"Ongoing support"

I have a rather complex medical history with ongoing issues. I was suffering from a flare up of a symptom and attended my regular GP. Given the nature of the issue and my history I would need to have scans. The scans would confirm the GP’s suspicions and it was advised that the situation I was in required urgent medical intervention.

The GP telephoned the hospital to explain the situation and requested an urgent admission. They then wrote a letter outlining the situation and sent us on our way to the Emergency Department for admission.

Upon arrival we attended the desk to advise why we were there and handed over the letter. We were then told it would be several hours before a doctor would see me, this was even though I was there for an admission. We then decided I would be more comfortable at home rather than waiting for several hours at a minimum. We then arranged a time the following day to attend the department for admission. We went home and spent a rather uncomfortable night at home.

The next day, we arrived at the emergency department as arranged. I was triaged and told I would see the doctor very shortly and as per the classification I was given, it would be within 30 minutes. Well how wrong that was. Almost 4 hours later still sitting there, which I felt was making the situation worse. I decided enough was enough and I proceeded to leave. I recall this created a somewhat panicked situation and I was advised it was dangerous to leave given the situation, well well, 20 hours later only when I was leaving it seemed was any action about to happen. I did in fact still leave and then spoke to my GP again.

I then attended the medical imaging department for my scan and then left. I then received a call advising I had to attend the hospital urgently, something which I wasn’t keen to do after the debacle the day before and again that day. A process was agreed upon and I attended the hospital for a direct admittance.

I was taken to Surgical Ward initially but just before being placed into a bed I was moved to Medical Ward by the Nursing Co Ordinator Therese, who I might add was terrific to both me and my spouse. I then spent several days in Medical Ward and was attended to by a vast array of medical staff and was advised I would need to see a particular specialist upon my discharge so that the root cause of my issue could be addressed. We were told we would be contacted for the appointment. After this I requested to be moved onto Hospital in the Home if possible so I could be at home and continue my ongoing treatment. This was agreed and the process put in place. Over the following couple of weeks the treatment I received from Gary and his team from HITH was brilliant. Nothing was too much of a problem, in Hospital visits for treatment were punctual and very professional whilst relaxed. The home care was just as professional, and I cannot recommend highly enough.

After I was improved enough, I was taken off HITH and waited for the specialist, it never happened. We then advised my GP at my next regular appointment. Due to my existing condition, I visit another hospital very regularly. At my next appointment the matter was discussed and then we had action. The following day we had a teleconsult with the specialist and then within 2 weeks I was booked for urgent surgery which directly relates to my admission at CGHS. Based on my experience, my observations are:

The Emergency Department appears to me to be terribly understaffed and is not coping with patient load.

The triage process is not working as it should or it is a victim of lack of beds and staff?

Walk ins are given a very low priority as compared to ambulance arrivals, although some people like myself will not tie up an ambulance if I can get there on my own steam, even when the GP advised to call an ambulance

Hospital in the Home is underutilised although it is a fantastic program that is well run and, in my opinion, a great concept.

In no way is this a direct go at the Emergency Department rather it appears to be a sign of the times at a lot of Emergency Departments. I believe people use the Emergency Department rather than their GP because it is free as soon as they arrive, unlike if they go via the GP. This then creates situations like this. People are only capable of so much and I understand this, but when you aren’t well and potentially in a very bad way, I feel more could be done possibly.

Yes I have high expectations and I’m not the easiest patient, but I am seeing professionals and I do care what happens to me.