This woman spent 10 hours in a newly opened hospital waiting for treatment—here's why
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We know that waiting in long lines anywhere can be a frustrating experience, but it’s even more concerning for elderly patients waiting for treatment in a hospital.
This week, 88-year-old Modbury Heights resident Margaret Zadow reportedly spent ten hours in the newly opened Lyell McEwin Hospital (LMH) Emergency Department without seeing a doctor.
It all started when Ms Zadow visited her general practitioner (GP) after suffering from a painful leg ulcer. In the interest of her safety, her GP referred her to a hospital for urgent treatment.
Her son, Alexander Zadow, drove her to LMH at 2.45 p.m. last Monday, September 18.
Ms Zadow waited in a queue with other emergency patients for 90 minutes to be triaged. However, that was when the real waiting began.
'We’re just sitting there thinking, “Surely we’ve gotta be next, we’ve gotta be next”,' her son said.
It was 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday when Ms Zadow was finally accommodated by a doctor. She waited ten hours for her treatment.
‘There would've been two dozen people that went up to the window at one point or another and said how long do they have to wait for, there would've been a dozen people that left that I heard saying, “this is ridiculous”,’ Mr Zadow shared.
Despite their desperate situation, Mr Zadow also mentioned that they couldn’t even get a free cup of water from the hospital.
'How hard is it to get a cup to get free water in the new emergency department?,' he asked.
At the same time as Ms Zadow's case, ambulances were ramped outside that hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital in the city centre.
South Australian Opposition Leader David Speirs described the situation: ‘Paramedics have contacted us throughout the day yesterday and last night saying it was their worst day in living memory.’
The government claimed that there was a 40 per cent increase in triple zero calls last Monday than usual. They didn’t clarify the reason why.
Health Minister Chris Picton said the government was doing its best to address the problem, with the construction of a 32-bed facility at the Repat Health Precinct in Daw Park underway.
'I would provide assurance to any family that we have [been] moving every mountain possible to put in place the additional capacity that we need,' Mr Picton declared.
Unfortunately, the Zadows have already lost faith in the system.
‘I will not put my mother through that again, I won't put myself through that again and that next time if we need it, we will ring an ambulance,’ Mr Zadow stated.
Most of Adelaide's major hospitals again were in a Code White situation on Tuesday—this is when they become overcrowded. Fortunately, most had eased by evening.
As of writing, the LMH Emergency Department’s waiting time is an average of 1.5 hours for non-critical cases. This is displayed in South Australia Health’s Emergency Department dashboard, which you can access here.
We at the SDC wish Ms Zadow a speedy recovery from her leg ulcer.
What do you think of this story, members? Have you, or anyone you know, experienced the same in your local hospital? Let us know in the comments below!
This week, 88-year-old Modbury Heights resident Margaret Zadow reportedly spent ten hours in the newly opened Lyell McEwin Hospital (LMH) Emergency Department without seeing a doctor.
It all started when Ms Zadow visited her general practitioner (GP) after suffering from a painful leg ulcer. In the interest of her safety, her GP referred her to a hospital for urgent treatment.
Her son, Alexander Zadow, drove her to LMH at 2.45 p.m. last Monday, September 18.
Lyell McEwin Hospital (LMH) is a major tertiary hospital located north of Adelaide, South Australia. Credit: South Australia Health, Northern Adelaide Local Health Network
Ms Zadow waited in a queue with other emergency patients for 90 minutes to be triaged. However, that was when the real waiting began.
'We’re just sitting there thinking, “Surely we’ve gotta be next, we’ve gotta be next”,' her son said.
It was 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday when Ms Zadow was finally accommodated by a doctor. She waited ten hours for her treatment.
‘There would've been two dozen people that went up to the window at one point or another and said how long do they have to wait for, there would've been a dozen people that left that I heard saying, “this is ridiculous”,’ Mr Zadow shared.
Despite their desperate situation, Mr Zadow also mentioned that they couldn’t even get a free cup of water from the hospital.
'How hard is it to get a cup to get free water in the new emergency department?,' he asked.
At the same time as Ms Zadow's case, ambulances were ramped outside that hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital in the city centre.
South Australian Opposition Leader David Speirs described the situation: ‘Paramedics have contacted us throughout the day yesterday and last night saying it was their worst day in living memory.’
The government claimed that there was a 40 per cent increase in triple zero calls last Monday than usual. They didn’t clarify the reason why.
Health Minister Chris Picton said the government was doing its best to address the problem, with the construction of a 32-bed facility at the Repat Health Precinct in Daw Park underway.
'I would provide assurance to any family that we have [been] moving every mountain possible to put in place the additional capacity that we need,' Mr Picton declared.
Unfortunately, the Zadows have already lost faith in the system.
‘I will not put my mother through that again, I won't put myself through that again and that next time if we need it, we will ring an ambulance,’ Mr Zadow stated.
Most of Adelaide's major hospitals again were in a Code White situation on Tuesday—this is when they become overcrowded. Fortunately, most had eased by evening.
As of writing, the LMH Emergency Department’s waiting time is an average of 1.5 hours for non-critical cases. This is displayed in South Australia Health’s Emergency Department dashboard, which you can access here.
We at the SDC wish Ms Zadow a speedy recovery from her leg ulcer.
What do you think of this story, members? Have you, or anyone you know, experienced the same in your local hospital? Let us know in the comments below!
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