This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?

"Wrong diagnosis at the Emergency Ward"

About: Wonthaggi Hospital / Emergency Department

(as the patient),

I attended Wonthaggi Hospital Emergency Department recently with a sore left leg. It was that bad I couldn't walk on it. I told the triage nurse that I went over on my leg and heard a snap. I told the nurse that I broke my fibula, they had a feel and told me I haven't broken any bones and that it was a torn calf muscle. I then saw a doctor and they told me the same thing, even though I told them that I think I broke my fibula. They sent me for an ultrasound the following day where they found a tiny tear. The doctor told me it is ok to walk on it and it should be ok to go back to work after a week.

It wasn't getting any better after a week so I went to see another doctor where they had a look and asked me if I had an x-ray on it. I told the doctor that at the ED they told me nothing was broken and it was only a torn calf muscle even after I had told them that I had broken my fibula. They sent me for an x-ray the following morning. The x-ray clearly showed I had a broken fibula. Why wouldn't Emergency send me for an x-ray at the start when I had told them that I was pretty certain I had a broken fibula? They told me to walk on it that made it worse and prescribed me anti-inflammatory tablets.

Not at all happy with the Emergency Ward.  

Tags added by staff members:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Jan Child, CEO, Bass Coast Health 5 years ago
Jan Child
CEO,
Bass Coast Health
Submitted on 5/04/2019 at 3:28 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 3:29 PM


picture of Jan Child

Dear perseusbs49

I am so very sorry that you had this experience. I am also very appreciative that you took the time to post your feedback. It is really important that we follow up these individual issues to look in detail at what happened, and work out how we can prevent this from happening again. I am keen to investigate this issue and would very much appreciate it if you could ring me to provide some more details including who you saw. My direct number is 0472846355. I once again apologise.

Kind Regards, Jan

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Jan Child, CEO, Bass Coast Health 4 years ago
Jan Child
CEO,
Bass Coast Health
Submitted on 26/04/2019 at 7:25 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 9:12 AM


picture of Jan Child

Dear perseusbs49,

Firstly, thank you for speaking with us to provide some further details regarding your experience. We have undertaken an investigation and I know you have already had some feedback about that, but I wanted to let you know that there have been multiple learnings for us. We agree that we should have done an X ray right at the start. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and our doctors now agree that should have occurred - doctors are always trying to find the balance of making sure we apply the least restrictive measure, and in this case, we got it wrong and we sincerely apologise. Our biggest mistake was not to listen to you as intently as we should. This is something that we all agree we could have done a lot better. I would like to assure you that we are truly committed to providing the highest quality care to our community and your feedback will help us continually improve what we do. It sounds like your fracture is progressing well - don't hesitate to let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you in your recovery.

Kind Regards, Jan.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k