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Care Opinion

Lack of services

Posted By in pain

"Lack of services"

About: Esperance Health Campus / General medicine

(as the patient),

I had put in a complaint 7 months ago now about the fact I needed an ultrasound in Esperance and that I had to wait 3 weeks for that ultrasound. Geraldine Ennis, Regional Director, WACHS-Goldfields was kind enough to to respond. She states, "Since your story was posted, Esperance Hospital has successfully recruited a permanent Ultrasonographer. This will improve wait times for ultrasounds and help clear any current appointment wait lists."

I have recently had to make another appointment for an ultrasound at Esperance Hospital. I can tell you that the waiting list has not decreased but the wait is now 6 weeks for an ultrasound. In my opinion it has become beyond a joke. A friend in Perth can get in for an ultrasound the same day she's referred without her doctor marking it urgent. Yet here in Esperance we have to wait 6 weeks. So much for quality of care.

This issue has been marked as Led to a change, I believe it has led to a change for the worse and not better.

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Responses

Response from Peter Tredinnick, Executive Director, Regional Office, WACHS Goldfields 6 years ago
Peter Tredinnick
Executive Director, Regional Office,
WACHS Goldfields

Executive Director WACHS Goldfields

Submitted on 20/10/2017 at 11:42 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 12:14 PM

picture of Peter Tredinnick

Dear in pain,

Thank you for contacting us about your ultrasound. We value your feedback as this assists us to improve our services.

Ultrasound wait times will depend on the type of scan and urgency assigned. Esperance Hospital currently has a 5 week waitlist for non-urgent appointments. Ultrasounds that are prioritised as urgent by the sonographer are generally undertaken on the same or next day following the referral being received.

Wait periods for non-urgent ultrasounds generally vary from two to four weeks depending on activity fluctuations. The Esperance campus has experienced higher than normal demand recently that has seen wait times reach seven weeks for low priority or non-date critical ultrasounds.

Arising from your concern, however, the Esperance campus has initiated a review of the responsiveness of the booking system to referrals for medical imaging. The Esperance campus is also actively monitoring wait periods and will initiate corrective actions should wait lists for any service become excessive.

I thank you for providing this feedback as we will use patient experiences such as yours to drive service improvements. If you are encountering pain I would encourage you to return to your GP or go to the ED department at Esperance Hospital.

Kind regards

Peter Tredinnick

A/Regional Director

WACHS Goldfields

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