A major Brisbane hospital says it has added staff and is working on expanding the working capacity of its spinal unit after claims of patients being left naked in front of others and patients lying in their own faeces.
Complaints received related to patient care — the dignity of patients — while in the spinal unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) in Brisbane's inner south.
The hospital's 40-bed unit is the only spinal care unit in Queensland.
Dr Dinesh Palipana is a spinal injury advocate and a former Queenslander of the Year, who spent time himself in the PAH spinal unit after a car crash in 2010.
He said his recovery was the "hardest" time of his life and the stories of a lack of dignity in people's experience had remained constant in the past decade.
"I would have thought that things would have changed now. But, over the years, I kept hearing stories and more stories," he said.
"It was a really confronting experience. The spinal unit was dark. It was old. It hadn't been refurbished for a long time.
"When I went to the bathroom, it hadn't been cleaned often and there were faeces everywhere. Sometimes I had to lay in my own for a time.
"Sometimes, intimate procedures were done and the consent was a bit grey.
"There was so much that tested the dignity. I actually didn't feel like I had much dignity.
"They've spoken about how they've fallen on others faeces and had to lay there.
"It's concerning that it's continuing to happen after so many years."
Dr Palipana said traditional avenues of complaint "by patients and staff and advocacy bodies" had not led to results.
"I've tried so many different avenues of giving feedback. I've had so many different conversations," he said.
"When you are experiencing quadriplegia, when you're on a ventilator, when you sometimes can't speak up for yourself, you are so vulnerable.
"Patients are so afraid to speak because they're worried that they may end up there again for some reason and they're worried that their continuing care might be affected."
Hospital says staff being added
Princess Alexandra Hospital's executive director, Jeremy Wellwood, said it was "very confronting" to hear, but was careful to point out that the immediate care of spinal patients is not always a clean and simple process.
"We have been made aware of some very specific concerns in regards to patient care in the spinal unit," he said.
"It's a very difficult time for someone with a spinal injury who cannot essentially fend for themselves in terms of their toileting and showering."
He said that recovering from a spinal injury can be "the most stressful period" in a person's life.
"We do see that loss of dignity, that loss of control and that reliance on others," he said.
"We're absolutely committed to [caring for patients] and the staff do that, day in and day out."
Dr Wellwood said the hospital had already been working with staff, patients and families to make a "meaningful difference" in the unit.
"We will be looking into these [complaints] as a matter of priority," he said.
'We're well into our work trying to deal with these issues. We've got more staff coming over the next couple of weeks.
"We've got more patient care. We've got more administrative support so clinicians can focus on the work they need to do."
He said eight additional staff had been hired and more equipment had been purchased to focus on "patient-centred care".
"We're very confident we can get the patients what they need, when they need it," he said.
Dr Wellwood added that the PAH was aware that the number of patients with spinal injuries was increasing and that there was a need for a greater capacity in the state.
"There is never a spare bed. Whenever someone is discharged … another one comes in," he said.
"What we've been doing is reaching out to try to help [people] before they get into the unit, but also try to help them get out of the unit more quickly."
He urged any families or patients who have been affected to contact the hospital.
Queensland Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates said the claims needed further investigation.
"It needed to be escalated and, obviously, now there is an investigation on foot, but it took a brave whistleblower years, yet again, to show the public what is happening within Queensland Health."
