ED improvement noticeable

Mosgiel resident Margaret O'Donnell with her dog Beau. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Mosgiel resident Margaret O'Donnell with her dog Beau. Photo by Craig Baxter.
There has been immense improvement in Dunedin Hospital's emergency department (ED), Mosgiel resident Margaret O'Donnell says.

The 70-year-old, who has heart and lung problems, was taken to the department in early November after collapsing, and spent three nights in a Dunedin Hospital ward, following a prompt referral from ED.

The experience was a marked contrast to a previous stay, when she had spent the whole day feeling cold and hungry, not knowing what was going to happen.

In November, everything happened promptly and efficiently.

Patients were channelled more effectively to various hospital departments, and they seemed to be more efficiently assessed in terms of their health problem.

Intoxicated patients were being better managed, and kept apart from other patients.

The biggest difference was that clinicians had started listening to the patients.

"They never listened to you [before].

"The first thing they did was listen. It was totally different."

Mrs O'Donnell attended a meeting organised by Grey Power last year, attended by Southern District Health Board managers, to air concerns about ED. She believed that meeting was one of the measures that turned things around, as the DHB started to take note of concerns.

eileen.goodwin@odt.co.nz

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