By Sarah Assink
When a local woman took a tumble head-first into a wooden heater in her home on the Wednesday before Christmas, the last thing she expected to encounter at Gympie Hospital when she arrived for treatment was something she described as being similar to a war-zone.
According to this former patient, who has chosen to remain anonymous, she said that during her multiple trips to the Emergency Department for a head wound and swollen knee and arm, she saw a lot of staff under a lot of pressure and who were absolutely exhausted.
“The cubicle I was in, I had a view along down the nurses’ station in Gympie Emergency,“ she said.
“What I saw were a lot of people who were punch-drunk.
“I think they were putting one foot in front of the other to keep on going.
“And I thought, this is not Gympie Hospital, even when they’re really busy.“
The Gympie patient said she arrived at the hospital at around 1pm on Wednesday 21 December, and was only able to be seen by a nurse practitioner.
She also acknowledged the amazing competency for the member of staff who looked after her, as she organised a CAT scan for her head, an X-Ray for her arm and knee, as well as treated her head wound.
She was able to stay overnight, however the next morning was told she could leave as long as she could stand up.
“I was discharged on the advice of a physio,“ she said.
“The physio was desperate for spare beds.“
On 27 December, she began to notice some worrying changes to the injury in her knee.
“It had started going red in the centre, and I had this really hot, throbbing feeling and I was worried about a DVT (deep vein thrombosis),“ she said,
“I rang the ambulance who came and took me back to the hospital.“
A doctor, who the patient described as “the closest thing to a miracle worker“, and a fantastic nurse who even made her a cup of tea in ED, thoroughly examined her knee and prescribed antibiotics to treat the infection.
After six days of antibiotics, which finished on New Years Day, the infection was still present and another course of medicine was required.
During the Christmas period, GPs are usually closed, and the former patient said most of the clinic’s were directing patients to the Emergency Department for something as simple as a script renewal, which further added to the chaos.
Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service chief executive Dr Peter Gillies responded to the concerns expressed above.
“Gympie Hospital remains a priority for Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service,“ Dr Gillies said.
“In 2022, the health service invested funds to: increase clinical staff to care for paediatric patients; provide an additional four short-stay beds in the emergency department; and increase mental health clinicians within the emergency department.
“Gympie Hospital was well equipped and staffed for our team to triage, assess and care for patients during the festive period, which is always busy across the state with high numbers of category one and two presentations.
“During the school holidays, the region experiences an influx of visitors who may also require health care.
“Hospitals plan for this surge.
“We value all of our hard-working healthcare staff who continue to provide high quality care for our communities residing in the Gympie region.
“General practice is not the responsibility of the HHS.
“Whilst we work closely with GPs and try to support them where we can, it is not Gympie Hospital’s role to provide cover for GPs over the holidays, especially not for routine patient scripts.
“Our EDs are for emergencies only.
“Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service was not able to validate the allegations published in this story as the patient did not contact us to provide patient feedback.
“Emergency departments are busy places.
“Emergencies and severe illnesses will always take priority, this means when you arrive, a medical assessment is carried out to see how serious your condition is or how ill you are.“
If patients in the Gympie Region would like to provide information on their patient experience to improve services, they are welcome to get in contact online, via phone: 07 5470 5085 or via email: [email protected].
Journalist Donna Jones is endeavouring to have Queensland Health take notice of the people in pain in the Gympie region due to the failings of our local hospital, with staff who are overworked, shifts that are undermanned, and equipment and supplies that are out-dated and antiquated.
If you have a story on the care you received at Gympie Hospital, let us tell it for you.
Send her email at [email protected] or [email protected].
Let’s fight to get a fair go for the Gympie Hospital and the hardworking staff.