Hospital scare: Dean had a reaction to mushrooms. Picture: Sharon Smith/The West Australian
The WA health system’s acting chief has conceded there are more clinical incidents at Fiona Stanley Hospital than at other WA hospitals and he has concerns about its sterilisation and the delivery of medical supplies.
But Professor Bryant Stokes is “happy with most aspects” of private company Serco’s running of the state-of-the-art hospital.
Professor Stokes said he had spoken to Health Minister Kim Hames about issues at the hospital and they had made “certain plans” he was not yet prepared to discuss.
His comments came after a former FSH patient, who is allergic to mushrooms, revealed he had a an allergic reaction to a meal there containing them (mushrooms) during his five-day stay last month.
The 44-year-old chronic pain patient, who wanted to be known only as Dean, says he feared for his life from anaphylactic shock after being fed mushrooms in chicken and corn soup.
Dean, whose throat closed when he ate mushrooms in the past, said he told staff of his allergy and a dietitian gave him a list menu items he could not order before he selected the soup.
His reaction, including swollen lips, an itchy throat and hives, began soon after he began eating.
Dean claims there was no crash cart or adrenaline available on the ward so a doctor had to treat him using the EpiPen from his bag.
“Initially it was a slow reaction because I only had a minuscule amount but I only need a minuscule amount for the reaction to occur,” Dean said.
The incident is the latest in a catalogue of issues at FSH to be highlighted in recent weeks that Dr Hames fears are undermining public confidence in the hospital.
He said Dean only had a “mild to moderate” allergic reaction — not an anaphylactic reaction — to the soup and had chosen to eat normal meals in hospital, despite being warned that eating from the non-allergenic menu would be safer.
“His life was not at risk,” Dr Hames said.
“All the equipment that was required to treat that patient was right there on the ward.
“These claims are needlessly undermining confidence in our nurses and health professionals.”
Professor Stokes has made a recommendation to Dr Hames about whether Serco should continue to run sterilisation services at FSH and a decision is expected in the coming week.
He said the incident involving Dean was being investigated.
Shadow health minister Roger Cook said Dean being served a soup containing mushrooms could have ended in tragedy and a parliamentary inquiry needed to be held into the issues at FSH.
“Clearly there is a need for the minister to intervene at Fiona Stanley Hospital to make sure that we keep our patients out of risk,” Mr Cook said.
Australian Nursing Federation State secretary Mark Olson said the Health Department had a problem if it could not get the food service right at its flagship hospital.
“It’s imperative that Serco and the Health Department gets it right or, heaven forbid, they may have another tragic death on their hands,” Mr Olson said.