WBHHS reviewing chest pain discharged without treatment after 12 hours

A businessman whose treatment at the Bundaberg Hospital emergency department is now under review says he waited 12 hours without food or water, and was discharged without any answers about the cause of his severe chest pain.

A complaint from a patient who received cursory medical treatment six hours after presenting to Bundaberg Hospital with chest pain is under investigation by Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.

A complaint from a patient who allegedly received cursory medical treatment six hours after presenting with chest pain to Bundaberg Hospital is under review by Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.

Thabeban delivery business owner Tim Blakely, 38, was taken to Bundaberg Hospital by his wife, Amy, around 7pm on Wednesday, January 10 after feeling a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest and shortness of breath.

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Hospital staff immediately admitted him for testing, making a preliminary diagnosis of inflammation of the lungs and discharging him with the advice to take Nurofen and Panadol.

Amy Blakely said she was "really scared and worried" when her husband, Tim, was discharged from Bundaberg Hospital after 12 hours with no treatment or diagnosis for the severe chest pain and shortness of breath he was experiencing.

When Tim’s severe chest pain and shortness of breath returned on Friday afternoon, Amy took him back to Bundaberg Hospital, arriving at the ED around 2.30pm to again report he was experiencing chest pain.

According to Queensland Health guidelines, patients presenting with serious chest pain and having difficulty breathing should be triaged as a category two patient with an imminently life threatening condition, and should be seen by a treating doctor or nurse within 10 minutes of arriving.

However, Tim, a father of two children, sat in the ED waiting room for four hours before being given a bed in a room which Amy said was “absolutely disgusting”, with medical equipment including used gloves and surgical dressing covers strewn on the ground.

“There was rubbish all over the floor ... it was just a mess,” she said.

“There was blood on the sheet as well.”

Tim was finally seen by a doctor after waiting a further two hours, six hours after first arriving at the ED.

According to Queensland Health guidelines patients reporting chest pain and shortness of breath should be triaged as category 2 urgency and receive treatment within 10 minutes.

The doctor said they would request an ECG test to help determine the cause of Tim’s chest pain, and took some blood samples.

However the ECG was not forthcoming, and an hour later staff informed Tim he would need a CT scan, to which he was sent around 10.45pm.

After returning to his cubicle following the scan Tim was not seen by any staff throughout the night despite Amy repeatedly informing them his chest pain was ongoing, nor given any food or water despite repeated requests.

“I had to go and get my children to bring up water for him,” Amy said.

At 4.30am Amy approached a nurse to ask them again what was happening with her husband, reiterating he was still experiencing chest pain.

When Amy told the nurse they were still waiting for results from the blood tests and CT scan, the nurse arranged for an immediate ECG test, seven hours after it was first ordered by the doctor who consulted with Tim.

At 5.30am, staff told Tim that all the available doctors were involved in treating a car crash victim with all other doctors on a break, so he would be discharged and the test results sent to his GP.

Tim was discharged from hospital on Saturday morning, 12 hours after first arriving, none the wiser as to the cause of his chest pain.

To make matters worse, Amy said a nurse roughly removed the cannula that was in his arm that caused blood to gush from the wound.

“By the time he stood up from his bed it was p---ing out with blood,” she said.

“And then she just got a package of gauzes and sat it on top, wrapped around a bandage and said ‘he can go home’.”

Amy said the room Tim was provided after waiting in the ED for four hours was "a mess", with used surgical gloves on the floor and blood on the sheets.

Speaking on Monday afternoon, with the results still not received by her GP and her husband still experiencing severe chest pain, Amy said she was extremely concerned for her husband’s welfare.

“I’m really scared and worried about him,” she said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Tim and Amy saw their GP who told them the tests showed Tima had no problems with his heart, and the chest pain was likely caused by anxiety although more testing is required.

After submitting a formal complaint, Amy said she had been contacted by WBHHS who, while not offering an apology, said they had “red flagged” her husband’s case and were interviewing all staff who interacted with Tim during his 12-hour stay.

In a statement on Tuesday, WBHHS chief executive Debbie Carroll said the health service had been in contact with Tim to address his concerns, and said patients may be fasted during a period of care for clinical reasons.

“Routinely food is not offered to patients in acute areas in an emergency department, however where possible we will supply food and drink if requested,” Ms Carroll said.

Patient advocate Beryl Crosby said the substandard care provided to Tim could have had dire consequences if his chest pain was a symptom of a serious heart condition as his wife feared.

Amy is adamant that at no point was Tim informed by hospital staff that he needed to fast for clinical reasons, and a nurse had said they would arrange some food and drink for him which was not forthcoming.

Patient advocate Beryl Crosby said the level of care provided to Tim was unacceptable.

“It’s not acceptable that patient care is so compromised at that hospital,” Ms Crosby said.

“No-one’s admitting that they have got a huge problem at the hospital where there’s no flow for patients to get through to a bed, and that’s because there’s no coordination within the hospital.

“If that patient had had a heart attack in the waiting room, what then?”

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A WBHHS spokesperson said “red flagged” was not a term used by the health service in relation to managing patient complaints, and the content of HR discussions are not revealed in response to media inquiries.