Victorian woman details ‘nightmare‘ experience at Adelaide hotel as part of SA Health’s Transition Care Program
A Victorian woman has detailed her horror stay at SA’s hospital transition care ‘hellhole’ after finding mouldy food and being stuck on a toilet for 20 minutes.
A woman who suffered a traumatic injury while on a trip to Adelaide has detailed her “horror experience” with the SA government’s Transition Care Program.
Victorian woman Kerry Gehrig, 68, was visiting friends in Adelaide last month when she tripped in a hotel room and fractured her femur.
She underwent surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital before she was shifted to transition facility, the Pullman Hotel, before she could head back to Geelong to a rehab facility.
A collaboration between SA Health and Amplar Health Home Hospital, the Transition Care Program aims to provide a base for patients who no longer require hospital care.
The program has earned praise from patients who have enjoyed the facilities at the hotel on Hindmarsh Square courtesy of SA Health, rather than occupying a RAH bed.
However, Mrs Gehrig said the SA government’s ramping solution was “not all it’s cracked up to be” and put her in danger.
Mrs Gehrig said she was left in a “dirty loading dock” in a wheelchair for over 45 minutes and was told patients were not allowed to go through the Pullman’s hotel entrance.
“I was then left to wait over an hour before anyone came to sort my admission out, (then) I was told that they were not expecting me and they didn’t have a room.”
She said once she was finally sent to a room, it was dirty.
“We found days-old mouldy food in the fridge, there were mouldy strawberries … days-old milk and containers of food,” Mrs Gehrig said.
She said her concern then turned to a lack of care from staff after she was left stuck on a toilet for 20 minutes.
She said called for attention but was greeted by a man who not a nurse and care staff were not identifiable by uniform or equipped with identification.
“By this time I was feeling very threatened and unsafe … my husband and son had gone back to the Royal Adelaide to try and get me readmitted which was not possible,” she said.
“They came to get me, getting out of that hellhole, (it) was a nightmare, so bad that I had to threaten to call the police if they didn’t let me leave.”
Mrs Gehrig said staff at the facility told her she couldn’t leave until she signed a document indemnifying the care providers, which she refused to sign.
“My son finally found a security guard who escorted us down to the front of the Pullman.”
She said she was forced to risk further injury to her leg by travelling 40 minutes to Mt Barker to a friend’s home.
An SA Health spokesperson told The Advertiser Amplar Health was conducting an internal review into the complaint.
“The Transition Care Service is a health service with specific criteria for patient care and safety – it is not a hotel,” the spokesperson said.
“We apologise that food had been left in the fridge from the previous patient — this matter was identified immediately and staff apologised.
“Amplar Health is conducting an internal review into this complaint, in particular regarding staff identification and wait times.”
However, SA Health refuted Mrs Gehrig’s waiting claims.
“Amplar Health has advised that after reviewing CCTV footage, the wait time was 10 minutes but are conducting a further investigation,” the spokesperon said.
According to SA Health, while patients can enter through the main Pullman entrance, staff often use the patient arrival bay to provide a “quieter, more private entry point away from hotel guests”.
Originally published as Victorian woman details ‘nightmare‘ experience at Adelaide hotel as part of SA Health’s Transition Care Program
