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EKG results

Posted By earmarkft35

"EKG results"

About: Broome Health Campus / Emergency Department Carnarvon Hospital / Emergency Department

(as other),

My partner needed to attend Broome's ED department as they were having discomfort in their chest. Recently they'd been having tests to see if they have a heart condition, investigations into whether they have these or not is on-going with a GP and specialist.

Whilst we were there, a doctor attempted to contact Carnarvon's ED department to compare my partner's EKG at Broome Hospital to the previous one they had in Carnarvon's ED department. As the doctor said they noticed something different in the patter of the EKG. The doctor asked if this had ever been picked up in Carnarvon and we said no. The doctor then went away and came back after almost 4 hours and said they called the Carnarvon Hospital multiple times and couldn't get hold of anyone to send the previous EKG's from Carnarvon to them.

We were in Broome ED for about 4 hours and when we left the doctor said they still couldn't contact anyone. We left without the doctor comparing these and felt uncertain about what this lack of information could mean for us. We then had to travel on a long drive back to Carnarvon the following day. I feel there was a failure here in the ability to communicate through both Hospitals, the inability for Carnarvon to answer the phone and for Broome to have a way to escalate it to somebody higher to contact. I also felt it is also surprising that EDs cannot access each other's records of patients.

I thought afterwards that I should of made a Care Call about this while we were there. There was also no information on Care Call displayed where we could see in emergency. It is clear they were very busy but we left emergency with a lack of understanding about what caused the initial discomfort, only that they didn't think it sounded like a cardiac issue... we also left with a lack of clarity about the EKG pattern issue. Thankfully we have discharge notes to follow up on when my partner gets back to the doctor.

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Responses

Response from James Sherriff, Operations Manager, Broome Hospital, WACHS Kimberley 16 months ago
We are preparing to make a change
James Sherriff
Operations Manager, Broome Hospital,
WACHS Kimberley

Submitted on 9/08/2023 at 5:45 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 10/08/2023 at 8:57 AM

Dear earmarkft35,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us, we greatly appreciate this.

We are currently working on a digital medical system which will allow secure access for treating clinicians to be able to view the information you described between sites, this improvement will ensure what you experienced in the future would not occur.

As a health system we have been working on this improvement for some time and is a delicate operation as we need to ensure at all stages the patient's information is protected and kept as confidential, the cyber world is for ever evolving and we are working diligently through this, hence it is taking the required amount of time and in progress.

Currently it does require the manual process as you experienced and at times can prove to be challenging on obtaining the information, which in most cases is related to the patient demand at the health sites.

We can ensure you that our team did attempt to obtain the information, and in this case, it was unfortunately extremely prolonged and without our team being able to obtain this within time.

I do believe the treatment was thorough and understand from your message you did receive the assurance that no further immediate treatment was required and could be followed up on your return and we ensured you had the discharge summary to present.

As a health system we are continuously working towards streamlining the systems and most importantly doing this safely to best protect the patient and in this case their information. The digital platform is expected at this stage to be across all Hospital sites by the end of 2024, and then we will continue to further develop this for future benefits.

We do have a Care call phone in the ED waiting room, and am unsure why this was not visible, and may be again with the traffic in the area at the time, we will look at some ways to make this more visible for our patients and carers for ease of access.

I am proud that our team did take the time to continue to try and access the information and do apologise that this could not be achieved on the day. Their patient focused treatment is always their highest priority.

You have highlighted some valuable points for us on which we can improve as a service, and we will. The phone visibility we can action immediately, and the digital system improvement is on track and will be completed in the not-too-distant future.

Thank you again for your time,

Best regards

James Sherriff

Operations Manager Broome Hospital.

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Response from Kumar Deep, Operations Manager- Gascoyne, WA Country Health Service 16 months ago
Kumar Deep
Operations Manager- Gascoyne,
WA Country Health Service

Submitted on 10/08/2023 at 10:52 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 12:08 PM

picture of Kumar Deep

Dear earmarkft35

Thank you for reaching out to us on Care Opinion.

I would like to apologise to you and your partner for the part Carnarvon Hospital played in your partner’s delay and difficulty in obtaining follow up care at Broome ED. I would also like to apologise to our colleagues at Broome for the trouble they had in contacting us.

The roll out of electronic records is progressing through Western Australia at present. Unfortunately, Carnarvon Hospital have not yet gone through this process, which does limit the information other sites can access about patient presentations at our hospital.

I would like the opportunity to speak with you, or your partner, so I can fully understand the events and ensure that we are supporting them as best we can on their healthcare journey. My name is Kumar Deep, I am the Operations Manager Gascoyne and can be contacted on 08 9941 0300 or email WACHS-Midwest.GascoyneOperationsManager@health.wa.gov.au

I hope to hear from your soon and we can fully address your concerns.

Kind Regards

Kumar Deep

Operations Manager – Gascoyne

WA Country Health Service Midwest

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