Assessment and management of finger injury

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Kevin Allan today released a report finding the Department of Corrections in breach of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights (the Code) for failures in the care provided to a man.

Mr Allan found that Corrections failed to provide services to the man with reasonable care and skill. The man had injured his finger but was not reviewed by a doctor for 32 days. An x-ray was requested at that review but was not scheduled for a further 27 days, two months after the injury occurred.
When the man was assessed for a subsequent injury to his finger an x-ray was taken the same day. Following surgery on his fractured finger, which had not healed correctly, there was a failure to provide follow-up care to the man.

Mr Allan considered that the overall theme of the care provided reflects a lack of critical thinking and follow-up from a number of Corrections staff.
"A person being held in custody does not have the same choices or ability to access health services as a person living in the community. People in custody do not have direct access to a general practitioner, and are entirely reliant on the staff at prison health centres to assess, evaluate, monitor, and treat them appropriately," Mr Allan said.

Mr Allan recommended that Corrections apologise to the man; train its registered nurses on the management of acute injuries; review and update policies and procedures on the management of acute injuries; review its policies and procedures relating to the recall process to ensure continuity and timeliness of care; and conduct an audit of the standard of its clinical documentation, including the Health Services Health Care Pathway. Corrections confirmed that it had met or would meet these recommendations.