Dubbo Base Hospital: Doctor’s alleged remarks, wait angers patients
A distressed mother claims her son was forced to wait more than three days for surgery on a broken leg after a metal bolt had to be sent from Sydney to Dubbo. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
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An anxious Stuart Town mother claims her son was forced to wait three days for surgery on a badly broken leg after a metal bolt had to be shipped up from Sydney.
Jacob Ross, 24, says he was forced to sit in a smelly, blood-soaked leg cast and wait days for surgery to repair a compound fracture because the bolt had to be transported to Dubbo after he injured his leg riding his motorbike.
Jacob’s mother Tracey Ross also raised concerns about the treatment from hospital staff after they complained about his level of care.
A spokeswoman from the Western NSW Local Health District refutes the claims of poor care.
Mr Ross was taken to Dubbo Base Hospital for treatment for a badly broken leg after he had a motorcycle accident in early August.
He was rushed to the hospital on a Sunday night and was taken in for a “flush out” to clean up his wound. His leg was opened from just under his knee to his ankle.
His leg was later put in a cast which quickly started to turn red because blood was soaking through.
“I said I wanted the nurse and ‘this things falling apart’, there was blood everywhere and it smelt,” Mr Ross said.
“It can’t be good for a wound that’s right down your leg.
“They cut a section out the side and just re-bandaged it up.”
Mrs Ross claimed hospital staff “could have done something to clean the wound, instead of letting him lay there in that soggy cast”.
“From the Sunday to the Wednesday, they let him lay in this filthy, dirty, slopped red bloody cast to the point where it was falling apart,” she said.
After staff rebandaged his leg, Mrs Ross said surgery to put a bolt in was repeatedly delayed.
“The bolt that they had in Dubbo wasn’t the right one, so they had to wait for the Sunday through to the Wednesday for that bolt to come from Sydney,” she said.
“One doctor came in to Jacob and said ‘sorry mate we’re going to have to push your surgery back till tonight’ and that was when Jacob got really angry and told the doctor to go out of the room.
Mrs Ross claims the doctor then said: “‘what would you rather, two newborn babies lose their lives today or we cut your leg off tonight’.”
Mr Ross said he was frustrated because the surgery time kept changing and he got mixed messages about whether he could eat or drink from different staff.
“When they say you’re going in for surgery you can’t eat or drink,” he said.
“I was thirsty. I swore and told him to get out of the room.”
Mrs Ross said the doctor’s alleged comment enraged her and a nurse allegedly overheard it.
“To me that was inappropriate and he had no right to say that.’
“If that’s the way he feels then get out of the job. How many other patients has he said this to?”
A Western NSW Local Health District spokeswoman initially said Mr Ross arrived for treatment on a Monday night and had his second surgery about 24 hours later, but in a follow-up response to The Dubbo News the surgery time frame was different.
“My advice is that the patient came in Monday night at around 10pm, had initial surgery at around 2am, Tuesday morning and was then returned to surgery around midday on Wednesday,” the spokeswoman said.
“Nursing staff assessed the patient’s temporary cast and determined that removing this prior to surgery would cause undue pain and increased infection risk. This was discussed with the patient and their family.
“The delay in admission for the second surgery did not extend this patient’s stay in hospital.”
The spokeswoman apologised for discomfort or concern Mr Ross felt.
“The Dubbo Health Service team work hard to provide the best clinical care and experience to all patients.”
The spokeswoman declined to comment on whether Dubbo Base Hospital patients had to often wait longer for surgery because medical parts, like bolts, had to be transported from Sydney.
She also would not confirm if staff received a report from Mrs Ross about the doctor’s alleged comment to Mr Ross, or if any action had been taken.
Mrs Ross maintained her version of events at the hospital was accurate and has vowed to take a lie-detector test to prove it.
“They didn’t like the way that I was so straightforward,” Mrs Ross said.
“I want to stop this from happening to other families. I don’t want what’s happened to Jacob to happen to someone else’s kid.”