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Care Opinion

Inadequate care

Posted By Physio23

"Inadequate care"

About: Royal Perth Hospital / Physiotherapy Service St John of God Midland Hospital

(as other),

I am a physiotherapist caring for a middle-aged patient who presented with a week-long history of severe, constant, non-mechanical lower back pain. 

They presented to Midland Hospital and were imaged by CT-Scan. This was inconclusive but further MRI imaging was not performed as the patient was allegedly told that the service didn't have an MRI machine in the hospital.

The patient received no answers regarding their pain, including no review from physiotherapy, despite requesting this. They were discharged with pain medication but no clear follow-up plan. 

The patient attended my clinic for treatment, however, it was evident on assessment that their pain was from a non-mechanical source. They then presented to Royal Perth Hospital (RPH). MRI imaging was not performed there either, apparently because their radiologists do not work on weekends, and they were discharged again without a clear plan or diagnosis despite insufficient control of their pain levels.

I understand that bed spaces are critical in hospital, however, I am concerned that this patient was not provided with adequate communication about their problem or a management plan. I am also concerned that the reviewing doctors in all cases were not able to distinguish between mechanical and non-mechanical lower back pain, attributing the patient's symptoms to nerve root related pain, despite the constancy of their pain and good movement ability in all directions. 

I would like for further training and review of the management procedures of severe lower back pain to be conducted in both hospitals. Discharging a patient in a confused, high-pain state with no support other than pain medication is, in my opinion, negligent and could easily lead to missing significant diagnoses.

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Responses

Response from Janet Jones, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Clinical Governance, St John of God - Midland 4 years ago
Janet Jones
Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Clinical Governance,
St John of God - Midland

Submitted on 22/08/2019 at 2:39 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 2:42 PM

Hello Physio23,

Thank you for your Patient Opinion post regarding the care provided for one of your patients at St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals.

It was disappointing to learn of the experience of our mutual patient and concerning to learn that they had not received the standard of care expected at our hospital during their admission.

We treat all feedback seriously and will always implement changes to our processes and procedures wherever it is identified that improvements can be made to the care we provide for our patients.

Our Patient Experience Coordinator contacted you and invited you to provide the further information needed which will allow us to investigate the issues raised in your story and separate email to us.

We look forward to engaging with you and learning from your feedback.

Thanks and kind regards

Janet Jones

Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Clinical Governance”

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Response from Lesley Bennett, Chief Executive, East Metropolitan Health Service 4 years ago
Lesley Bennett
Chief Executive,
East Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 22/08/2019 at 2:39 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 2:43 PM

picture of Lesley Bennett

Dear Physio23,

Thank you for providing your feedback so that we have the chance to respond and also invite this patient to contact us directly.

MRI scans are available afterhours at Royal Perth Hospital, dependent on the assessment and diagnosis of the treating physician.

Without having details of the patient and their diagnosis it is difficult to comment on the treatment that they were provided and why. We would be happy to discuss this patient’s treatment with them directly, and with all of the information conduct a review into their treatment.

I would like to invite the patient to contact our Consumer Engagement Unit on 9224 1637 and speak with one of our team. Can I ask that you please relay this invitation to the patient?

Thank you again for providing us with this information so that we can look into this matter.

Yours sincerely

Dr Lesley Bennett

Executive Director

Royal Perth Bentley Group

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Response from Janet Jones, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Clinical Governance, St John of God - Midland 4 years ago
Janet Jones
Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Clinical Governance,
St John of God - Midland

Submitted on 23/08/2019 at 9:47 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 9:49 AM

Hello Physio23,

Thank you so much for getting in touch with us and providing the further detail so we can look into the care provided for this patient at our hospital.

We have already contacted the patient to offer them an apology for their experience and obtain consent to look into the issues you brought to our attention.

As soon as we have completed our investigation we will contact you both and provide an update.

In the meantime, thank you once again for bringing these issues to our attention.

Thanks and kind regards

Janet Jones

Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Clinical Governance

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