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Care Opinion

Box Hill Emergency Department

Posted By GC

"Box Hill Emergency Department"

About: Box Hill Hospital / Emergency Department

(as a carer),

We’re not taken seriously and left for four hours in waiting area:

My wife has anaplastic thyroid cancer and we presented at Box Hill Hospital emergency department because she was very distressed.

At Peter Macallum Cancer Centre Parkville where my wife receives her chemo and immunotherapy we were given a medical alert card which when we presented to the triage nurse she said - that means nothing here. In my opinion, she treated my wife very disdainfully.

My wife was quite upset, but we waited for more than 4 hours and rather perfunctorily had one blood pressure test. Finally she was too tired to wait any longer, so we asked how long until we can see a doctor and after being told it would be at least an hour we went home. As it was Sunday we had few options and as we had a GP appointment the next day she tried to wait.

On Sunday she awoke with extreme pain and bruising caused by bleeding into the tissue. We called an ambulance that took her back to Box Hill where she was admitted to the Oncology ward for urgent treatment. She is still a patient today awaiting transfer to Peter Macallum.

As far as I'm concerned, the triage practices at Box Hill Hospital.

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Responses

Response from David Plunkett, Chief Executive, Eastern Health 5 years ago
David Plunkett
Chief Executive,
Eastern Health

Submitted on 28/02/2019 at 8:32 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 1/03/2019 at 11:21 AM

picture of David Plunkett

Dear GC

Thank you so much for taking the time to share comments on your experience with the triage process and staff when attending the Box Hill Emergency Department with your wife. I'm sorry this was not a positive experience especially as your wife was not well.

Thank you also for taking the time to speak with Ged Millard, Associate Program Director regarding your experience in the Emergency Department. In conjunction with her colleague, Jenny Dempster, your feedback will be provided to the Emergency Department staff, particularly the triage staff regarding the importance of listening and recognising the importance of the medical alert card.

I hope the care your wife is receiving in the ward is leading to improvements in her condition. We are always keen to receive feedback on what is going well and importantly also learn from what isn't, so thank you again for your comments.

Kind regards and best wishes

David

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by GC (a carer)

Thank you Ged and David for your responses to our opinion. Let us first say that the care my wife has received at Box Hill Hospital since admission has been amazing. The ambulance, emergency, palliative care, oncology, allied health, nursing and support staff are of the highest order. Thank you also for taking our opinion in the vein it was meant, as a learning experience for emergency staff on the importance of medical alert cards.

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