Peter Koutsogiannakis, 15, is devastated he was left waiting for treatment information about a broken collarbone at Dandenong Hospital.
By Bridget Cook
A FRUSTRATED Endeavour Hills family has hit out at Dandenong Hospital after they said they were left waiting for treatment information about a broken collarbone.
Peter Koutsogiannakis, 15, broke his left collarbone on Sunday 28 June while playing football for Endeavour Hills and will not be seen by a doctor again until this coming Friday.
However, Dandenong Hospital said medical staff gave Peter the proper treatment for his injury when he was first admitted.
Peter’s father, John, said what had frustrated the family the most was that they couldn’t find out what would happen at the Friday appointment.
That was until the News phoned Southern Health to find out what was going on and a doctor phoned Mr Koutsogiannakis a short time later to explain what was happening.
“It was good to get some answers but we still don’t know what is going to happen on Friday.
“So we still don’t know if it’s just a consultation or if he will be having a procedure.
“Whatever they have got to do should have been done by now.”
Peter was taken to Casey Hospital following the game on Sunday where he was put in a sling and told he would be sent a letter from Dandenong hospital with a referral date.
On Wednesday 1 July Peter’s mother, Angela, took him to the Dandenong Emergency Department after she had given up waiting for the letter.
Mr Koutsogiannakis said when Angela and Peter attended Dandenong they were told the hospital had no record of Peter’s case and an outpatient’s appointment was made for Friday.
This week the hospital refused to comment on whether there was a record of Peter’s referral and why the family was not contacted about his next appointment.
John said the whole situation had distressed his son who would now most likely miss the remainder of the football season and had spent his school holidays in pain.
“It’s devastating seeing your son upset, I just want something to be done,” he said.
“Peter’s very upset. He loves his football. It’s shattered him.”
Southern Health spokeswoman Suzana Talevski said Peter was given a standard treatment for a broken collarbone.
“On review of the X-ray, the patient’s treatment was appropriate,” she said.
“The patient’s management was not compromised and standard procedure followed at all times for this type of injury.”
“The majority of clavicle fractures are managed with a sling and rely on the strength of the surrounding muscles to pull the bone fragments into alignment.”
