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Care Opinion

Dental Emergency

Posted By Link

"Dental Emergency"

About: Fiona Stanley Hospital Royal Perth Hospital

(as the patient),

After walking out of RPH emergency once, I went back prepared for the wait as the pain in my gums was excruciating. I got seen by a doctor, who was very good and told me they had no dental services. She did give me some pain relief and different antibiotics. So I went home and rang Fiona Stanley Dental Clinic, I'd been there before as I have a bleeding disorder. They said they'd used up all their emergency appointments and had nothing available until the end of September, and all I could do was go to emergency. So I went to emergency at Fiona Stanley and got another good doctor, who told me they had no emergency dental services, but she spoke to the clinic and said they would post me an appointment. She also did a dental x-ray and said there was no abscess. I came home and over the last few days the infection has settled, but as I was eating dinner tonight (soft food) the tooth that was infected has split down the middle. I'm too exhausted to go to emergency, where no one will care much anyway as there's nothing they can do. So I'll just hope I don't choke on half a tooth tonight and once again call the clinic in the morning and see where I'll be bounced to. Having a bleeding disorder and being on a pension means I can't go to a regular dentist. Feeling quite lost.

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Responses

Response from Aresh Anwar, Executive Director, Royal Perth Bentley Group 7 years ago
We have made a change
Aresh Anwar
Executive Director,
Royal Perth Bentley Group

I am a doctor and my job at Royal Perth and Bentley Hospitals is to help co-ordinate all the elements of the hospital to ensure patients get the best clinical outcomes and experience

Submitted on 5/09/2017 at 11:35 AM
Published on Care Opinion on 6/09/2017 at 10:17 AM

picture of Aresh Anwar

Dear Link,

Thank you for taking the time to continue drawing our attention to the recent experiences you have had with your urgent dental care needs. I apologise that your experiences overall left you feeling like we didn’t care.

We have made changes to the way information and access to public emergency dental care is made available to patients. In the emergency department at Royal Perth Hospital patient leaflets are being produced, and our website is being adjusted to include this link: Emergency Dental Services - http://www.dental.wa.gov.au/adult/emergency.php

I hope you have been able to access the dental care you need, and hope you are recovering well.

Yours sincerely

Dr Aresh Anwar

Executive Director

Royal Perth Bentley Group

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Link (the patient)

Dear Dr Anwar,

I'm so glad my story made a difference! I was able to get into an emergency spot at a government clinic where my tooth was extracted. I'm now unfortunately suffering from dry socket, so I'm still in pain, but at least I now know I can go back to the clinic when I need to. I didn't know that government dental clinics had emergency appointments available. I also didn't know that you have a couple of weeks to pay your bill, which was the other issue as I had no money at the time.

Thanks for making a change!

Response from Janet Zagari, Executive Director Transformation, South Metropolitan Health Service, South Metropolitan Health Service 7 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Janet Zagari
Executive Director Transformation, South Metropolitan Health Service,
South Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 13/09/2017 at 1:52 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 1:56 PM

picture of Janet Zagari

Dear Link,

I would like to reiterate the comments of Dr Anwar and am pleased to hear you have received the dental care you required. As a result of your comments, we will ensure that our emergency department staff know about the dental services we offer. We will also add a link to the Fiona Stanley Hospital website which directs patients to the Health Department information about where patients can access emergency dental treatment. I wish you a speedy recovery from what has been a painful experience for you.

Kind regards,

Janet Zagari

A/Executive Director

Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Janet Zagari, Executive Director Transformation, South Metropolitan Health Service, South Metropolitan Health Service 7 years ago
We have made a change
Janet Zagari
Executive Director Transformation, South Metropolitan Health Service,
South Metropolitan Health Service

Submitted on 22/09/2017 at 3:04 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 3:09 PM

picture of Janet Zagari

Dear Link,

I wanted to provide you with an update regarding your story; a link to the Department of Health's Dental Health Services website has been added to the Fiona Stanley Hospital public internet site in response to your feedback. This website advises patients where they can access emergency dental treatment - http://www.fionastanley.health.wa.gov.au/For-patients-and-visitors/Emergencies

Thank you again for taking the time to share your story with us.

Kind regards

Janet Zagari

A/Executive Director

Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Link (the patient)

That's awesome! I'm so glad that other people in my position will be able to access information about dental services. It's something that causes a lot of pain, and I didn't know where else to go, so thank you!

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