As The Leader prepares to launch our Building a new Barossa Hospital petition in our December 11 edition, we're highlighting health stories which show the glaring need for a larger regional hospital in our area.
The pressing need for a larger regional hospital in the Barossa area became crystal clear to the Schutz family earlier this year, when a competition motorbike fall lead to a long and convoluted trip to hospital for emergency department care.
On the June long weekend Henry Schutz, aged 24 of Point Pass, was taking part in the Lew Job two-day motorcycle trial at Robertstown.
Towards the end of the day on Saturday, Henry came off his bike, resulting in a shattered shoulder blade, followed by a long night of travelling and hospital-jumping across the greater Adelaide region in search of the appropriate treatment.
Motorcycle racing is a sport that comes with risks, which riders are well-aware of before they get on the bike.
However, the need for emergency care following an accident is one which many Australians would consider a given - until they encounter a situation like Henry's.
On the day of the accident, Henry noted that there were a large number of participants taking part in the event.
“This year there were over 100 motorbikes, so straight away that’s one thing, knowing that there’s big events like that happening around the district, I guess high risk events,” Henry said.
“Because I think there was a few people that ended up in hospital that night, or the next day…obviously just being a motorbike event.”
It was at around 4.30pm when his accident took place.
“I fell off, and then after a minute or two of, I couldn’t breathe and what not, I was like, ‘oh I’m not too bad,’ so I went to get up and I couldn’t put any weight on my right arm and I knew something was not right,” Henry recalled.
The event first aid staff picked him up and took him back to the headquarters for assessment, who sent Henry to hospital for X-rays and further testing.
At First Aid’s suggestion, an Ambulance was called in case anything happened to escalate between Robertstown and the hospital, as well as for his own comfort.
However, here arose the first obstacle when Henry said ambulances were understandably diverted, not once but twice, for medical emergencies.
“Straight away then, the next problem we’ve got is we’ve got no idea when an ambulance is going to be able to get here, and that was already sort of…I think an hour after we rang and ordered the ambulance,” Henry said.
“So, the wait time on that was going to be massive.”
Eventually, Henry and his family made the decision to drive him to the Gawler Hospital, around an hour’s drive from where they were at Robertstown.
“Gawler is now the closest place that will do any X-rays and what not at Outpatients, so we go down there at around nine or 10 o’clock at night,” Henry said.
Luckily at Gawler, Henry was seen within around half an hour to an hour of arriving at the new emergency department.
X-rays and tests were completed, when in the early hours of the morning, came yet another trip further away from home.
“I think it was about 3.00am in the morning that I got transferred to the Lyell McEwin…it was really late, obviously they wanted to free up the emergency department at Gawler,” Henry said.
“But all they did was give me a couple Panadol and give me a sling and that was it, I did have a haematoma on my side, and that was more so what they were watching, that was about the size of a dinner plate.”
From here, Henry spent a few days under observation at the Lyell McEwin hospital.
“For me then to get transferred to the Lyell McEwin and being in a ward there and basically just sitting there,” Henry said.
“I spent a couple of days in the Lyell McEwin just under observation, the rest of the people in the ward were all people that I thought deserved a bed, but here I was sitting at the end of a corridor in a chair watching everyone because I really felt like I shouldn’t have been there.”
The Leader asked Henry whether he felt a Barossa Hospital would’ve been beneficial in his case, even though he is from outside the immediate area.
“I think it would be, and we’re in the middle, it wouldn’t be here or there whether we were to go to Gawler or to say Nuri, but if you go anywhere further east of my place or anywhere further east of Nuri, and then you start to get into a real black spot of where you’re driving well over an hour to get to a hospital, an equipped hospital to deal with major injuries,” Henry said.
“And I guess that’s where the problem lies, is just that time factor that can make a big difference.”
He acknowledged that while bigger metropolitan hospitals will always be needed in extreme circumstances, having a big closer hospital would certainly save moderate cases from draining resources in metropolitan hospitals.
“Say for example I broke my leg, or broke my arm, it’s still something that needs to be treated at hospital but it’s not something that I feel should be taking up a bed down in Adelaide where they could be looking after someone with heart problems or something more major,” Henry said.
“Definitely in the way of those more minor injuries, there’s definitely an importance to have something.”
The Leader is about to launch a petition for a new Barossa Hospital and will be featuring regular health stories which highlight the need for a larger regional hospital in our area.
Do you have a story to share?
Contact the news team at: news@barossaleader.com.au or phone, 8564 2035.
