Emergency Care -Thai Style -- The Outcome

[jrtmedic]

Yesterday I met with the Director of the private hospital to which I was taken following an accident which resulted in

my suffering a severe shoulder injury (See pre and post op x-rays below)

Those of you who read my original post will recall that I was less than satisfied with the care offered at this private hospital.

I was accompanied to the meeting by my wife and a Thai friend (who just happens to be a member of the Thai legal profession !)

On our arrival we were clearly expected and shown to the Directors office where he was awaiting my arrival.

After the usual greetings were exchanged and introductions made the Director enquired as to my health and expressed his regrets concerning my treatment at his hospital. He then offered me the clinical notes made at the time I was in the ER. The notes were written in Thai and so I asked my Thai friend if he would read/translate for me.

The notes read ---- "Complaining of left shoulder. X-ray -- fractured humerus - Ortho. Patient left the hospital"

No record of history or examination. No record of any pain relief being offered or given. No note of any allergies or past medical history.No record of my medial nerve deficit. No record of pulse rate. blood pressure or LOC as determined by the Glasgow coma scale. There was no documentation of the extensive areas of bruising/abrasion.

A chest x-ray and base line blood work had not been requested .

The medical director said he was embarrassed and saddened to have to show me this record. He went on to say he had relieved the "doctor" from his duties and had required him to undergo a period of actively supervised practise (at his own expense) at the local (regional) Government hospital which deals with a substantial trauma workload. The future for this "doctor", I am told, depends on his performance whilst at the Government hospital.The Director is expecting receipt of monthly reports from the "doctors" supervisor.

I was extremely surprised by the Directors openness and honesty and expressed my appreciation for his prompt action which went beyond what I had expected. My Thai friend spoke to the Director in Thai to which he responded in English. " Yes, know but my experience is that when things go wrong people want to know why and what is going to be done to prevent a similar future occurrence." (My friend had indicated that the Director by being so honest had exposed the hospital to the possibility of a successful legal action).

My wife then enquired about the nurse who had described me as being "difficult" The Director said "she will be waiting outside the office - would you like to see her?" The nurse was shown into the office and she offered her profound apologies to my wife and assured her that she had learnt from the experience.

We then had a discussion about the aggressive manner in which payment is sought. I expressed

my opinion that few people possessed "Gold Cards" with an unrestricted limit and even fewer people would carry large amounts of cash on their person. The director indicated that he had sympathy with my point of view and undertook to discuss the matter with his HR manager with the aim of improving the process and providing any necessary training. He further assured me that pain relief and any life saving care would always be given without regard to patients ability to pay.

The interview came to an end with the Director offering to reimburse the expenses associated with my going to Australia. This I refused but suggested he make a donation on my behalf to a Charity concerned with the care of orphaned Thai children. He agreed to do this.

I am sure TV members will agree with me that this is a more than satisfactory outcome and therefore I will not be naming/shaming this hospital.

[EyesWideOpen]

Certainly an interesting account. What I did not like was the director in essence throwing his staff under the bus. All actions of all staff at the hospital are at his direction, either directly or indirectly. His apology should have been direct from him, instead of him apologizing on behalf of poor staff. I was somewhat amazed at his offer of paying for your flight to Australia. I can only assume he received legal advice that you had a open and shut lawsuit should you have chosen that path, therefor time to eat a bit of humble pie to stave off that threat. Good for you to stand up for your right to correct treatment. The only way to change people's behavior is to hold their feet to the fire which you certainly did by showing up at the meeting with a lawyer........