Royal Adelaide Hospital short-staffed for stroke surgery with two key doctors away at the same time
THE Royal Adelaide Hospital was short-staffed for stroke services last week when two of the state’s three key specialists were allowed to be away at the same time.
THE Royal Adelaide Hospital was short-staffed for stroke services last week when two key doctors — of just three in the state with the skills for the most highly specialised procedures — were allowed to be away at the same time.
The Advertiser has learnt that in three major emergency cases, a private specialist with no connection to the RAH was brought in to perform a delicate procedure using a suction probe to remove blood clots from the brains of patients.
It is understood the emergencies — two on Tuesday, April 18, and one on Friday, April 21 — included an operation on a young female patient.
While time is crucial when dealing with strokes, SA Health insists the patients received the clot removal in a “clinically appropriate time frame”.
Improvement to stroke care has been a key selling point of the Transforming Health overhaul of the health system.
Under the changes, services have been consolidated at three main hospitals — Flinders Medical Centre and Lyell McEwin Hospital have on-site stroke teams rostered on 8am-8pm, seven days a week, for treatment including using drugs to dissolve clots or some surgery.
The RAH is supposed to have full stroke services available 24/7.
According to Transforming Health documents: “The plan also defines a clear pathway for patients for Endovascular Clot Retrieval (ECR), with all eligible cases transferred to the RAH.”
ECR treatment is where a blood clot is removed from the brain using a suction probe by a highly trained neurointerventional radiologist.
However, two such doctors who work at the RAH were both away last week when the medical emergencies occurred. It is understood one was overseas at a conference, the other on holidays.
With no-one rostered on, a doctor with the appropriate skills who works in private practice — and is not on call to the RAH — was asked to come in, which he did.
It is understood this involved delays to treatment of his own scheduled patients.
SA Health released a statement to The Advertiser in response to questions about whether any patient was put at risk or had an adverse outcome due to any delay.
“There are three people in South Australia that provide this highly specialised treatment and there will be times when two of them are unavailable, so we appreciate the support that these clinicians provide each other and our patients,” the statement said.
“Occasionally, as in many areas of medicine, assistance is sought from staff at other public hospitals to provide appropriate care, as occurred at the Royal Adelaide Hospital last week.
“During this time, three patients received their specialist clot retraction treatment in a clinically appropriate time frame.
“There continues to be interventional neuroradiology cover at the Royal Adelaide Hospital 24/7.”
The Stroke Foundation notes “time is critical” when dealing with stroke.
It has developed a slogan “Recognise stroke, think F.A.S.T — has their Face dropped; can they lift both Arms, is their speech Slurred, call 000 as Time is critical.”