1 June, 2010
A VICTORIAN hospital has apologised after a 92-year-old woman was allegedly abandoned in darkness on the side of the road by staff.
A teenage passerby eventually came to the woman's aid when he heard her cries for help after she had been left outside for 45 minutes.
Bendigo Base Hospital has apologised for the incident, with Bendigo Health's CEO insisting they "can't understand" how it occurred.
Glen Shilling said his mother had been taken to the Bendigo Base Hospital's emergency unit by his 93-year-old father at 8pm (AEST) on Friday night with suspected heart problems.
According to Mr Shilling's official complaint, at about 10.30pm (AEST) a decision was taken to admit his mother to hospital and his father was sent home in a taxi.
"An hour or so later, it was decided NOT to admit my mother to hospital," the complaint reads.
"She was to be sent home. The drip that was in her arm was removed."
After midnight, she was wheeled outside to wait for a taxi in the darkness.
Unable to move her wheelchair, the woman was left unaided for at least 45 minutes, according to Mr Shilling's complaint, until a passing teenager heard her cries for help.
"Apparently a young lad, perhaps mid to late teens, just happened to be walking past and mum was able to yell out to him, so he came over the help," Mr Shilling told 3AW radio this morning.
"He then rang a taxi and that's how she got home.
"The person that wheeled mum outside at 12.10am and just turned around and walked back in again, you'd love to have a chat and find out where that person's mind was at."
It is understood a cardiologist could not be found to assess the woman's condition at the hospital.
Bendigo Health CEO John Mulder says his organisation is "horrified" by the incident, and that every effort is being made to find the nurse responsible.
SOURCE: The Herald Sun
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