I sustained an equestrian accident recently. Fell off my bolting horse and was trampled in the process. Emergency Service were fantastic, prepared for anything (even had the chopper on standby if needed) thankfully the bleeding slowed and I was admitted to ED at FSH via road ambulance. What I noticed most was that everyone from emergency services, to nursing and medical were very personable. They all had approached me with an excellent balance of humanity and professionalism. I presented with complexities to diagnosis due to being an existing incomplete paraplegic, they didn’t ask inappropriate questions, they took all necessary steps to ensure the source of the bleeding and pain was not life threatening or serious. The interesting part was that there was bleeding coming from my vaginal area due to the impact with the horses hoof (the horse has shoes on), yet from emergency services to ED the male staff were very mindful of not unnecessarily investigating, which I appreciated. A female JD in ED was given that task which she did carefully and respectfully.
The specialist I saw thankfully was the same gender as me. I know it’s the specialist’s job to ask protective questions around ‘sexual abuse’ when presented with such damage to the female genitalia, however this was the only part that was uncomfortable. I noticed they swabbed me to double check there was no evidence of abuse however this wasn’t communicated to me. A bit uncomfortable considering I had explained the accident, I recall they did comment saying it was an unusual presentation for a horse riding accident but again I understand the need to investigate from their clinical perspective. The specialist said one of the tears would heal without sutures, however I do wish they would have told me that it would leave my genitals with an obvious tear, in that case I would have asked for the repair. I have an outpatient appointment soon, I will ask then about the repair.
Overall excellent care from the ED staff. Some uncomfortableness and mixed messaging with the specialist.
"Equestrian accident"
About: Fiona Stanley Hospital / Emergency Department Fiona Stanley Hospital Emergency Department Murdoch 6150 St John Ambulance WA St John Ambulance WA Belmont 6104
Posted by Equestrian82 (as ),
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