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Care Opinion

No respect shown

Posted By Unhappy patient62

"No respect shown"

About: Royal Perth Hospital / Short Stay Surgical Unit Ward 4A & Day Surgery Unit Ward 4B/4G

(as the patient),

I had an appointment at Royal Perth Hospital's Endoscopy Suite recently. I arrived early for the appointment and waited in the waiting room.

When I was called through for my appointment I followed the nurse who didn't even introduce themselves and we went to a room with 5 other patients in there. The nurse then proceeded to ask me for information about my health and about the procedure that I was going to have. I felt really uncomfortable about answering the questions in such a public area as some of the questions were of personal nature.

I feel that these questions should have been asked in a private room with only the nurse and myself in the room. Furthermore, I had only about ten days notice for this appointment to arrive at the hospital and find out that they hadn't even got any of my information for my medical records prior to my arrival. Then to be treated, in my opinion, like a number showed a lack of care and compassion by the hospital staff, to the point that I became so agitated and I felt like I was being treated like a child to the point that I became so uncomfortable being there that I left the hospital before having the procedure that I was there for. That was even after the nurse contacted their supervisor.

I understand that the nursing staff have to ask you questions in order to help provide you with the best care possible. I also feel that they need to show patients respect and understanding that some questions are of a personal nature and should not be asked in public areas.

I still wish to have the procedure that I was meant to have but I don't want to go back to Royal Perth Hospital for it. If I was to give the hospital and staff a rating it will be a minus score as I feel that they failed in all areas of care for their patients.

Furthermore, no one from the hospital has bothered, in my opinion, to contact me and tried to find out what the problem was and what could have been done to find a solution. They didn't even bother, in my opinion, contacting my next of kin/emergency contact to let them know that I had left the hospital. I feel that this is very poor as anything could happen happened as I had not eaten anything in two days to be able to have the procedure.

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Responses

Response from George Eskander, Acting Executive Director, Royal Perth Bentley Group 2 years ago
George Eskander
Acting Executive Director,
Royal Perth Bentley Group

Submitted on 16/08/2021 at 11:45 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 11:46 AM

picture of George Eskander

Dear Unhappy patient62,

I am sorry to hear that you were dissatisfied with your experience at our Endoscopy Suite recently and that you feel our staff failed you in all areas of care. We expect a high standard of courtesy and respect from our staff and I am very sorry that you felt that was lacking when you visited.

Your privacy and confidentiality of information are important to us so I apologise for the distress you experienced when you were not taken elsewhere to complete your pre-procedure paperwork. Unfortunately, at this time the Endoscopy Suite has limited space, so our staff members do the best they can in the circumstances. It is important, however, that they obtain the information from patients directly to confirm currency and accuracy. The hospital is looking at opportunities in the future to secure funding to relocate the Endoscopy Service to provide purpose-built facilities.

Your concerns have been passed on to the Endoscopy Manager who has reminded staff members of the sensitivity of these procedures and stressed the importance of respecting and maintaining privacy. I’m sorry that neither your attending nurse nor the supervisor were able to resolve the issues at the time.

I acknowledge your frustration with this situation and that you feel a staff member should have followed up given that you left the clinic without having the procedure. The Endoscopy Manager has advised that an immediate follow up would occur if there were concerns for a patient’s welfare for any reason, or if they had already had sedation. I have also been advised that the manager would have made contact with you within a few days of your scheduled appointment so I trust this has occurred.

We would like to offer you the opportunity to discuss this matter by calling the Consumer Engagement Unit on (08) 9224 1637, 8am to 4pm or email RPBG.feedback@health.wa.gov.au. I hope we are able to be of assistance in addressing your concerns.

Royal Perth Bentley Group is committed to safer health care and improving the service they provide to individuals, so I appreciate you letting us know of your experience, so that we can learn from this.

Kind Regards,

George Eskander

Acting Executive Director

Royal Perth Bentley Group

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