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"Level of care for unvaccinated"

About: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a relative),

My parent went to the toilet one morning, whilst camping hours from Perth, and passed a pile of blood (red). They were worried and drove themselves to the towns medical centre. The nurses there were amazing and the RPH telehealth Dr.

My parent’s stool at that time was black and their blood pressure was 215/83

They arranged for my parent to be flown to Perth by RFDS and taken to SCGH.

My parent’s blood pressure was erratic, between 175 and 200. They were in good spirits with no pain.

My parent was put on a fasting programme and told they would have a camera down their throat as they thought the bleeding was coming from esophagus. The following day came and still fasting while waiting for this procedure.

With every blood test my parent’s haemoglobin was increasing which was a sign that the bleeding had stopped and what they are passing is the "leftover"

Come the next day my parent was allowed to eat and was sent home without this test! No procedure was done to investigate why this happened and what was the cause, because my parent was in no discomfort. My parent had a heart test due to blood pressure but wasn't given the result but sent home with some pills that should stabilise everything.

My parent was told to contact their GP for them to arrange the camera down throat.

My question is why didn't they just do that in the hospital?

Now, what was interesting was my parent had a medical band with QR code on one wrist and the normal hospital tag on the other.

So my guessing is they were not going to do any other procedure because my parent is unvaccinated. That is my parent’s choice, and I feel they shouldn't be treated any different to anyone in an emergency situation. I feel like my parent was discriminated against because of their vaccination status, although they were covid negative.

I have no doubt, if my parent was fully vaccinated that procedure would have been done!

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Responses

Response from Jodi Graham, Executive Director, Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group 13 months ago
Jodi Graham
Executive Director,
Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group
Submitted on 13/03/2023 at 5:56 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 14/03/2023 at 9:47 AM


picture of Jodi Graham

Dear branyj88

Thank you for taking the time to share your story about your parents’ experience as a patient at SCGH. I am sorry to hear that they were unwell and did not get their endoscopy completed as planned, despite being fasted in preparation.

I note that your parent also had a heart test because their blood pressure was erratic, and although they were started on some medication, they did not receive the results.

I would like to reassure you that their vaccination status did not influence the clinical decisions made.

Without knowing the specific details of your parent, we are unable to provide further information. I would encourage you to contact the Consumer Liaison Service (phone: 6457 2867 or email: CLS@health.wa.gov.au) to provide their personal details, so that we are able to conduct an investigation and provide a more personalised response.

Once again, thank you for letting us know about your concerns. Feedback such as yours enables us to identify areas for improvement and ensures we can address issues impacting the delivery of our service for our patients.

I do hope your parent is feeling a little better and wish them all the best.

Warm regards

Jodi Graham

Executive Director, SCGOPHCG

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