Hamilton General Hospital
On February 17th2016, my mother needed a PICC line inserted for medication delivery and a nurse Predrag attempted the insertion but instead of the vein, unknowingly entered the artery. This resulted in what the cardiac surgeon later described to me as a “pseudo aneurysm”. For the next 3 DAYS, my mother complained about the pain and this resulted in Tylenol being ordered. On day 3, my sister noticed that my mother was using her right hand to lift her left hand and asked what was going on. My mother explained that the pain was excruciating and she couldn’t move it. At that point, my sister asked the nurse to look at it and thank goodness for that nurse, the swelling which was three times the normal size, the bruising which was the arm, her side and her lower back caused the nurse to demand that Dr. Sawchuck finally take notice.
So, after 3 days of missed diagnosis, ignoring a patient’s complaints of pain, lack of assessment, the vascular team was called in for Emergency Surgery on Saturday February 20th 2016 !! I can tell you that on March 4th 2016, this arm is now BLACK!!! The upper incision is infected. I asked to see the Vascular Team who Refused to see us!!! I am very worried that this skin is going to become necrotic.
As a nurse, I had asked my sisters to be vigilant about asking about bedsores sine my mother was bed ridden for so long. Per the ICU staff, they told my older sister that there were no bed sores on my mother. Interestingly, during my visit, the nurses did tell me that there is a bed sore on her coccyx that was present during her admission to their ward.
So, as medical professional have to stopped telling the truth to families? Have we started to refuse seeing family and patients after we have operated on them?? I have attached a photo of my mother’s arm. This woman was an all functioning woman before she came into this hospital. Tell me what she is to do if she ends up with a necrotic arm.
I have called in a formal complaint with no follow up response