Public Hospitals, what a joke.

[drivesafe]

I have always been an avid supporter of the public health system but after today's little episode SCREWEM.

My wife fell over yesterday did some damage to herself, but try as we could, we could not convince her to go down to Robina emergency ( an extension of Gold Coast Hospital ).

Today she was in so much pain that we finally got to take her down there, BIG MISTAKE.

After fronting reception and then Triage, where my wife tells the whatever, that she thinks she has a broken thumb and broken toe, we waited, and waited, and waited.

Two hours after arriving, we were still waiting.

Now when the hospital is flat out obviously you can expect to wait and wait some considerable time and two hours, in my opinion, would most likely be a short waiting period, WHEN IT’S BUSY.

When we arrived there were some 4 or so patients ahead of us and in the two hours we were there, these 4 were seen to as well as 5 or six other patients that arrived after us.

After waiting two hours and at that point in time, there were no other patients wait and still nothing seemed to be happening, I went to the Triage counter and just asked “As my wife had been there for two hours and there was no one else waiting, had they overlooked her”.

Well, talk about wave a red flag at a bull. This bitch informs me that “Patients are seen on a basis of the severity of their injuries or illness” a point I was well aware of but there were no other patients.

This bitch then tells me “As my wife is listed as a category 4 patient, she will have to wait to more serious case are seen to first”. I pointed out to this bitch, that I had not requested to have my wife jump any que, I was just enquiring to see if she was still in the system.

Now, posted on the walls in the waiting are signs stating that “Police will be called if staff are subjected to any form of abuse, physical or verbal”. It seems the same rules don’t apply to the staff themselves.

I go back and sit down and the next thing I see this bitch talking to some other staff and nodding over our way.

Surprise, surprise my wife gets called.

Into see a doctor, who says there is nothing they can do for my wife’s toe, which is fair enough, but he needed an Xray of her thumb and goes off to organise that.

30 minutes later, the doctor pops his head in and asks if the Xray has been done. No, so off he goes again.

Another 30 minutes later and we have had enough, went told the doctor not to both and left.

Over 3 hours for SFA.

I would hate to be in serious need of medical attention on one of their busy days.

What a complete and utter joke and the morel of the story is that you can’t risk getting sick on the Gold Coast.

[Outlaw]

Sorry to hear about Janes troubles... never a good thing to have to attend the emergency department of the GC hospital... and worse yet on a sunday when they are already at quarter staff as it is.

You may remember back last year when i went in i waited for 5hrs in the emergency ward before being looked at which included have a fistula break through my stomach while waiting and was just given some guaze to keep over it for the next couple hours.

But in there defence, once you're actually in the system i can't fault them as proved from my numerous operations including my last one which went for 8hrs and went brilliantly imho ;)

[rovercare]

Yep, their was a reason your wife didn't want to go to emergency:D

Never been for myself, been had to go heaps for others, the only quick way in is ambo........but don't get me started on them *****s, I drive me missus to hospital myself after she flaked out and had a wierd fit thing (shock) and having to convince the bloke of the situation before he'd send an amulance, after trying to negotiate with this ass for 5 mins, i told him to **** off, i'll take her myself:mad:

[scrambler]

Don't know the Robina ED personally, Drivesafe, but big problem seems to be their communication not their timing. I would think that you've probably had about an on-par run for a Sunday. X-ray services will be limited - either on-call or one person doing the whole hospital. Triage categories 1-3 are the "Emergencies" and 4 basically means they think you could have seen a GP, while 5 means they think you shold go home and/or use a bandaid. They will literally see every 1-3 before they pick up a category 4 chart.

I once sat 2 hours in an empty waiting room (in northern NSW) where they had a policy that EVERY category 4-5 waited at least that long. At our local no-appointment private bulk-billing practice you'd wait 4 or more. And in Canada the equivalent conditions would wait 6-8 hours.

As I suggested earlier, a 1+ hour wait for xray on a Sunday at a smaller hospital isn't out of the ordinary.

But I would expect that simple courtesy would suggest that when you asked about the time they could let you know that there had been more people category 1-3 coming in the back door, and that your wait was, regrettably, about usual. And letting you (and your wife) know that xray might have been busy, and that the doctor was really just checking on where things were at rather than expecting xray to have arrived would also have helped.

I hope it all turns out to be nothing too bad - and do make sure she gets the xray and someone has a good look at it (one of the advantages of getting it taken privately is that it will be checked by an imaging specialist). I've seen some funny things which initially looked like simple sprains. Serious arthritis can be the consequence.

[DaveS3]

I waited 6hrs one night after shattering 2 fingers which where diagnosed by the nurse as "Badly Sprained" in Box Hill Public Hospital a few years ago now.

That was bad enough for me - otherwise all other experiences I have had with others have been just OK.

It is crap.

Dave

[Gromit68]

(one of the advantages of getting it taken privately is that it will be checked by an imaging specialist).

In Australia, at least - all x-ray films are reported on by a Radiologist. It just may take longer to obtain that report in a busy trauma hospital.

[stevo68]

Sorry to hear mate, but would have to say that I my experiences with both public and private have always been good, however I do prefer private as the process can be very much quicker. We have been to Robina with Sharlea 3 mths into her pregnancy with suspected appendicitis and they were great, she was then meant to be take to Pindara by ambo but the wait for that was ridiculous so I took her instead. I will always be in Private due to some of the stories I have heard, we insure our cars but not ourselves. It could be worse, watch the doco 'Sicko" by Michael Moore, hope Jane is on the mend,

Regards

Stevo

[UpsideDown]

Hi Drivesafe

As a nurse I tend to get embarrassed when I hear stories like yours. Having been a patient myslef I can also empathise and sympathise with you.
The mistake here appears to be that the triage nurse was not triaging. Triage is not a one off assessment but a continual process. Patients waiting can deteriorate or on the other hand, actually improve. I have seen patients categorised as a 3 or 4 only to have to call for the crash cart into the waiting room as they have an an event of some kind and have become a 1 or 2.
Anyone with an ounce of sense would have made sure your wife was seen when no other patients were waiting.

If you have private health cover, don't forget most private hospitals have emergency departments these days.
Hmmm wonder if I should apply for a job in A&E at this said hospital??

Too far to drive every day is the only problem.

Cheers

UD

[justinc]

Hmmmm.Sounds like nothing has changed then.

We had my eldest who was only 3 at the time, in at PMH Emergency department waiting room in Perth for 7 hours once, and she ran a 40+ degree temperature for most of that time!!:mad:

Any higher temperature for any longer and she could've had significant brain damage apparently.:eek:

Anyway, ER's are a place to avoid in Tas, as we spend more $$$ on upgrading football stadiums than hospitals, thanks to that peanut Lennon.:mad:

When I went in recently however with some chest pains and palpitations, I was tossed in a wheelchair and shoved through to the examination room ASAP!:o
(I felt for those who had been waiting a while, but as I found out later it was worth the trip to hospital as I was having Atrial fibrilation:eek:. No wonder I felt so off.)

JC

[Xavie]

Yes, I won't bother with my story but it is such a hopeless system and it obviously feeds in to the staff big time.

Xav

[drivesafe]

Hi folks and thanks for the sympathy for the wife.

My beef is more so with the one bitch and the fact I really had no form a comeback. ( Re signs on the wall )

I have been to this emergence department 3 other times and all have been excellent.

The thing is though, I will be taking my wife to our family doctor tomorrow and now won’t know the real damage till then.

The main reason we left the hospital before getting things sorted is that we both were about to spit the dummy over the behaviour of that one bitch.

Anyway, cheers and thanks for all the support.

[gumby190]

Private health is a bit of a joke too, my dad who passed away last week was a member for 20 plus years, the private system could not accomodate him so he had to go to Westead Public, even his specialist recommended that if he had any problems he should go there rather than a Private Hospital. All the specialist equipment is there.

The triage nurse was a Nazi though, asked what was different from yesterday, did we expect anything different from chemo.

But hats of to the staff at Westmead Pallative Care, they were a very caring & considerate bunch of people & made his last days comfortable for him.

My dealings with the public system have all been pleasant/quick ones -

1. 15mins wait when my son was running a high fever.
2. 30mins when I shattered my knee, but they were kind enough to drug me up.
3. Straight in when I nearly cut my finger off.
4. Straight in when I cut my toe off.

Maybe I am lucky?

[mcrover]

Report her to the Hospital administrator....:mad:

I have mate of a mate died due to a Bitch like that and there is absolutly no reason for it no matter what they say.

He went in with a stomach ache and they told him to sit and wait and when he started coughing blood they gave him a tub and told him he was next up.

He didnt make it into triage....:mad:

Yes they get some idiots and agro people but I cant see you being short tempered and abusive with them specially after you had waited 2hrs already.

Report her......It may not get anything for you guys but it will make her think about how she treats people.:mad:

[abaddonxi]

<SNIP>

Apologies all, I think my post was a little inappropriate.

Hope all turns out well at the doctor tomorrow.

Cheers
Simon

[Slunnie]

SAN Wahroonga for me was straight in.

Westmead kids hospital... waiting, waiting, waiting.....

Triage is just that and likewise bed numbers - if they're full then they have to redirect.

[Ace]

Mate you are lucky, 3hrs at lithgow hospital in any situation is a short wait, 5hrs is the record.

I waited 3hrs for a repeat prescrition for a boil on my leg. I had finished one course and the boil had gone, but another was developing (they had given me the wrong antibiotics in the first place, so it wasnt removing all the problem nasties) so given it was friday and the medical centre had closed for the weekend (not that you can get an appointment there anyway) i went in told the nurse whay i needed (my entire history was in the computer saying i had been having problems with them for ages) so they made me go through the triage crap (fair enough) then i had to wait nearly 4hrs to be seen and it took the doctor 30secs to process me.

We took marcos in cause he has pushed a cotton tip to far into his ear and it was bleeding. Triaged we sat and waited for 3.5hrs.

I could go on but this thread isnt about me, all i can say drivesafe is im hearing you mate. Matt

[EchiDna]

I sat with a mate who had torn his ACL in his knee playing basketball for 7 hours in Melbourne on a Tuesday night 15 years back - he was never admitted, got an X-Ray which showed no busted bones so they sent him home with a specialist appointment in 3 weeks time... he drove!!! back to his place in Northern Victoria and was seen on the same day by a specialist who did the surgery three days later - guess where? in Melbourne, same hospital we had been waiting in all those hours!

[Ralph1Malph]

Sorry to hear about your plight.
Yes public Hospitals are in a frightful state here in QLD.

Perhaps we could all vote for a solution next time :o- no - probably accept it as the way things are! :mad:

As a previous poster said, arrive in an ambulance.
A nurse relative of mine also suggested, depending on your injury, just lie:eek:. She says, that any mention of heart pain, numbness, family history of embolism etc, is worth a few places in the que.
Equally, most staff are fully aware of the systems shortcomings and will offer good polite advice whenever they can.

Ralph

[Outlaw]

Ambo's have to stay with their charge until the hospital accepts them into an emergency bed. You still may be waiting for hours, and probably will, but a doctor will see you pretty quickly.
The downside to this though is also that the Ambo has to stay with you until you're seen... which means they are not out on the road to help anyone else having a heartattack etc. etc. etc.

This has been a very big problem with the QLD ambos since the local government introduced a levy to give all Queenslanders ambulance cover... we then had more callouts for broken fingers etc. and once an ambulance has taken a call to a job they are not permitted to divert to a higher priority emergency :(

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Drivesafe

I don't know the design of the hospital you are complaining about, or the system in Qld emergency departments and my thoughts are with you for the less than satisfactory experience. It is also unfortunate that the triage nurse in question did not find the time to keep you informed or offer your wife analgesia. However there are a few statements that I feel I must make.

When people are in the waiting room, they often don't know what the workloads are in the main department, in some hospitals patients can arrive by ambulance and not be seen passing through the waiting room. In many departments after-hours there may only be 1 or 2 doctors working. If 1 patient is in a life threatening condition, it may take all doctors and a large proportion of the nurses off the floor of the ED, effectively stopping the throughput of the waiting room. It would be a breach of confidentiality to inform the waiting room of the condition of any other patient in the ED. Therefore the triage nurse is prevented from informing you of what is going on.

In NSW it is a requirement that Triage Nurses are experienced nurses with additional training and they operate under a system called the Australian National Triage Score which prioritises presentations into a scale from immediately life threatening through non-urgent (should have gone to the GP). You don't find in-experienced nurses on triage desks. Also triage nurses are the people who receive the most abuse of any other health professional. Mostly because people in general always feels that their illness or injury is worse than other people's and the triage nurse is the person singled out for the patient's loss of expectation.

How would you feel is on every day you went to work, you coped a tirade of abuse from every Tom, Dick and Harry who presented with a injury to their arm or foot.

I am offended that people feel free to call one of my colleagues a "bitch", merely because she is doing her job, at the front of a system that is broken because of the politics of Government, a generation who want instant gratification, have no commitment to anyone other than themselves, let alone work in a profession where shift work is the norm and topped off by the sometimes unreasonable expectations of the public.

Diana :(:(

P.S. When attending triage of patients arriving by ambulance, it is very common for the patient to be taken off the stretcher and triaged to the waiting room. So before you decide to use the "red light taxi service" remember you may still wait hours and end up with a bill for the ambulance.

[George130]

Thats one thing I like about our little country hospital. Doctors might be on call rather than on duty and you are often refered to Canberra but you get seen within an hour. If you are refered to Canberra they give you the notes and call ahead so that when you arrive an hour later you are put through qickly:).
Often when you can't get in to see the GP and you need a dotor that day you are told to go to the hospital as he is on call today so will be sent up when you arrive.

[mickashay]

had a kidney stone last year took 3 very painfull trips to tully hospital in north qld before it was properly dianosed then had to go to brisbane to get it out faster then the wait in cairns(3/4 months)got to brisbane 1 visit to get checked out took all day.2 visit for operation to move stone into kidney so they can blast it then 3 painfull months till final op to blast stone doctors dont care if your in pain they told me just take time of work(took almost 6 months in the public system for 1 little stone)at lest i got to traval while waiting

[29dinosaur]

Speaking as a vet you probably would have been seen quicker at your local vet....

What we're witnessing here is a system in trouble and no politician has the guts to fix it. The staff member you were referring to was probably overworked and underpaid.

I guess the lesson is do the triage yourself - a visit to the chemist and pick up some nice painkillers and anti-inflammatories, elevation, ice.... visit your local GP->radiographs etc.

Remember the ambos are there for critical cases. Having a few ambo friends I know how abused they are also.

[BBC]

My dealings with the public system have all been pleasant/quick ones -

1. 15mins wait when my son was running a high fever.
2. 30mins when I shattered my knee, but they were kind enough to drug me up.
3. Straight in when I nearly cut my finger off.
4. Straight in when I cut my toe off.

Maybe I am lucky?

Crikies mate!!...I'd hate to see what could happen if you were unlucky!!!!!!

[Bigbjorn]

Drivesafe

I don't know the design of the hospital you are complaining about, or the system in Qld emergency departments and my thoughts are with you for the less than satisfactory experience. It is also unfortunate that the triage nurse in question did not find the time to keep you informed or offer your wife analgesia. However there are a few statements that I feel I must make.

When people are in the waiting room, they often don't know what the workloads are in the main department, in some hospitals patients can arrive by ambulance and not be seen passing through the waiting room. In many departments after-hours there may only be 1 or 2 doctors working. If 1 patient is in a life threatening condition, it may take all doctors and a large proportion of the nurses off the floor of the ED, effectively stopping the throughput of the waiting room. It would be a breach of confidentiality to inform the waiting room of the condition of any other patient in the ED. Therefore the triage nurse is prevented from informing you of what is going on.

In NSW it is a requirement that Triage Nurses are experienced nurses with additional training and they operate under a system called the Australian National Triage Score which prioritises presentations into a scale from immediately life threatening through non-urgent (should have gone to the GP). You don't find in-experienced nurses on triage desks. Also triage nurses are the people who receive the most abuse of any other health professional. Mostly because people in general always feels that their illness or injury is worse than other people's and the triage nurse is the person singled out for the patient's loss of expectation.

How would you feel is on every day you went to work, you coped a tirade of abuse from every Tom, Dick and Harry who presented with a injury to their arm or foot.

I am offended that people feel free to call one of my colleagues a "bitch", merely because she is doing her job, at the front of a system that is broken because of the politics of Government, a generation who want instant gratification, have no commitment to anyone other than themselves, let alone work in a profession where shift work is the norm and topped off by the sometimes unreasonable expectations of the public.

Diana :(:(

P.S. When attending triage of patients arriving by ambulance, it is very common for the patient to be taken off the stretcher and triaged to the waiting room. So before you decide to use the "red light taxi service" remember you may still wait hours and end up with a bill for the ambulance.

Ooh, bad day today at the POW, Diana? Bit of SOL? Never mind, a couple of fourple Stolichnayas makes the world feel better.

[drivesafe]

I am offended that people feel free to call one of my colleagues a "bitch", merely because she is doing her job, at the front of a system that is broken because of the politics of Government, a generation who want instant gratification, have no commitment to anyone other than themselves, let alone work in a profession where shift work is the norm and topped off by the sometimes unreasonable expectations of the public.

Diana :(:(

When I get verbally abused by any person, with absolutely no grounds for her to do this, I most certainly have the right to brand her as being a bitch and you may be offended because I called a “colleague” a bitch but I find it just as offensive for anyone to consider it OK for one of their “colleagues” to be abusive just because they are a fellow “colleague”

I’m quite sure, as you posted, that Triage nurses get abused, but this bitch did not got abused by me in any way shape or form and therefore had absolutely no reason to be abusive.

If I had a means by which I could prove the way the bitch behaved, I would follow the advice of a few of the posters on this thread and put her into the head of administration, but as there were no witnesses, there is no case for her to answer.

[29dinosaur]

If I had a means by which I could prove the way the bitch behaved, I would follow the advice of a few of the posters on this thread and put her into the head of administration, but as there were no witnesses, there is no case for her to answer.

Why do you need a witness - if she was that bad a report would still not go astray - she may well have done this kind of thing before. I reported the poor performance of a surgeon at St Vincents a few years ago and if nothing else - it's now 'on record'.....

[drivesafe]

Why do you need a witness - if she was that bad a report would still not go astray - she may well have done this kind of thing before.

Good point!

[B92 8NW]

I waited 6hrs one night after shattering 2 fingers which where diagnosed by the nurse as "Badly Sprained" in Box Hill Public Hospital a few years ago now.

That was bad enough for me - otherwise all other experiences I have had with others have been just OK.

It is crap.

Dave

That doesn't surprise me at all about Box Hill Hospital. It's not so much that the hospital itself is completely crap, its the fact that the emergency department is always chocked full of battlers who are unwilling to pay a cent for any medical treatment whatsoever, no matter how minor. They treat it like a GP clinic.

I had turned up there one night as I had an endolymphatic sac about to burst (ie time is of the essence). Hopeless, so I went next door to the Epworth which has no emergency dept!!

Unfortunately (and its not right) the only way to overcome the problem is with private cover and money. As soon as I walked into Epworth richmond emergency that same night waving $400 and mbf card around, they funnily enough saw me first, did everything and supplied half their pharmacy...

[RobHay]

This is true. Chest pain will; get you in pronto......BUT.....please don"t do this :( You may be taking abed from someone who really needs it :mad:

Redcliffe Hosp works at 110% bed occupancy...so its already hard to get a bed. If everyone bunged on chest pain just to get seen for a broken toe.......................:(:(:(

And...as for the physical abuse posters...well, when you've had a couple of punches in the face, or an attempted stabbing like I have in the last few years at work, it puts a whole new perspective on how you might get upset by a few angry words eh?



Geeeeezzzzz NM! ..........is that all.........how about daily and for less pay then what most could make packing shelves at the local supemarket. Had a knife pulled on me just this week. Although he now realizes just how afronted I was at his actions, and how antisocial they were, he underwent an immediated crash course in etiquette and good manners and has assured me that he has now realized the error of his ways and how wrong they were and has sworn on a 8 foot high stack of bibles that he has permanently mended his erronious thinking that I was only present so that he could vent his spleen freely upon. He now realizes also that I do have rights and in fact, as unfairly as it may seem, my rights do over shadow his, he assures me with the utmost sincerity that he now holds me in the highest of respect and has expressed his abject disgusted at his previously held opinions that he had the right to perforate my overly large body whenever he felt like it. He also has admitted and acknowledged that it would be extremely painful to have the object he threatened me with, lodged somewhere between his spincter muscle and his colon.
He has undertaken to become a model pris....err......person with an extremely healthy respect for all objects wearing blue with stars on shoulders.

Education......don't ya just love it.:D

[ellard]

Hi there Numpty's Missus


And...as for the physical abuse posters...well, when you've had a couple of punches in the face, or an attempted stabbing like I have in the last few years at work, it puts a whole new perspective on how you might get upset by a few angry words eh?

I hear you - try being out in the field picking/patching them up prior delivery to you.......................Ambo's & Fireys are the front line in this war and its getting worse.

Its getting a little side tracked from the original post - but just done the new (CBR) Chemical-Biological-Radiation course theres some scary sh-t out there.......


extremely healthy respect for all objects wearing blue with stars on shoulders.


When they re-enter society a good education from people like your self is the best thing - well done & top effort

My views

Wayne

[drivesafe]

And...as for the physical abuse posters...well, when you've had a couple of punches in the face, or an attempted stabbing like I have in the last few years at work, it puts a whole new perspective on how you might get upset by a few angry words eh?

Had I been anything but polite then I could understand her behaviour but as there was nothing more than a simple enquiry made, I totally fail to see how she or anybody else could justify the manor in which she conducted herself.

My wife was in agony but not once had she or I asked for anything of any of the staff nor did anything occur in the waiting room during the 2 hours we were there that could justify for this bitches behaviour.

Her totally unwarranted behaviour made what was already an extremely painful situation for my wife, an absolute misery.

I am going to follow through and report this bitch to her administrator and I suspect nothing will come of it but as posted above, if this bitch has a record of similar behaviour or does the same to someone else in the future then maybe her administrator can see a paten.

Anyway, again thanks for all your support for my wife.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

When I get verbally abused by any person, with absolutely no grounds for her to do this, I most certainly have the right to brand her as being a bitch and you may be offended because I called a “colleague” a bitch but I find it just as offensive for anyone to consider it OK for one of their “colleagues” to be abusive just because they are a fellow “colleague”

I’m quite sure, as you posted, that Triage nurses get abused, but this bitch did not got abused by me in any way shape or form and therefore had absolutely no reason to be abusive.

If I had a means by which I could prove the way the bitch behaved, I would follow the advice of a few of the posters on this thread and put her into the head of administration, but as there were no witnesses, there is no case for her to answer.
Drivesafe

I don't know what happened to you and you don't know what happened to the triage nurse before you arrived, yesterday or in the previous months or years she has had to triage at the front of a system that is not perfect.

A system that is suffering because we can't train enough doctors and nurses to meet the needs of the community and to top that off a GP system where it is cheaper to go to a hospital than to go to the GP where the patient shuld have gone.

Irrespective of that, verbal agression is never acceptable from the staff or towards the staff. Neither is labelling someone doing her job "a female dog".

If you do feel aggrieved and your case is justified, write to the director of the Emergency Department or the clinical director of the hospital in question. I can assure you that all complaints are treated seriously. However don't be emotial in your written complaint, be a matter of fact and clearly state the issues as they were for you. Remember that most emergency departments have electronic timing on the patients records so they will know exactly when you arrived and when you left and the workload in the department while you were there.

If you don't get satisfaction of an apology from the staff member who has aggrieved you so greatly you will know that at least it has been investigated.

Diana

[87County]

Yes, the system certainly has its problems but I fell I must speak up in its defence...

I had "chest pains" a couple of months ago which turned out to be from a quite treatable ulcer (thank goodness) - but the treatment I got in "emergency" (as casualty seems to now be called) was nothing short of very good / excellent.

The staff checked out fully the potential coronary causes and reassured me that it was ok to "cry wolf" - something I had been quite reluctant/cautious about.

I have nothing but praise & apprecation for them on this, the only occasion I've had to go near them since when I can't remember

.... my two cents worth...

[CraigE]

First of all I hope your wife is OK and I do urge anyone with these type of injuries to get to a doctor or emergency department asap, but also be prepared to wait. Consequences of not going to a doctor can be horendous.
While I agree there was no need for the attitude you received and you should make an official complaint, triage is there for a reason. You may have been better off going to see a GP. Having an empty waiting room and not being seen is B/S and you should complain. I know there have been a few time in emergency waiting with patients or family where we have been forgotten and the nurses thought we would crack it, but normally has priority 1 patients have come in.
Broken toes and fingers are a low priority if there are worse. And believe me I know the pain of being in pain and having to wait hours, but if I can see people worse off going first I am OK. I have had to wait with severed thumb, broken ankle, broken rib etc.
I deal with similar on a regular basis and this weekend has been one of those weekends where everyone with a cold or a headache thinks they are dying and a priority one, when in fact you have a priority one sitting in the medical centre to be transferred. And while not intentional by the end of a few of days of this non stop you do start to get a bit short, normally not intentionally, especially with people who think it is a chemist shop. Its not nice but bear in mind some of these people are dealing with people who think they are the priority day in day out. This is still really no excuse for her attitude though. It is hard to be polite all day every day in this situation though and these people do it day in day out.
The biggest problem is there are too many people who abuse the emergency department system and go there with common colds and ailments because its free when they should be seeing their GP. This cause the clog in the system.

[scrambler]

In Australia, at least - all x-ray films are reported on by a Radiologist. It just may take longer to obtain that report in a busy trauma hospital.
Not in my, or most AFAIK, public hospital. Emergency xrays are normally not reported unless specifically requested. The radiologists are too busy with the higher-tech stuff to look at obviously broken arms.

[gruntfuttock]

Hi Drivesafe,
I am glad that your wife is on the mend now. But I am very sorry to hear you have been treated like that. It does not increase one's faith in the medical system. But in defence of them, there are many people who go inito emergency for any little thing at all. It is these people and also the shortage of resources who hinder the system from treating people like your wife.

Some years ago now, my mother took her grandson into a hospital in Darwin, very high temp, delirious, etc etc. Been up with him all night, with cold baths, ice packs etc. Went into the hospital at 08:00. He was seen at 22:30:eek::eek:. given a panadol and told to go home! Another sleepless night and the doctor saw him the next day. He phoned the hospital infront of my mother and abused the ______ out of them. he was not impressed at all.

A while ago I heard on the early ABC news that a man had died in the waiting room of a hospital in Victoria. I cannot remember where though. Heart attack apparently. However it was only mentioned once. I suspect that they were told to pull it off the news.

So yes things could be improved a bit. Nothing much has changed though.

I had a serious burn on my foot once. (The skin had come off entirely) Went into the hospital. the nurse a quick look at it and said to go home and just wrap gladwrap around it as it was not serious:eek::eek::eek:.

Went to another hospital, and where I knew the head of casualty. She read the riot act to me for not comming in sooner. (It would have been about 18 hours since the accident).

In Switzerland it has gone to the stage that, if you need a doctor after hours you call the police first, they take the message, symptoms and the Dr calls you back. So much abuse has gone on (as well as muggings for drugs)
Hospitals will see emergency cases but they do not like to do that. It is generally preferred that a Dr see you first, then he sends you to hospital if need be.

[Tank]

First of all I hope your wife is OK and I do urge anyone with these type of injuries to get to a doctor or emergency department asap, but also be prepared to wait. Consequences of not going to a doctor can be horendous.
While I agree there was no need for the attitude you received and you should make an official complaint, triage is there for a reason. You may have been better off going to see a GP. Having an empty waiting room and not being seen is B/S and you should complain. I know there have been a few time in emergency waiting with patients or family where we have been forgotten and the nurses thought we would crack it, but normally has priority 1 patients have come in.
Broken toes and fingers are a low priority if there are worse. And believe me I know the pain of being in pain and having to wait hours, but if I can see people worse off going first I am OK. I have had to wait with severed thumb, broken ankle, broken rib etc.
I deal with similar on a regular basis and this weekend has been one of those weekends where everyone with a cold or a headache thinks they are dying and a priority one, when in fact you have a priority one sitting in the medical centre to be transferred. And while not intentional by the end of a few of days of this non stop you do start to get a bit short, normally not intentionally, especially with people who think it is a chemist shop. Its not nice but bear in mind some of these people are dealing with people who think they are the priority day in day out. This is still really no excuse for her attitude though. It is hard to be polite all day every day in this situation though and these people do it day in day out.
The biggest problem is there are too many people who abuse the emergency department system and go there with common colds and ailments because its free when they should be seeing their GP. This cause the clog in the system.
CraigE, in my area on the South Coast of NSW it can take 2 to 3 weeks to get in to see your GP or any GP, so the Hospital, is in most cases the last resort.

Drivesafe, was there any CCTV present in the waiting room, if so you could use the tape as evidence in your complaint.

EVERYONE, thank God we don't live in the USA, you think our Hospital system is stuffed, try getting ill or injured over there, Regards Frank.

[JDNSW]

CraigE, in my area on the South Coast of NSW it can take 2 to 3 weeks to get in to see your GP or any GP, so the Hospital, is in most cases the last resort.............


Important point. For the last eight years I have suffered continuing severe pain from neuralgia following shingles. I was told by my GP when I finally got to see him that it was probably too late to prevent this outcome, and I should have seen him earlier, ignoring the fact that I got the first appointment I could (a cancellation), five days after the first symptoms. Had I known the need for immediate treatment I would have gone to casualty (I had correctly guessed that I had shingles, but had not heard of "post herpetic neuralgia" nor the fact that it could be largely prevented by anti-viral medication).

It always amuses me in a wry sort of way when you hear "should see your GP", whether it is an alternative to visiting the hospital or simply to check on an injury or minor illness or possible health problem. Over much of the country, visiting your GP involves making an appointment days or weeks ahead - even if it does not mean a trip to a town that may be hundreds of kilometres away. Many if not most country GPs have closed books and will not make appointments for new patients - heaven help you when your doctor retires, and a large proportion of them are close to it.

John

[Bigbjorn]

Drivesafe



A system that is suffering because we can't train enough doctors and nurses to meet the needs of the community and to top that off a GP system where it is cheaper to go to a hospital than to go to the GP where the patient shuld have gone.

Diana

In the next suburb to me, there was a major medical practice owned by Mayne Health. Busy and comprehensive, having as well as GP's, a pharmacy, radiology, physio etc. Mayne sold to another company who amalgamated it with one of their practices some three suburbs away and closed the premises. Existing patients were told they could now attend the combined practice. This is quite inconvenient for the elderly and those needing public transport, being two buses and possibly two hours each way. The other major local practice would not take any of Mayne's patients as they were overwhelmed and not taking on new patients, nor were the smaller practices in the district.

In the last month a nearby small practice announced it was closing as two doctors had left and they could not locate replacements. Now this is Stone's Corner, a scant 3 k's crowfly from the CBD of the capital city, not Bedourie or Thargomindah.

I do not know of any local GP's who still do home visits or take patients at their surgery out of hours. People are going to the Casualty sections of our public hospitals for the reason that they have no alternative, not just because the public hospital offers free treatment.

[CraigE]

Hi Drivesafe,
I am glad that your wife is on the mend now. But I am very sorry to hear you have been treated like that. It does not increase one's faith in the medical system. But in defence of them, there are many people who go inito emergency for any little thing at all. It is these people and also the shortage of resources who hinder the system from treating people like your wife.

Some years ago now, my mother took her grandson into a hospital in Darwin, very high temp, delirious, etc etc. Been up with him all night, with cold baths, ice packs etc. Went into the hospital at 08:00. He was seen at 22:30:eek::eek:. given a panadol and told to go home! Another sleepless night and the doctor saw him the next day. He phoned the hospital infront of my mother and abused the ______ out of them. he was not impressed at all.

A while ago I heard on the early ABC news that a man had died in the waiting room of a hospital in Victoria. I cannot remember where though. Heart attack apparently. However it was only mentioned once. I suspect that they were told to pull it off the news.

So yes things could be improved a bit. Nothing much has changed though.

I had a serious burn on my foot once. (The skin had come off entirely) Went into the hospital. the nurse a quick look at it and said to go home and just wrap gladwrap around it as it was not serious:eek::eek::eek:.

Went to another hospital, and where I knew the head of casualty. She read the riot act to me for not comming in sooner. (It would have been about 18 hours since the accident).

In Switzerland it has gone to the stage that, if you need a doctor after hours you call the police first, they take the message, symptoms and the Dr calls you back. So much abuse has gone on (as well as muggings for drugs)
Hospitals will see emergency cases but they do not like to do that. It is generally preferred that a Dr see you first, then he sends you to hospital if need be.
I tend to let them know I am a paramedic whenever I take my kids in, gets them treated a bit better and seen quicker most times. My boy was taken into ED after a collision with another kid. I arrived 4 hrs later from work and was escorted into the ED to see him by a nusre who asked me what I did as we approached because of questions I asked and when I told her I was a paramedic, you want to have seen them move. My son was still covered in dry blood some 4hrs later and probally would have been on discharge. Needles to say it was rapid clean up, ice creams for both kids. Has its benefits sometimes.
Pain is a hard thing and whwn we are suffering we all believe we are a priority, its human nature.

[29dinosaur]

TWO DIFFERENT DOCTORS' OFFICES
Two patients limp into two different medical clinics with
the same complaint. Both have trouble walking and
appear to require a hip replacement.

The FIRST patient is examined within the hour,
is x-rayed the same day and has a time booked for
surgery the following week.

The SECOND sees his family doctor after waiting 3 weeks
for an appointment, then waits 8 weeks to see a specialist,
then gets an x-ray, which isn't reviewed for another week
and finally has his surgery scheduled for a month from then.
Why the different treatment for the two patients?
---------------------



The FIRST is a Golden Retriever.
The SECOND is a Senior Citizen.

Next time take me to a vet!

[Basil135]

TWO DIFFERENT DOCTORS' OFFICES
Two patients limp into two different medical clinics with
the same complaint. Both have trouble walking and
appear to require a hip replacement.

The FIRST patient is examined within the hour,
is x-rayed the same day and has a time booked for
surgery the following week.

The SECOND sees his family doctor after waiting 3 weeks
for an appointment, then waits 8 weeks to see a specialist,
then gets an x-ray, which isn't reviewed for another week
and finally has his surgery scheduled for a month from then.
Why the different treatment for the two patients?
---------------------



The FIRST is a Golden Retriever.
The SECOND is a Senior Citizen.

Next time take me to a vet!




Grrr whooof whooof:D

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I do not know of any local GP's who still do home visits or take patients at their surgery out of hours.
Brian

That's not true - many doctors will do home visits, but only if you live in a mobile home and take your home to the doctors surgery! :D

Diana

P.S. My G.P. does do home visits for very unwell or home-bound patients, although mine is a particularly good GP and I travel quite a few suburbs to get to his surgery. However I don't have the same problem getting an urgent appointment as my parents who live in Nowra.

[Sprint]

Queensland Health - the Beattie governments answer to Mother natures wellbeing

[drivesafe]

Well it appears that I would be wasting my time complaining about the behaviour of the bitch at Robina Emergency Department, it seems that certain medical staff are a protected breed so I just can be bothered.

My wife has a broken toe and a fractured thumb and the consultation at a doctors surgery, including waiting time, X-rays at an adjoining practice and back to the surgery for the application of a splint and all done in under 2 hours.

If we had stayed at Robina Emergency Department we would probably still be there and that was on a quiet day.

Although I HAVE been a avid supporter of the public health system, not any more.

Why would anybody in their right mind have anything to do with this joke of an institute.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

In the next suburb to me, there was a major medical practice owned by Mayne Health. Busy and comprehensive, having as well as GP's, a pharmacy, radiology, physio etc. Mayne sold to another company ....
The truth is that Mayne Health was going "belly up" and was costing the parent company with it's huge losses so the whole of Mayne Health was liquidated and sold off.

[Bigbjorn]

The truth is that Mayne Health was going "belly up" and was costing the parent company with it's huge losses so the whole of Mayne Health was liquidated and sold off.

Doesn't alter the fact that the new owners shut the centre and moved some personnel, the records, and equipment three suburbs away without apology, just brusque notice that this was happening and patients could follow across if they wished. Nor does it alter the fact that those who didn't or couldn't move their custom were left without care until they could find an alternative practice. As I said, almost all other practices within reach were already overwhelmed and not taking new patients. Naturally, people in this situation will go to the Emergency Dept. of the nearest Public Hospital.

[JDNSW]

Article on the news tonight about the critical shortage of rural doctors. Pointing out that some patients have a wait up to eight weeks for an appointment with their GP - hardly feasible if you have a broken toe! Not surprisingly, they turn up at the nearest emergency department.

It seems the proportion of doctors going into rural practice is about 5% - it needs to be about 30%; and about a third of rural doctors will retire in the next five years. Rural communities will become 'unsustainable' without more doctors - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/30/2231835.htm)

John

[RobHay]

Doesn't alter the fact that the new owners shut the centre and moved some personnel, the records, and equipment three suburbs away without apology, just brusque notice that this was happening and patients could follow across if they wished. Nor does it alter the fact that those who didn't or couldn't move their custom were left without care until they could find an alternative practice. As I said, almost all other practices within reach were already overwhelmed and not taking new patients. Naturally, people in this situation will go to the Emergency Dept. of the nearest Public Hospital.


Makes you wonder why they even bothered to buy it

[Bigbjorn]

Makes you wonder why they even bothered to buy it

Fairly common business practice. Buy the opposition and close them down.