"Misplaced ribs"

In March, I had an accident, on the road near my home. I was on my scooter taking a corner @ 15kmh, when my scooter slipped out from under me. My tires hit the newly laid pedestrian crossing lines on the road, where fine sand had blown down from the road works, which has taken more than a year to complete “only just completed” and I slipped. I fell onto the road as I was taking the corner. The blunt trauma caused a punctured lung, several broken displaced ribs and multiple lacerations on my shoulder, arms, legs and feet. I was taken by ambulance to the Peel Hospital, where I was treated and laid for two days, before they transferred me to the WA Major Trauma Unit at RPH. I was in the trauma unit for 5 days, when they released me. I was released with no instructions except that I had to have another X-ray a week after I was released from hospital and to visit my GP who should request the X-ray. I had my X-ray and was given a link by SKG radiologist to view my X-ray’s which included the report. I was aware that I had broken ribs, however I never knew the extent. They were extremely misplaced. I am still in constant pain 4 months later. I could not sit back or lay down on my RH side without pain or feel my ribs biting into my flesh, the ribs move around as I move and am constantly aware of my movements as to not cause any pain or further injury. I was stunned to find out after asking my GP, a Orthopedic Surgeon (who wants to operate on my shoulder “rotor cuff”), and a family friend who is a physician, what I could do about my condition.? They all advised me that nothing could be done, and that I would have to live like this. Also that I would more than likely get arthritis due to the misplaced ribs.

I started a search on the internet and found a Rib Clinic in the UK, I wrote an E-mail which included all the information I had, and they subsequently set up an appointment for me to have a Zoom consultation. The consultation cost me $500.00, where they told me that the ribs need to be corrected as my whole RH side of my body was collapsing. They were astonished that the Hospital had released me without any action or follow up. They stated that I needed a Thoracic Surgeon, but offered to help should I not find one, which meant that I would need to return to the UK and pay for the operation myself as my private health cover only covered me in Australia. I searched the internet again, unable to find anyone in Perth who would help me. I wrote to a Cardio Thoracic Surgeon in Melbourne VIC, who set up an appointment. He would not do a Zoom Consultation, so I used all my Velosity Points and flew to Melbourne for the Consultation. He agreed that he could not believe that I was left in such a state and stated that he would repair my ribs which happened in September 2024 In Melbourne.

I received a letter from the Insurance Commission of WA waiting for me when I was discharged from hospital, stating that I did not have a claim as no other vehicle was involved.

No, instructions or follow up appointments from the RPH, my condition was never discussed.

Asking the Cardio Thoracic Surgeon why his skills were not advertised and how difficult it was to find him, his answer was that WA’s population was so small it made Specialists Surgeons stay on the East Coast of Australia due to large population.

How can they allow people to stay in the condition I was in? Because my body had already started healing, my surgeon stated that if I had been operated on within a week of the accident they would have been able to marry up my ribs by stretching them out, but because it has been 4 months they will have to cut the ribs where they are overlapping, and re-join them where they lay using a plate bracket and screws on each of the 7 ribs.

It has now been 3 months since my surgery! I suffered the pain of the initial accident all over again, and am still in recovery mode although it’s the best I have felt since the accident in March. I feel whole again thanks to the surgeon! 5 of my ribs have been joined ribs 3 & 4 were under my scapular and were glued!

I feel very let down by the WA health care system, I felt what a joke that no-one knows that operations are available to fix people’s misplaced ribs! It seems it is left up to the individual to look for help by him/her self!