John Hobson was injured when his motorbike fell on top of him. 85657 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By XAVIER SMERDON
A WERRIBEE resident that claims he waited for five hours at the Werribee Mercy Hospital with a broken ankle and fractured ribs before being sent home has vowed never to return to the hospital.
John Hobson said he called for an ambulance at 4pm on 29 July after his motorbike fell on top of him.
He was taken to the Mercy Hospital and placed in the waiting room where he spent the next five hours.
Mr Hobson eventually approached a nurse to ask how much longer it would take for him to be looked at before he was told he was low priority.
“I asked them what should I do then and they said ‘go home’,” Mr Hobson said.
“But no nurse or doctor even looked at me until I came back at 10.30 the next morning, so how do they know I was low priority?”
After an x-ray was finally performed on Mr Hobson’s leg it was discovered his ankle was broken in two places and pins would need to be inserted.
He spent the next six days in hospital and will be off his feet for eight weeks in total.
“It was pretty nerve wracking,” he said.
“I’m not angry with the staff but the system is messed up. They need to have a better procedure so they don’t forget about people in the waiting room.
“They’re not going to care if I don’t go there again but I can’t trust them anymore.”
Mercy Health Chief Operating Officer John Fogarty said every hospital in Australia works under the Australasian Triage Scale whereby patients are given a triage category based on their injuries or illness.
“Our figures from the last weekend of July show a high number of patients presenting, and our priority is always to attend first to those assessed as having the most critical needs,” Mr Fogarty said.
“We are continually assessing ways to improve emergency department performance, recognising demand will only increase with the region’s population growth.
“We empathise with those who wait longer for care during busy periods, and are looking to introduce new procedures to ensure better information and more frequent updates are provided to those waiting for care.”
