HE NEEDS TO KNOW
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One woman said she was sent home from her local emergency room after complaining of pain, only to later require surgery for bone spurs in her spine.
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“Now I feel like because I wasn’t essential and they didn’t act fast enough, I’m left with permanent nerve damage and constant cramps every night,” Amanda Young told a local news service.
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However, a hospital spokesperson responded to Young’s claims, saying her case was “thoroughly evaluated” and she received appropriate care at the time.
One woman said she was sent home from her local emergency room in pain — only to later require surgery for bone spurs in her spine.
Amanda Young of Queensland, Australia, called an ambulance in 2023 because of increasing back pain and was taken to University Hospital in Townsville, where she said she was given pain medication and sent home shortly after, local outlet 7 News reported.
Four hours later, Young told 7 News she returned to the hospital screaming in agony. There, she claimed she was met with opposition from staff at the medical facility, explaining: “The doctor there told me to ‘shut up’. [but] because of my symptoms and my pain, I couldn’t control it.”
“I was told that they had already done everything they could for me, that my medication was adequate, that they had increased the doses of a nerve blocker that was already not working, which is why I ended up back in the hospital,” Young added to the press.
Young told 7 News she was eventually placed in a hospital bed following her pleas.
“I couldn’t even get up and go to the bathroom. I begged them for a diaper. They didn’t even give me a diaper,” she claimed to the press. “I was forced off the edge of the bed. It was very embarrassing.”
Young also claimed to 7 News that when she asked for more medication to alleviate her immediate pain, she felt she was treated like a “drug seeker”.
“I was told there was nothing wrong with me,” she told the press.
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According to Young, she was eventually sent home in a taxi. She said he “crawled” to her front door and into bed.
The next day, Young told 7 News she returned to the hospital and invoked Ryan’s Rule, which allows Queensland patients to initiate an urgent review of their care if they believe treatment has not been escalated appropriately. (The rule is named after Ryan Saunders, a teenager who died in 2007 after not receiving proper medical care.)
Google Maps
University Hospital Townsville in Queensland, Australia
Young said she was then taken to the hospital’s surgical ward for a consultation.
“They medicated me straight away, gave me appropriate medication to alleviate my symptoms. I was told they believed me and eventually they would operate on me, but they weren’t going to talk about it at the time because of the pain and what I had been through in the last 38 hours,” she told 7 News.
When Young finally got surgery the following year, she told News 7 surgeons removed a series of large bone spurs from her back that hadn’t previously been discernible through an MRI.
Young claimed to 7 News that the operation took “another four hours longer than it should have, due to the severity of the condition” and believes her delay in care and surgery ultimately led to permanent damage.
“Now I feel because I wasn’t essential and they didn’t act fast enough, I’ve been left with permanent nerve damage and constant cramps every night,” she explained to 7 News.
Google Maps
University Hospital Townsville in Queensland, Australia
In a statement to PEOPLE, Townsville Hospital and Health chief executive Kieran Keyes said: “While we recognize this patient’s experience and understand the distress associated with complex and chronic pain conditions, investigations into these claims have found that the patient’s concerns were not ignored and the care provided by our staff was adequate.”
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“The patient had previously raised a number of concerns with Townsville Hospital and Health Service regarding emergency department presentations, the use of Ryan’s rule and the timing of follow-up treatment,” she continued. “These matters were reviewed through our established patient feedback processes and were also referred to the independent Office of the Health Ombudsman, which concluded in January 2025 that the complaint had been handled appropriately.”
“Regarding the patient’s presentations to the emergency department in March 2023, each time the patient was clinically evaluated, provided pain relief, and managed appropriately based on symptoms and a clinical exam,” Keyes added. “In relation to the Ryan’s Rule claims, our senior clinical staff reviewed the patient in detail following concerns raised during one of her emergency department presentations. This included a senior medical officer, a clinical nurse consultant and an after-hours nurse manager. Hospital records indicate that no further Ryan’s Rule escalations were triggered following these reviews.”
Keyes also said that “Townsville Hospital and Health Service remains committed to providing safe, respectful and patient-centred care and encourages any patient with concerns about their treatment to contact our patient feedback service.”
The Office of the Health Ombudsman did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Young told 7 News she is speaking out now because while she has the privilege of standing up for herself, she worries about others who may not be able to do the same.
“I have a voice,” she said. “I can speak up and advocate for myself, but it leaves me worried about the more vulnerable people who don’t know their rights, who are too afraid to speak up.”
Read the original article on People