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Silence Naidoo / Unsplash
The patient said the incident had eroded his self-image (file photo).
New guidelines will be implemented in a hospital after inappropriate instructions given to a man upon discharge influenced the loss of one of his testicles.
Deputy Commissioner for Health and Disabilities Kevin Allan was “very critical” of the Northland District Board of Health, which found that he had sent the man home with a “lack of information” that caused a delay in his return to search for more. Attention.
The man presented to an NDHB hospital on April 18, 2018, with pain in his left testicle that he said had been swollen for four days.
Doctors diagnosed an inflammation of his epididymis (part of the testicle) and gave him antibiotics and strong painkillers to relieve pain.
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But Allan said the hospital did not provide the man, referred to only as Mr. A, with sufficiently detailed discharge information about expectations around the time frame for resolution, potential complications and follow-up.
Doctors told the man that he should return within a week if the pain had not improved. But Allan noted that the New Zealand Society for Sexual Health guidelines say the condition should improve after three days.
It was nine days before he returned, by which time it was too late to save his testicle.
“I remain highly critical of the information that NDHB provided to Mr. A at discharge,” Allan said.
“Mr. A was discharged despite experiencing continuous pain … and having a continuous fever.”
She also noted that Mr. A had a number of risk factors including two previous admissions for epididymoorchitis, episodes of chlamydia and gonorrhea, and a history of testicular torsion and urinary tract infections. He also did not have a family doctor.
After the first five days of treatment, doctors found that his condition seemed to have improved enough for him to be discharged and sent him home.
Her discharge plan said she was expected to finish a 10-day course of antibiotics and continue taking strong pain relievers. He also told her to seek medical attention if she felt she was getting worse.
Nine days later, he was back at the hospital, where an ultrasound showed that the blood had stopped flowing to his testicle. By this time he had become necrotic and was eliminated.
Mr. A said in a statement in the decision document that the ordeal had cost him his relationship and “eroded” his self-image.
“Time away from work put me and my partner under considerable stress, with difficulties meeting rental commitments, which means that we almost lost the right to stay in the house, loss of self-image due to the loss of a testicle, ”he said.
“At no point did I feel that they understood or cared about the trauma that all this has created in my life.
Allan recommended that the NDHB provide a written apology to Mr. A.
He also said the board of health should use the case to train staff on the importance of clear and documented discharge information. Evidence of training had to be shown at six months.
Staff were also asked to create a guide for staff to ensure that more specific written discharge advice and final follow-up plans were provided to patients.
