This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

Serving three triages for one injury

Posted By Spooky

"Serving three triages for one injury"

About: Royal Perth Hospital / Emergency Department Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital

(as the patient),

I ruptured my left Achilles’ tendon last week playing tennis. I was taken to the Emergency Department at Royal Perth Hospital and served a four hour wait, given triage deemed me low priority I believe, despite my substantial pain. 

Eventually I was seen to, placed in a cast, and asked to return the following day for an ultrasound. When I returned the next day, I was triaged again, and was of course given the lowest priority I felt, despite being extremely unwell due to an allergic reaction to the tramadol pain killers, and waited multiple hours again.

After my ultrasound, I was placed in a second cast (needed to remove the first for the scan) and sent home, under the impression I was going to get a phone call the next day to organise a specialist orthopaedic appointment within the next 7 days.

I never received the phone call to book a specialist appointment, so I followed up myself recently. Turns out I was referred to Sir Charles Gairdner because I was in their catchment area. 

I was made to serve a third triage at this stage. When I called to organise an appointment, I was given an appointment a full 14 days after the incident. When I cited the Outpatient Service Access Policy of 2014 as recommended by a healthcare professional, and highlighted that I was concerned that the longer wait times (longer than the 7 days I was originally told) would compromise my health outcomes. I was, I felt, rudely dismissed and they even threatened to delay my appointment an extra day.

Suffice to say, I am concerned about my health outcomes due to these delays and lack of communication/rudeness. While there have been some delightful nurses and doctors that have assisted me over the last week, there are some issues, highlighted above, that I believe need attention. 

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Janet Zagari, Executive Director, Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group 2 years ago
Janet Zagari
Executive Director,
Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group

Submitted on 9/08/2021 at 1:18 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 4:42 PM

picture of Janet Zagari

Dear Spooky,

Thank you for advising us of your experience at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH). I can understand your concerns regarding receiving an appointment to attend the Orthopaedic Clinic 14 days after your initial presentation, especially when it did not meet your expectation of being followed up within 7 days.

It was very concerning to hear that you felt as if you were being threatened with delayed treatment when you queried the wait time, as this is not the way we would expect our staff to behave. Please accept my sincere apologies for the distress this has caused you. Your feedback is a timely reminder to us all on the importance of communicating effectively with our patients, especially when we cannot meet their expectations.

The health system’s process of using catchment areas is aimed at providing patients with care within the area that is closest to their homes which is why your care would have been transferred to SCGH; however, I do acknowledge this may result in delays and can cause confusion for the patient when advice differs between services.

We are currently reviewing our Outpatient Clinic processes in order to identify ways to improve access and patient flow and whilst this does not change your experience, I hope this provides you with some assurance that we are striving to make improvements in this area for our patients.

As Care Opinion is an anonymous platform, if you would like us to investigate your concerns more fully, please contact the Consumer Liaison Service by emailing CLS@health.wa.gov.au or calling 6457 2867 to provide your information to enable us to provide a more detailed response.

Once again, thank you for your feedback

Kind regards,

Janet Zagari

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
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 17/08/2021 at 12:27 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 1:31 PM

picture of George Eskander

Dear Spooky,

Thank you for getting in touch regarding your recent visits to the Royal Perth Hospital Emergency Department. I am sorry to hear that you experienced such a long waiting time on each occasion as I appreciate that you were in considerable pain.

When an ultrasound is required following a presentation to the Emergency Department, an appointment is made so you should have been able to go directly to Radiology without the need for triage. I apologise if that was not arranged in your case. We will check our processes to see why this may not have occurred.

An electronic referral would have been made following your ultrasound and I am disappointed to learn that you were not advised of the outcome, nor of the change in location for your follow up care. This has highlighted a gap in our communications and I thank you for making us aware of it.

I encourage you to contact the Consumer Engagement Unit on (08) 9224 1637, 8am to 4pm or email RPBG.feedback@health.wa.gov.au so that we can better understand the specifics of your care and so that we can investigate and provide specific feedback to relevant staff members

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

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k