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Handballed Paitent

Posted By WheatbeltPatient

"Handballed Paitent"

About: King Edward Memorial Hospital Royal Perth Hospital Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital

(as the patient),

I have Stage 3A OV Cancer, terminal, I had a kidney stent put in several months ago due to the cancer had blocked the supply line to my kidney. 

KEMH attempted to put the stent in but was unable, a week later I was sent to Charles Gardiner Hospital and they put the stent in.  Stent needs to be replaced at least every 6 months, no one had contacted me about replacing the stent so I started contacting KEMH, they are not going to do the stent replacement and refered me back to Charles Gardiner.

Charles Gardiner said to KEMH that they were too busy to do it apparently, so KEMH refered me to Royal Perth some weeks ago, I rang Royal Perth and they are not going to see me until early next year, as the referal was only a cat 2 from KEMH.  That date would be half way toward having my next stent replacement. 

It does give me pain, spent most of the day yesterday not walking upright, what do you do?

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Responses

Response from Ben Noteboom, Executive Director, Royal Perth Bentley Group 6 months ago
Ben Noteboom
Executive Director,
Royal Perth Bentley Group

Submitted on 1/11/2023 at 4:31 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 2/11/2023 at 9:58 AM

picture of Ben Noteboom

Dear WheatbeltPatient

I was deeply sorry to read of your health concerns and the difficulty you are experiencing in trying to navigate your way through the WA Health system, and acknowledge the frustration and distress the feeling of being ‘handballed’ is causing you.

From the limited information you have provided, I believe that you may have already contacted the Consumer Engagement Unit at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH), who have escalated the matter to the Outpatient Manager and Head of Department for Urology.

I would like to assure you that they are currently looking at your referral to make sure it has been appropriately triaged and to ensure you receive a timely review of your stent change. Once the plan for your review and surgery has been made you will be contacted directly.

If you have any further concerns, the Consumer Engagement Unit can be contacted Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm on (08) 9224 1637 and via email rpbg.feedback@health.wa.gov.au. In the meantime, and given you are currently experiencing significant pain, I would recommend that you visit your General Practitioner so that they can assess any noted deterioration and appropriately escalate this directly with the Urology team at RPH.

Thank you for sharing your story on Care Opinion, so that we can learn and improve the care we deliver to our patients and the community.

I wish you all the best in your continuing healthcare journey.

Kind regards

Ben Noteboom

A/Executive Director

Royal Perth Bentley Group

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Response from Delaney Gibbons, Director, Safety Quality and Performance, Safety, Quality and Performance, Women and Newborn Health Service 6 months ago
Delaney Gibbons
Director, Safety Quality and Performance, Safety, Quality and Performance,
Women and Newborn Health Service

Submitted on 3/11/2023 at 1:37 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 2:22 PM

picture of Delaney Gibbons

Dear WheatbeltPatient,

I am so sorry to hear about your recent experiences with the WA Health system. Your story really highlights the challenges patients can face navigating the healthcare system, and I am thankful to you for taking the time to share your experience.

The Women and Newborn Health Service are committed to partnering with other health services to improve overall patient experience. Since reading your story, I have been in touch with colleagues at Royal Perth and Sir Charles Gairdner hospitals and we’re all committed to working together to learn from your recent experience.

I wish you all the best.

Kind regards

Delaney

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