A teenage girl has spent nine hours on the floor of an emergency department, suffering from excruciatingly painful appendicitis.
17-year-old Demi Allul was left untreated and in agonising pain as she slept on the floor of Campbelltown Hospital, in Sydney’s south-west.
The incident occurred on Monday when Demi and her mum, Julie, arrived at the emergency department with a doctor’s note explaining that she was suffering from suspected appendicitis, and would need urgent medical attention.
She was attended to by a triage nurse in the waiting room, but no bed was assigned, leaving Demi to sleep on the floor of the emergency department with only a hospital blanket to keep her warm.
After nine hours, Julie decided that she’d had enough and took her daughter home so that she could sleep in a proper bed.
The pair returned to the hospital the next day where, after presenting a photograph of Demi sleeping on the floor the previous night, Demi was admitted within ten minutes. She was immediately given morphine for her extreme pain.
Demi will now have to wait over two weeks for treatment, because of the delay in her initial diagnosis. She will remain in hospital during this time, taking antibiotics to assist with the inflammation. Campbelltown Hospital has since apologised to Demi and her family.