Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital: Joseph Payne left on floor of emergency department a fortnight before his death

In constant pain, unable to sit upright because of a swollen liver, and hallucinating from cancer treatment, Joseph Payne spent precious hours of his dwindling life trying to sleep on the floor of the emergency department — just waiting for a bed and basic health care. His body riddled with cancer, the 68-year-old Perth father knew his condition was terminal, and all he wanted was dignity in death. “This man was the most gentle soul in the entire world, like he never had a bad thing to say about anyone,” Tish Payne said of her father. “Days before he died, he was saying, ‘Where are they now? Why aren’t they helping me? Where’s the level of care that I was promised?’ and then I finally felt like he was realising.” The dedicated doctors and nurses at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital couldn’t be there in her father’s time of need — simply overwhelmed with patients. A common reality in a health system that Ms Payne and all West Australians are constantly told is “world-class”. “Very, very disgraceful, and something that I probably won’t get over forever,” Ms Payne said. “There was no beds. There was code yellows. My dad died on a bed that was broken. “It just felt very, very inhumane for somebody that had entrusted Charlies, and for him to be sort of just pushed to the side in his final days and his final week.” In what would be his final admission to the hospital on June 30, Ms Payne says her father was brought in by ambulance suffering with treatment-induced hallucinations. Bed-block left him on the floor in ED for hours, because lying flat was the only way he could ease the pain from the tumours that had ravaged his body. He died a fortnight later. “I was so p..sed off, I was so angry,” Ms Payne said. “I’m not trying to criticise the doctors and the nurses, because they were wonderful, and they’re doing the best they can in their position.” In June, only 32 per cent of patients were admitted to hospital within six hours and only 63.9 per cent of ambulance arrivals were transferred within 30 minutes. That’s far below the 90 per cent target. A North Metropolitan Health Service spokesperson expressed its condolences to the Payne family. “Like other public hospitals across the country, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital experiences significant demand on its services during the winter period, including its emergency department. “In an emergency department, patients are always seen and treated in order of clinical urgency. Unfortunately, this means that some patients may need to wait longer in a triage area until clinical treatment spaces become available. “We know waiting for treatment can be stressful, and our staff work around the clock to ensure everyone gets seen to and no patient is turned away.” Last month, WA Health director-general Shirley Bowen, in an exclusive interview with The West Australian also cited a nasty flu season as a reason for the strain on hospitals. Hospitalisations due to the flu were up, 46 per cent higher than the five-year average, with 2325 people admitted to WA hospitals with influenza so far this year. But the State’s flu rate of 437 cases per 100,000 people is the best of all of the country’s States and Territories. It was also less than the national rate of 710 and almost half the rate of 856 in NSW.