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Appalling patient experience

Posted By quebeckj39

"Appalling patient experience"

About: Bentley Hospital / Ward 3 Royal Perth Hospital / Orthopaedic Surgical & Trauma & Spinal Care Ward 3H/5G

(as a parent/guardian),

My child was transferred from Royal Perth to Bentley at night recently. They were taken to a ward in a wheelchair as they had an arm and hip fracture. They asked for some water. I believe they were left sitting on the bed for two hours with no water, no sheets, pillows or blankets until they finally got someone’s attention and asked if they could at least have a blanket and pillow. The next morning I believe the shift change failed to allocate a nurse to them and they were left until the next shift change (mid-afternoon) without medication or care.

My child was told they had forgotten to allocate a nurse to them! When I arrived my child was distressed and wanted to get out of there. They had been given three different discharge dates. They opted to go the next day. They were told to stay in Perth to attend the Royal Perth the next few days for their cast to be redone. I felt the doctor had no information or idea as to how my child's hip and chest wounds were to be managed when the dressings were to be changed etc. The doctor said to ask at the Clinic in a few days.

There was no care plan, I asked where to from here, what was the physio plan, the rehab plan, they said my child was fine. We were denied a wheelchair because they could shuffle using one crutch. I’m in my 60s, my adult child weighs more than me and is very tall. I said I couldn’t manage them without a wheelchair. They said they couldn’t help me because technically the shuffle was a walk. It’s now been a few days, I believe the doctor had failed to make the appointment at the Royal Perth clinic, we have permanently left our accommodation as we were heading home to the country where my child will continue to convalesce. We now have no accommodation and cannot be seen at the clinic until the next day. I’m disgusted and in my opinion, the patient experience has been appalling.

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Responses

Response from Lesley Bennett, Chief Executive, East Metropolitan Health Service 3 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Lesley Bennett
Chief Executive,
East Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 16/03/2021 at 5:56 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 5:56 PM

picture of Lesley Bennett

Dear quebeckj39,

Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us. It is extremely upsetting to hear of your child’s experience regarding the care received following their transfer to Bentley Health Service.

It is troubling to hear that your child was not allocated a nurse and left without medication, water, sheets, pillows and blankets for two hours. I acknowledge that this may have amplified your child’s feelings of distress, during an already stressful time. Please accept my sincere apologies for this, as it does not meet our expected standards or usual patient allocation practices.

Without specific details, it is difficult to ascertain why your child was denied a wheelchair and why a care plan was not discussed at the time of discharge. This is certainly not the standard of support our staff strive to provide for patients and families, particularly in such stressful circumstances.

Patients are screened and assessed as required by Physiotherapists in preparation for discharge. Once patients are deemed safe with their mobility and have progressed to achieve their physiotherapy goals, they are discharged from hospital with appropriate community follow up. I am sincerely sorry if this did not occur for your child.

I would like the opportunity to review the care provided to your child and ensure that all appropriate follow up appointments have been arranged. To do this I need some further details. I encourage you to contact our Consumer Engagement Unit on (08) 9224 1637, 8 am to 4 pm or email RPBG.feedback@health.wa.gov.au.

Please be assured that senior hospital staff have been made aware of your story and we will be implementing changes to ensure a situation like this does not occur again.

I hope we are able to be of assistance in resolving your concerns and hope your child is recovering well from surgery.

Kind Regards

Dr Lesley Bennett

Executive Director

Royal Perth Bentley Group

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