"Appointment letter sent me to an abandoned building"

It was my very first appointment with the Oncologist at the Breast Cancer Clinic at Maroondah hospital. I got to the address an hour early (as I usually do) to calm myself and to just get my head around what may happen in the appointment. Remember, we're talking cancer here, I was very nervous!

The taxi let me off at the address that was detailed in my appointment letter. I stood where the taxi left me for a while, said a prayer and finally made my way to the front door of the Breast Cancer Clinic (as it said on the front of the building and on the doorway). I was shaking. I was terrified. I was alone in all of this. I was sad. 

Once I got to the door, it was locked. Not only that, once I peered in the windows, the building appeared abandoned! The appointment letter had led me to an abandoned building! I was alone in a neighbourhood I've never been to, early on a cold winter's morning with cancer and many other co-morbidities! My taxi had left, and there wasn't a single person in sight! The building next to it looked abandoned as well. 

I had only moved to the eastern suburbs a month before and didn't have anyone to help me. I had escaped from domestic violence and life had been so horribly overwhelming with the move and cancer diagnosis and surgery. 

Now this? Trying to make this appointment alone, researching the night before where to go, then..... the place is a ghost town!? What the hell!?

 

Finally, a car came down the street and I stopped them by waving my walking stick, they looked at the appointment letter and said it was the building that I'd come from. They were a local by the way, I understand they lived in that street! When I told them the situation... they couldn't help me. 

I waved another car down after some time, (this area is rural ya gotta understand)! The driver pointed out this hospital I thought was dodgy and looked like a 3rd world hospital that was up a hill and said try in there. (My god, I honestly didn't know that it was a hospital)! I was only looking up the cancer clinic. 

I walked up there, waiting in the rain to get inside and finally was pointed to the other end of a very long corridor to where this 'ghost clinic' (in my opinion) was.  

As you can guess, by the time I got to my appointment I was exhausted, more terrified than I was before leaving home, frustrated, angry, depressed, in a heightened amount of pain, and I was sobbing and was having many, many panic attacks throughout the day. 

They didn't apologise. Nothing. 

I believe they hid me in a room so I wouldn't distress other patients. 

In my opinion, the administration staff were abysmal. And sadly, horrifyingly,  this wasn't the first time either.

I am moving to another Campus because of how totally negligent I believe the treatment was at Eastern Health Breast Cancer Clinic Maroondah, (Ringwood). 

Please contact me if you need more information.