Coma patient sent home with pills
A CAIRNS woman now critically ill with swine flu and pneumonia was initially sent home from hospital with a few pain pills, says her shocked husband.
Rod Morrow fears his de facto wife of 17 years - mother of eight, Rosie Anna Gesa - did not receive the care she needed because of language barriers and the flood of flu patients at Cairns Base Hospital.
Ms Gesa is now in a coma and her partner is "bracing for the worst".
The shock story comes as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd prepares to meet today with Cairns medicos to discuss a possible federal takeover of state hospitals.
Mr Morrow told The Cairns Post Ms Gesa was sent home by doctors when she first went to the Emergency Department on Sunday night with aches pains and a bad cough.
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Last night, she was one of six people with swine flu fighting for their life in intensive care in Cairns.
"I don't think she is going to make it," Mr Morrow told The Cairns Post."She was already critical on Sunday night and they sent her home.
"I could see it was so busy in there and I really don't know how they were coping. I'm bracing myself for the worst."
Mr Morrow said he was disappointed that his wife, a Torres Strait Islander, was not given an X-ray on Sunday to investigate severe pains in her armpit and shoulder.
When they went back to the hospital at 10am on Monday, she was immediately given an X-ray and isolated.
"My doctor today told me he couldn't understand why they didn't send her in straight away and give her an X-ray. She was critically ill," Mr Morrow said.
"She was straight away put on a bed, administered antibiotics and immediately put into isolation.
"The swine flu tests came back at 10am this morning (Thursday) and a doctor told me she was positive for swine flu and secondary pneumonia."
Ms Gesa's health deteriorated between Monday and Wednesday. On Wednesday she was moved to the ICU and placed in an induced coma.
Mr Morrow said his wife had no underlying health issues but was a smoker.
He believes staff couldn't properly understand his wife and said the hospital should have a 24-hour indigenous officer available in the Far North.
Australian Medical Association Queensland president Mason Stevenson said the Cairns Base Hospital was operating "at or over 100 per cent capacity". He said Cairns and Townsville were the hospitals most stretched because of the pandemic.
A written response from Cairns Base Hospital director of emergency Dr Peter Pereira said Ms Gesa’s treatment could not be discussed without her consent.
"All patients who present with flu-like symptoms are assessed as to the severity of their symptoms - according to established Queensland Health protocols - and then treated according to the requirements of their clinical condition. This will vary from patient to patient," he said.
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She could die: A Cairns woman critically ill with swine flu and pneumonia was initially sent home from hospital, says her shocked husband. Rod Morrow fears his de facto wife Rosie Anna Gesa did not receive the care she needed.
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