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Royal Cornwall hospital distressing Emergency Department exp...

Posted By Anonymous2019

"Royal Cornwall hospital distressing Emergency Department experience."

About: Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) / Emergency Department

(as a service user),

In late June, I was in the Emergency Department waiting room in Treliske hospital from 3am to 8:30am. There was a man in the waiting room who I do not know but was talking to. He said he had been seen over 24 hours ago but had no money to get home to Penzance, the staff had told him to wait and get on a bus. (He wouldn’t be able to with no money) I believe the man was homeless but I’m not certain.

The man waited all day and night, when he fell asleep on the floor other patients in the waiting room began kicking him, throwing cigarette buts at him, pushing a wheelchair into his back and throwing coins at him. The staff and security were aware but didn’t do anything to stop them. At around 7am the man had a seizure, which caused him to fall off his wheelchair and hit his head on the floor causing lots of bleeding from the head while still seizing. We called for help but no one came to help at first, the security walked over and we told him the man had collapsed. The staff in security role laughed and said-has he really though-very sarcastically then took his time to walk over. When they realised it was serious they called for help. I am appalled by the treatment this man received and believe something should change. The man hadn’t been helped all night, given no help to get home and not even taken seriously while having a seizure. It was a traumatic experience for everyone in the room, especially the poor man who needed help. 

 

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Responses

Response from Jane Michell, Complaints Manager, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust 4 years ago
Jane Michell
Complaints Manager,
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 12/07/2019 at 16:00
Published on Care Opinion at 16:22

Dear Anonymous2019

My name is Jane and I am the Emergency Department Matron. I was shocked and saddened to read of your experience in June and I am so sorry that it was traumatic for so many people, not least the gentleman involved.

I cannot comment on the specific timing, care and treatment that this man received due to patient confidentiality. However what I have done as a matter of urgency is review the CCTV footage to see how we can learn from this event. We have been able to identify the night and patient in question, and review the actions of the staff. What I do want to assure you is that I can see the reception staff immediately summon help from the nursing staff including someone from the ED Resus department once they realised the patient was experiencing a seizure. I fully appreciate how distressing this must have been to watch, however, and especially given the events leading up to this which I will address below. We have also spoken to the security guard you have mentioned, who recalls this incident and who can be seen on CCTV. He was walking into the reception area to check on the patient, as he had seen him earlier that night, and this would explain why he did not appear to be rushing to the scene. The first he knew of the gentleman having a seizure was when he was notified of this and he saw him on the floor.

Reviewing the footage during the night, I can see where you mention that the gentleman went to sleep on the floor earlier that night. I can also see some of the actions taken by other members of the public, as described in your story. I have spoken to the staff on duty that night and they remember that he had been discharged from ED but as he had no money he wanted to wait until the general office was open so that he could get some bus fare home. They were certainly not aware of the actions carried out in the department by others in the waiting area. Had they been aware or informed of this, they would immediately have put a stop to this behaviour.

I want to thank you for raising this with me and I want to ensure that as a Trust we learn from this. I will look into how we can use your story, along with the CCTV, for reflection with staff. We want to ensure that our patients are in the right place, at the right time, and that we promote a caring environment and challenge poor behaviour where necessary.

With kind regards

Jane

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