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Leaving Doctors understaffed and under pressure.

Posted By swingey87

"Leaving Doctors understaffed and under pressure."

About: Exmouth Health Service / Emergency Department

(as the patient),

I had a phone consult booked recently. I was asked to keep my phone near me from about 30 minutes before. Around 3 hours later, I had not received a call so I rang reception and asked the Dr if they could take the call knowing they had been inundated with ED patients.

The Dr took my call and we discussed my illness and I recall they explained that they were a Doctor short because another hospital had taken one of their Doctors and it was extremely busy. 

Based on my experience, this is not the first time this has happened as the last face to face appointment I had was just before Christmas and I recall I had to wait a long time in the waiting room and again the explanation for the long wait was because the other hospital again had taken one of our Drs.

I feel this needs to stop as I believe these Drs are very good and we do not want to lose them because they are overworked and burnt out, in my opinion. 

I would like to know if this practice will stop because I believe it is putting lives at risk in Exmouth. 

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Responses

Response from Grant Patrick, Operations Manager, Carnarvon, WA Country Health Service 2 years ago
Grant Patrick
Operations Manager, Carnarvon,
WA Country Health Service

Submitted on 17/01/2022 at 7:46 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 18/01/2022 at 1:00 PM

picture of Grant Patrick

Dear swingey87,

Thank you for taking the time to share your story on Care Opinion. I was very pleased to read your kind words about the doctors based at the Exmouth hospital.

The dedicated team at Exmouth Health Service are working extremely hard to provide the community with timely, professional and caring medical services.

I sincerely apologise for the lengthy waiting times you’ve experienced accessing medical services in Exmouth, whether at the Health Service or via phone consults. I understand the importance of accessing appropriate and timely care and the lack of alternative options often available to residents of country WA. Patients are prioritised in accordance with their clinical need and, at times, this can regrettably cause delays, including when we ask our hardworking staff to work from other locations, for example during unplanned leave.

If you are concerned about the care you or a loved one is receiving while in hospital, I would like to share with you a process we have at the hospital called Aishwarya’s CARE Call. You may notice in the Emergency Department, posters about Aishwarya’s CARE Call, which is an 1800 number for patients, carers and families to raise their concerns if they or someone they care for is getting sicker. In the Midwest, no matter what hospital you go to this number is 1800 316 729 or you can find out more here at: WA Country Health Service - Aishwarya’s CARE Call.

Thank you for sharing your story on Care Opinion. I would like to assure you that we are genuinely committed to listening and learning from the experiences of our patients and their families and carers and is very grateful to receive your feedback.

Grant Patrick

Operations Manager Gascoyne

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