Patient's condition worsens due to delayed paperwork in WA

A man named Alfred "Gerry" Williams suffered a major stroke after a routine ankle surgery at St John of God Hospital Murdoch in October 2023. His family claims hospital staff did not recognize his worsening symptoms and did not respond to their requests for help. Hours later, a doctor diagnosed Mr. Williams with a serious type of stroke. This kind of stroke affects blood flow to the front of the brain. Medical guidelines recommend treating stroke patients within 4.5 hours of symptoms, but Mr. Williams did not receive treatment for seven hours. His daughter Kelly became anxious and called for an ambulance to transfer her father to a specialist stroke unit. When the hospital agreed to the transfer, paramedics had to wait 26 minutes for hospital staff to complete paperwork. Sadly, Mr. Williams died two days later. Kelly is upset about the delays and believes they contributed to her father's irreversible brain damage. She believes that more timely care could have saved him or lessened the damage. An investigation by St John WA found that the ambulance arrived at the hospital promptly, but the delay came from St John of God Hospital due to incomplete paperwork. The ambulance service cannot treat patients already admitted to a hospital. SJOG's investigations into Mr. Williams’ death found no fault with the healthcare providers involved. However, Kelly has expressed frustration over the lack of transparency from the hospital compared to the ambulance service's response. The family is scheduled to meet with the hospital on May 8 to discuss the situation further. The hospital's CEO stated they are eager to engage with the family and clarified that no preventable factors were found in their investigations into Mr. Williams' passing.