Patients perception of Royal Perth Hospital

I had a call from Royal Perth Hospital. They asked if I would be willing to come to a morning tea meeting and talk about my experience as a patient. Kate Hambleton, (RPH Project Manager) explained that the hospital was always looking at better ways of doing things, but they wanted patients to give their point of view. They hadn’t called me specifically; it was just that I was on the list of people who had been a patient there the previous month. Kate and Maxine Drake, (Health Consumers Council Advocate) ran the meeting in a friendly relaxed and professional setting: there were about twelve patients, a couple of doctors and a few assistants taking notes and recording the meeting. Kate and Maxine were impressive as they actively listened and encouraged everyone to speak openly and honestly. Maxine made a point that they wanted to view the system as a total experience ranging from treatment to personal perceptions.

I went because I thought it would be a great opportunity to have on record how grateful I was for the high level of care, consideration and respect that I had experienced. Another guy at the meeting mentioned that he had left an expensive, private hospital, (as he was so unhappy with his treatment there) and wanted to make comparisons between the two. He, like me, wanted to express his appreciation for the exceptional treatment he had received in RPH. He had been in hospital for weeks due to heart surgery. He made a very strong point about the private hospital being ‘about the money’ but at RPH it was clear to him that it was about saving his life, getting him well and treating him as an individual. Another younger guy (also a heart patient) felt the same, and also added, that his family learned so much from his experience that they had all made dramatic changes to their lifestyles.

The others commented on having to wait hours in the emergency dept, lack of staff and beds and repetitive paper work. Two people mentioned being afraid and feeling unsafe, due to drug related and violent behaviour from other patients; one doctor and other staff members were attacked. (This is becoming more common now.) Other complaints included noise, lack of sleep, awful food and parking problems. Two people mentioned that they were admitting patients who could not speak for themselves and that they felt distressed about being shut out of the initial consultations. One woman said she had been asked many times about allergies and she had said there was a strawberry allergy and yet on visiting her friend the next day she noticed that a strawberry dessert was on her tray. The other woman was a carer for an MS patient and had insisted that she could only be injected through veins in her feet. The nurse disregarded this and said she knew what she was doing – it turned out that the carer was right! The carer also mentioned that she was sure that the MS patient had not been washed properly during her stay. (I assume it was an overnight stay)

It seemed to me that most of the complaints were related to lack of staff and beds, long delays and too much paper work. Most of these problems come down to lack of funds and that’s no surprise. The staff appears to be working as fast as they can and often they are doing very long shifts to make up the short fall. The staff genuinely cares about their patients, and it seems to me, that some of them are doing the work of two people. They work under enormous pressure, endure abuse and complaints and receive very little recognition. The system obviously needs more money and unless something is done, people will be turned away and serious or life threatening mistakes will be made and lives will be lost.

The emergency dept seems to be the biggest problem with some people waiting for around 4 or 5 hours to be attended to. It seems to me, that many of these people could be treated very quickly and simply by a nurse rather than a doctor. Drug overdoses might be better handled by qualified staff in a separate location. Many people are showing up at the hospital as they can not afford a doctor. There are still many doctors who will bulk bill and perhaps a list of these doctors should be better known within the community. There are locums; home nursing and phone- info lines available, but many people do not know that these services are available. Maybe the Government could put general first aid, poisons and bites information, and other self help info on a few pages at the back of the phone book, or in a booklet or fridge magnet distributed to households. Many hours of staff time and a lot of money could be saved, if people knew what to do about minor problems.

It’s easy to criticize hospitals, doctors and Governments about our health issues. Of course, they do play a vital part, but it’s also interesting to me how little we all take responsibility for our own health. When people complain about hospital food they are usually commenting on the taste. In a casual conversation with Kate after the meeting, I spoke about nutrition as a vital part of the healing process. She said that it was something that hadn’t really been given consideration and that to her knowledge there had never been a Nutritionist on staff. Obviously, good nutrition is a big cost factor and I doubt that any hospital is about to bring fresh, healthy food into the system - any time soon. Most institutions use mass catering products for quick, cheap and convenient meals. And really, I am sure that the average tax payer isn’t interested in funding more staff or better quality food in hospitals. Most catering products are canned and packaged foods; loaded with preservatives, colouring, artificial flavour and sweeteners. They are usually highly processed bulk food and the “Just add water” variety; powdered eggs, potatoes, desserts, soups and sauces. (When the lady mentioned her strawberry allergic friend being given a strawberry dessert, I almost told her that it was unlikely that there were any real strawberries in it.) Many people don’t know that many ‘flavours’ are chemically made tastes – not real foods at all. (Do we all know that there is no vinegar in salt and vinegar chips, no butter in buttered popcorn and no fruit in fruit jello? Even fresh milk now is sometimes bulked up with a milk substitute!)

The reason I make a point of nutrition is that it really hit home to me, that hospitals are about the disease, injury or illness – not about overall healing. Hospitals need to run efficiently and cost effectively and I believe that to the best of their ability they are doing an amazing job at that. The responsibility must remain with the patient. Most people follow blindly and question very little. It doesn’t occur to most people to have family of friends bring in healthy food; usually those people show up with chocolates, biscuits, chips and lollies. I would think that the first few days after surgery it would be obvious and vital that healing and recovery would require healthy food, good sleep, fresh air and whatever physical exercise a person can manage. Most patients though, are oblivious or at least disinterested in the importance of self responsibility and self care.

Apart from eating dead foods and foregoing nourishment, we also need to be aware that we are in a very unhealthy building. There are no windows to let in fresh air, no natural light, too much noise and far too many harsh disinfectant fumes. Air conditioners circulate who knows what bugs? Lack of sunlight, oxygen, and sleep are all unhealthy influences. I have no idea about how much electro magnetic frequency, radiation and gamma rays etc are circulating around, but I’m sure they exist there and I’m sure they have a negative effect on healing.

Apart from the physical trauma of surgery, we must also be aware that we have been given a cocktail of very serious drugs. Good nutrition, fresh air and exercise helps to eliminate toxins, restore balance, support immune function and reduce the chance of infections and blood clots. (This is a very real and common problem, and although I can’t give any exact figures, I am told that many hundreds of thousands of people end up in serious trouble with just these two complications- including strokes and death.)

Hospitals and patients seem to focus only on the illness or the disease. But, it’s up to the patient to realize that the disease will probably be recreated if the cause is not addressed. Heart surgery does not prevent heart disease and the removal of a tumour does not prevent cancer. Many illnesses and diseases are created by an overall weakness within the system, bought about by unhealthy lifestyle choices. Unless the patient changes their overall habits and takes a more pro active role in their health, I don’t believe they should be blaming anyone else. It is up to all of us to understand our bodies and our requirements. The prevention of disease and the recovery is our responsibility and our lives depend on it.

I would advise everyone to take action weeks before any surgery. By eliminating or greatly reducing sugar, fats, alcohol, smoking and processed foods, and by increasing fruit, vegetables, nuts and natural foods, the body will not only cope better with the surgery, but will also aid swelling, bleeding, bruising, nausea, and speed up the healing process. Get out into the sunlight, breathe deeply as often as you can and stretch your body. Keep your head positive and calm; rest, relax and sleep well. Educate yourself and family about your illness, question your doctors about your treatment and get in control of your healing and future health.

Copyright Sonya Green 2008 www.reinventingmyself.com
100's of free inspirational and thought provoking articles