Amy Corderoy
May 3, 2012 – 1:54PM

Brain tumor patient found on highway.

A doctor’s horrific story of how the Royal North Shore Hospital lost he husband, who was later found on the pacific Highway.

Family forced to clean son’s ‘putrid’ room

Hospital lost brain tumour patient

Transferred heart attack victim locked out

Infectious patients abandoned in corridors

Patients at Royal North Shore and their families have spoken out about the treatment they have received at the hospital.

Responding on 702 ABC Sydney’s Morning program with Linda Mottram today to a story in today’s Herald, one caller, Estelle, said her husband had been forced to bring his own mop and bucket to clean her son’s “putrid” room.

“I’m a nurse and I’ve been a nurse for 30 years and I was just absolutely appalled by the filthy conditions at the hospital,” she said.

“He couldn’t wait to get out of there, he was terrified he was going to pick up some infection. The toilet had faeces and urine and obviously it was never cleaned … or certainly need to be cleaned a lot more.”

CONFUSED, DYING HUSBAND LOST

Another caller, Helen, told how the hospital had failed to look after her husband – who just hours earlier was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour that was confusing and disorienting him – when he had wandered off from the private North Shore Hospital and turned up at the public hospital.

“To say this was one of the worst days in my life is an understatement. He has since died. At no point did we get an apology.

“I had not slept all night. We had told our children that he was going to die, and I had just come home having had no sleep and was called back to say they couldn’t find him,” she said.

“He left the private [hospital] went to the public and even though he had a name tag on him, they sent him off somewhere and he stumbled through the cemetery and went through the building works and several hours later the police found him on the Pacific Highway.

“He was now covered in cuts and grazes all over his head where he was meant to be having his neurosurgery operation the next day for the biopsy.

“It was me that found him despite having all the security from both hospitals. I found him in the ambulance bay being brought in by the police and the ambulance.”

HEART ATTACK VICTIM LOCKED OUT

Alan was transferred to Royal North Shore after having a heart attack in Gosford, but when his ambulance arrived they found the emergency department locked.

“They locked the doors and we were wandering the wards of the hospital trying to find out where we were meant to go … the nurses there were expressing there weren’t enough cleaners, there weren’t enough staff,” he said.

“I don’t know when your last experience was at Royal North Shore if ever but you walk through this hospital and there are enormous black patches where they have switched out the lights. It’s almost like a ghost town.”

Article source: www.smh.com.au