Queensland Nurse Gives Distressed Patient Strange Masturbation Advice

Queensland Health has been forced to apologize after a nurse from the 13 Health hotline gave strange advice to a distraught person, rather than immediately directing them to the emergency department.

The health department is investigating the nurse, who told the patient, who had called for severe abdominal pain, to masturbate in the shower and rub oil on her anus.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports that the woman had just undergone a serious operation and had called the hotline late at night as a last resort due to her level of pain.

“We apologize for any distress the patient has experienced, so we take immediate action, including initiating an investigation and direct contact with the patient to follow up and apologize,” a Queensland Health spokeswoman told news.com .au.

The hotline, operated by Queensland Health, receives around 100 calls per day, although the number of calls has increased during the coronavirus pandemic, and is operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by a team of about 170 registered nurses.

The helpline staff have at least four years of experience as a registered nurse and regularly complete training in critical thinking and clinical reasoning.

The nurse in question, who is not currently working, is believed to have five years of experience.

Only doctors can diagnose patients who call the helpline, and the staff provides strict guidelines on how to respond to callers.

While the service is not an emergency service and is not a substitute for medical consultation, it connects Queensland residents with registered nurses who can assess patient symptoms and provide medical information.

It also provides referrals to other health care providers and guides callers to the appropriate level and location of care, and nurses calculate the “urgency of symptoms, rather than diagnosing the cause of symptoms.”

An investigation into the incident is underway.