.