Exclusive: A Perth great-grandmother being treated for kidney failure in Western Australia’s biggest public hospital has been left traumatised, claiming her bed collapsed and trapped her.
Confronting images showed Anne Hibbert bruised from head to toe after she said she was trapped in the railing of a bed at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital for hours.
She said she pressed the call button repeatedly but nobody came.
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“The nurse said to me, ‘Look, there’s nothing we can do. You’ll just have to sit here and wait for the day shift to come on’,” Ms Hibbert said.
The 78-year-old was rushed to Joondalup Hospital last month with failing kidneys.
Doctors said if she didn’t transfer for dialysis, she’d be dead within days.
It was supposed to be her last night at Sir Charles Gairdner when she woke to the sound of a deflating bed.
“All of a sudden, I was stuck and this arm was right next to the railing,” she said.
After four painful hours, orderlies finally came to her aid.
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Tony Hibbert is demanding answers to what happened to his wife.
“She’s left with this dreadful pain, she cries at night in bed,” he said.
” … You know, it’s heartbreaking.”
Ms Hibbert said she’d been scared of beds ever since, even her own.
The Hibberts lodged a complaint with the hospital – and were told a clinical nurse was investigating. Ten days on they had heard nothing more.
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“Our nurses are very much under pressure,” Australian Nursing Federation state secretary Romina Raschilla said.
“They’re short-staffed. They are just running back and forth during their shifts.”
The North Metropolitan Health Service issued a statement to 9News.
“We take all complaints seriously,” it said.
“We are still investigating the matter.”
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