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Ongoing issues during my appointment

Posted By travellercj54

"Ongoing issues during my appointment"

About: Hedland Health Campus / Outpatients

(as the patient),

I had been given a referral to see a specialist. My appointment was cancelled a few times before that so I was given a different specialist this time. When I walked in they gave me results that didn’t belong to me and asked if I had seen this specialist, I said no. They then asked again if I was pregnant even though I had said no they aren’t my results and I haven’t seen a specialist at the hospital yet.

I was booked in for a colposcopy as I have had 3 abnormal pap smears, however, the specialist said I didn’t need one but I believe once they saw the distress on my face, said that they would do one for my peace of mind. The nurse came in and asked for me to lie on the bed and cover myself. The bed looked extremely untidy and used I believe.

As I lifted the sheet to cover me, a scrunched up tissue fell out. I asked the nurse if the bed had been changed since the last person and they said, oh I’m not sure but I’ll change it anyway. The doctor then came in and started the procedure, while they were doing the procedure, I believe they didn’t have the right gauze and the nurse then asked if they needed more dye and I heard them say they don’t have time. After that, they said it all looks fine and signed me off.

I have been having this issue for a long time and wasn’t going to get it checked because I didn’t feel confident enough but the doctor said it was important. This specialist made me feel so belittled.

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Responses

Response from Louise Steedman, Operations Manager, East Pilbara, WA Country Health Service (WACHS) Pilbara 3 years ago
Louise Steedman
Operations Manager, East Pilbara,
WA Country Health Service (WACHS) Pilbara

Manages the operations of health services located in East Pilbara

Submitted on 6/08/2021 at 9:01 AM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 9:01 AM

Dear travellercj54,

Thank you for providing feedback regarding your experience at Hedland Health Campus Outpatient Department. I am very sorry to read of your experience, including the error made in providing you with incorrect results and that you were left feeling belittled following your procedure with the specialist. Everybody should feel comfortable and safe to attend our health services when required, and I hope that we can work with you to help you feel reassured and confident to attend our Outpatients Department, should you need to in the future.

The issues that you have highlighted are very concerning and I have already shared your story with the Senior Medical Officer Gan Sakarapani and the Clinical Nurse Manager for Outpatients, Robyn Winkler. Please accept my sincere apologies that you were distressed regarding the procedure itself. It is worrying enough having to attend hospital for treatment that your GP has referred you for, without feeling that this is unnecessary or to have concerns about the way the procedure was completed. If you would like, Dr Sakarapani and Robyn Winkler would be happy to work with you to review the care you were provided. Robyn can be contacted on 08 9174 1680.

I was also very disappointed to read about the poor cleanliness of the room and bed and I would like to assure you that this is not reflective of the standards we require. We have addressed your experience with our nursing staff, and the team have been reminded of our Environment Cleaning Policy, as well as the recently updated Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines to ensure this does not happen again.

Thank you for providing this feedback. If you feel comfortable, I would welcome you to contact me to discuss how I can support you in relation to your recent procedure and so that I can continue to assist should you have future health issues that require attention. My details are below, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards

Louise Steedman

East Pilbara Operations Manager

Louise.Steedman@health.wa.gov.au

08 9174 1038

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