Ellen Delisio

After a colonoscopy at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown in October 2002, I had severe abdominal pain, and despite repeated calls to the doctor’s office, he provided no follow-up care. I eventually learned I had been bleeding internally from a bruised spleen.

A technician in the outpatient center also injured my arm when she inserted a needle for a CT scan to diagnose why I wasn’t feeling well. I spent about two years recovering from all the injuries.

At Jean’s suggestion, I wrote a letter to Middlesex Hospital president Robert Kiely and sent a copy to Dr. Arthur McDowell, chairman of the board of trustees, about my experience during and after the colonoscopy.

Bob Kiely sent a note to me and called suggesting we meet. He remembered my name from my days as a Middletown Press reporter about 15 years ago.

I met Aug 9 at the hospital with Claire M. Davis, director of quality for the Integrated Resources for the Middlesex Area, and Susan L. Menichetti, vice president, administration. Bob Kiely was unable to attend because of illness.

They did apologize for my experience. They said they read my letter and were concerned—Ms. Davis said she wanted to make it clear that the doctor did not work for the hospital, so was not an employee. I said they could revoke his privileges. She went into a long explanation of how different departments become aware of any complaints and concerns and how they are channeled to a peer review committee.

Ms. Davis said they needed to see if a pattern of problems in surgical procedures or other areas emerge before taking action against a physician, and no complaints had been filed against the doctor who did my colonoscopy. Ms. Menichetti indicated there were no trends of problems in his practice.

Ms. Davis said she sensed I was skeptical of a peer review and I said I was—I said I did not see that as legitimate; no one would crack down on a colleague. Ms. Davis said she had been there more than 30 years and was convinced of the integrity of the system.

I said that the hospital’s reputation on the street was not good; several people asked me why I went to Middlesex because it is known for not using good people.

Ms. Menichetti said she would get a little defensive and mentioned some areas in which the hospital had received positive reviews.

I said this doctor’s practice had allowed me to bleed internally for a week, refused to see me, anjd told me to drink Maalox—and asked if this was someone they want to stand behind?

No response.

As for the incident at the outpatient center, Ms. Davis said she wished she had known about that at the time, because she would have followed up promptly and provided support, whatever that means.

She said she did not know if that tech still even works at the hospital, but planned to follow up and use this incident as a learning experience for the staff. I offered to give her the date of the CT scan, but she already had looked it up. A follow-up letter from her indicated that she had talked with staff about the experience.

That was an area over which the hospital had more control, according to Ms. Menichetti.

I stated, as I had in my letter, that I would not be confident using Middlesex again. I asked if they would have offered to meet with me if I was not a reporter, and they said of course, they meet with lots of people.

I said I viewed the system as being flawed, in that patients have no recourse if they are injured and they are stuck with the bills and aggravation from physicians’ mistakes.

I am glad I took Jean’s advice and wrote the letters. Now the hospital staff members know about the incident and hopefully will be on the outlook for other complaints against this physician. If nothing else, I felt like I was heard and would recommend this approach to others.

In addition, I learned that the hospital does have a staff member overseeing patient quality, and I would suggest checking to see if other hospitals have someone in that position or a similar one.