Cairns Hospital: Emergency Department

"My recent visit to the Emergency Department was unfortunately necessary, and while the doctors and nurses were respectful and knowledgeable, there were several aspects of the experience that left much to be desired. On the positive side, the medical staff at the Emergency Department were polite and empathic. However, the major letdown came when we didn't receive the necessary treatment or steps to address our medical concern. Despite being referred by our GP, we were sent back home without any intervention. Doctors want us to go back to the ED only if specific symptoms have arisen. However, the symptoms they described are all very serious and require intervention. My question is why they did not take action when we went earlier, while we were still in a preventive stage, and instead waited until serious symptoms arose? Unfortunately, I was not aware of Ryan's Rule until now; otherwise, I would have called. One of the other concerning aspects of our visit was the cleanliness of the hospital. From the parent room to the consultation area, hygiene seemed to be severely lacking. The presence of dust underneath tables and sticky chair in the parent room was alarming, as it indicated a lack of attention to basic cleanliness. Moreover, finding a dirty blue sheet on the medical bed and an open, blood-stained band-aid, along with dirty empty glasses and used gloves on the floor in the consult room, was simply unacceptable. Such a subpar cleaning standard is highly worrisome, especially in a high-risk environment like an Emergency Department. Given the critical nature of an Emergency Department, maintaining a hygienic and sanitary environment should be important. I strongly urge the hospital administration to take immediate action to improve their cleaning protocols and ensure a safe and sterile environment for all patients."

"I thought I was having a heart attack. I arrived at 10 pm by ambulance and by 3 am had been assessed with X-rays, blood tests and ECG and was declared perfectly clear of anything serious and allowed to go home. The results from all the tests were almost instant. Staff so pleasant and friendly. I feel so safe having such a state of the art hospital in Cairns."

"I went there on the 20/6/23 wanting to speak to someone about worried about hurting myself and was told they couldn’t help me. All the stuff about men taking there own lives and I only tried 6 months ago and I wasn’t even put in a room to talk to. I had to explain my whole story in the waiting area. I have been waiting over 6 months as a Cat 2 spine patient and still waiting now once that has led to my losing my accommodation and now homeless. Yet they wouldn’t even talk to me about how I’m feeling. They are killers not helpers just public servants wasting millions on smoke breaks while sitting at both entrances how disgusting."

"A big "Thank you" to all the midwives at the Cairns Hospital...they took great care of me and I appreciate their kind personality and effort. God bless you all including the other staff and doctors who work endlessly to save lives everyday."

"Absolute 5 star doctors, Thanks to Dr Mark and Dr Digby for being caring and informative and taking the time to sort out an eye problem for me on a very busy Saturday morning. They work under very stressful conditions and yet everyone i met on this Saturday morning went about their chosen jobs in a very professional way, Yes you may have to wait but thats how it works in an emergency department whilst people needing the immeadiate attention get it and those with less priority get treated when the Dr is available. Thanks to all of the staff in the Cairns ED, Keep up the great work and dont Em get to you !"