"Falling through the gaps again"

Will try to be brief, there is a back ground to this but guess not too relevant.

In my opinion, my partner's situation was basically caused by failure to diagnose correctly, they went from stage 1 cervical cancer receiving treatment, being told free from cancer to being told they had stage 4 cervical cancer that had spread within a 14 day period, that was only after a last resort trip to a bulk billing GP as my partner’s Drs didn't think to give them a scan.

I feel my partner fell through the gaps. Or no one cares.

Due to my partner's Chemotherapy and Radiation treatment, they ended up with kidney problems. This resulted in Stents being inserted (at Osbourne Park) staff and urologist were excellent. Due to decreasing Kidney function it was decided my partner had to have a Percutaneous Nephrostomy Tube.

After the operations, treatments etc etc this was devastating news to my partner, they felt the last of their dignity had gone, basically life was not worth it. The first time (at Osbourne Park) my partner recalls being told very rudely with total disregard for their feelings and an apparent total lack of empathy, that they had no choice in decision.

We then went to see a different Urologist again at Osborne Park who went into great detail, answered every question, treated my partner as a person, explained why and understood my partner's concerns. After a lot of soul searching, the procedure was completed on one side and a stent placed in the other. We understand the Urologist we saw has gone down a different path due to family, professional interest etc. It was with great foreboding we tried to find out the replacement urologist, so that my partner’s stent could be changed, to monitor their kidney function, after being shunted from hospital switch board to hospital switch board we are no further forward.

I feel my partner is now in the same position again due to the fact I believe no one at Osbourne Park thought to re assign a drs patients, no one knows when their stent has to be replaced, (it’s within the next month), no one has followed up after the Nephrostomy, no one has checked kidney function.

I appreciate that as they are my partner I am rather close to the situation, they have been through an awful lot the last few years, and their quality of life destroyed, I feel there have been some incredible staff along the way, and some seemingly thoughtless, uncaring ones as well.

We thought after finding a fantastic urologist at least that stress was taken care of.

It was not to be staff at Osbourne Park as I feel they have been lacking knowledge, have no solutions and probably no concern, after all its not them that have been seemingly cast adrift is it.

An open question- why does it seem Western Australian urologist's have no interest in the progression of treatments ie, Subcutaneous Nephrostomy greatly improves the quality of people lives, yet I believe no one here has even heard of it?