"Tibial fracture"

I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding the poor management and inadequate care I received at Eastern Health following my recent injury. I presented to Angliss ED after fracturing my left tibia following blunt trauma injury. Unfortunately, my experience at your facility has been far from satisfactory.

Firstly, I encountered significant delays in receiving proper orthopaedic management of my fracture since initial presentation to ED. I was told to non-weight bear using crutches for 6 weeks, conservative management and see my GP for advice regarding conservative management. I believe the ED medical staff should have made the referral because of the severity of my injury, not my GP (as per discussion with the orthopaedic outpatient surgeon 3 weeks later) This led to further delays as I had to keep ringing the Orthopaedic Outpatient Clinic for support, my GP requested 2 outpatient referrals and phoned the orthopaedic registrar directly.

I had to wait a while for an outpatient appointment. This delay not only caused me immense anguish, but I also have a knee that I cannot straighten now. I was told that ED should have referred this to ortho at time of presentation so that I would be assessed properly as I could have sustained considerable damage to the mechanics of the knee. An urgent MRI was ordered with an urgent appointment booked for the following week. Within 3 days an MRI technician rang to inform me that they could not make a booking until at least 3 months and that the request was made for the right knee despite it being my left leg. This has now resulted in further delays and raised my concerns about the efficiency and responsiveness of both the ED department and orthopaedic outpatients.

Secondly, I feel the communication to myself was severely lacking. I was not adequately informed about the treatment plan, the expected recovery process, or any potential complications. This lack of communication left me feeling anxious and uncertain about my condition and the care I was receiving.

Furthermore, I am still unable to mobilise without crutches and I am approaching 6 weeks, unable to return to work and concerned when I will be seen again as my workplace will not let me return without medical clearance as I work as an ICU nurse.

I believe that every patient deserves to receive timely, effective, and compassionate care. Unfortunately, my experience at ED and BHH Orthopaedic outpatients has fallen short of these expectations. I urge you to address these issues promptly to ensure that future patients do not have to endure the same level of dissatisfaction and discomfort that I experienced.

I would appreciate a prompt response to this complaint, outlining the steps that will be taken to address these concerns. I hope that my feedback will contribute to improving the quality of care and management.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Concerned for my husband