‘Frying’ as hospital staff watched
A woman who survived a lifethreatening allergic reaction says she was left ‘‘frying’’ in a hospital ward because staff did not know how to look after her.
Julie Mitchell, 63, went to Christchurch Hospital’s emergency department on October 28 after she woke struggling to swallow because of a swollen tongue, throat and glands.
The night before she had taken the antibiotic metronidazol for a blocked saliva duct. An emergency department doctor told her she did not have an infection and could go home. Over the next few days she saw two GPs, one at the 24 Hour Surgery and another at Papanui Medical Centre, who prescribed pills and skin cream.
By the time Mitchell was admitted to Christchurch Hospital on October 31, her body was covered in a burning-hot, painful rash and large blisters. Her tongue and throat were so swollen she struggled to talk or swallow, her eyes were blood red and she could not walk or eat.
It took six days in hospital for Mitchell to be diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal skin reaction.
She said the pain was excruciating, but hospital staff ‘‘just left me in a general ward because they didn’t know what to do with me’’.
‘‘The burning and the welts it was just . . . like sunburn if you can imagine on your face, down through your fingers and over your scalp, mouth and back; everywhere it’s just burning and you’re just lying there frying and you can’t do anything.’’
More than two months since her ordeal began, Mitchell’s body is scarred from the rash, many of her toe and finger nails are falling off, she is partially deaf, her voice is hoarse and her speech is stilted. The formerly ‘‘very active’’ high school teacher aid and events coordinator’s eyes remain painful and sensitive to light and she gets blurred vision.
Guidelines on DermNet NZ, a website founded by dermatologist Amanda Oakley, recommend patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome receive immediate admission to intensive care or a burns unit, intravenous nutrition and fluid replacement, a catheter and specialist nursing. Long-term effects could include blindness and permanent scarring, Oakley said.
After Mitchell was discharged, community nurses visited daily to administer eye drops as her fingers were still damaged by the blisters.
She said she was unable to get a follow-up appointment with a dermatologist. She said the hospital’s dermatologist told her to consult her GP, who advised her to look up the condition on the internet. Mitchell does not have a computer.
‘‘Nobody seems to have any answers and I don’t want to talk to a computer. I want to talk to a real person to understand what is happening to my body.’’
Mitchell described her treatment in hospital as ‘‘despicable’’.
‘‘I’d rather suffer at home than go back to hospital . . . It just makes my hair curl to think that I would ever be treated the way I was on that ward. It was horrible.’’
Oakley said public hospital dermatologists could usually diagnose Mitchell’s condition instantly, but often they were not consulted straight away.
New Zealand had a major shortage of dermatologists and general doctors were poorly trained in skin diseases, she said. Many district health boards (DHBs) did not provide after-hours dermatology services ‘‘because they just don’t have the manpower’’.
Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) acting chief executive Mary Gordon said she encouraged Mitchell to contact the board’s customer services team so her concerns could be investigated.
‘‘We do not discuss patients’ care publicly and will communicate with Ms Mitchell directly,’’ she said.
In a statement, the 24 Hour Surgery said it could not discuss individual cases and encouraged the patient to contact it directly, or the Health and Disability Commissioner.
A Papanui Medical Centre spokesperson said they could not comment on the case before speaking to the doctor involved, who had since left the practice.
‘‘It just makes my hair curl to think that I would ever be treated the way I was on that ward.’’
Julie Mitchell