A patient received life-saving treatment for a serious infection after visiting Hammersmith Hospital’s urgent care centre .
Aussie backpacker Emily Daenell went to Hammersmith Hospital’s walk-in unit in Du Cane Road after noticing a rash and feeling unwell near the end of last year.
Medical experts said the 21-year-old was suffering from a rare and serious infection which had caused a rash and sent her into toxic shock and that if Ms Daenell had delayed her visit to the urgent care unit by 24 hours she could have died.
The tourist, who was living in the area at the time but has now returned home to Australia, was sent to Hammersmith Hospital’s dedicated infectious diseases ward for treatment. She had not realised the serious condition when the rash first appeared and was using calamine lotion until the condition worsened and she sought urgent care.
She said: "I noticed a rash on my face and was feeling ill. I was itchy, fluey, and had a bad chest and stomach too, so I went to the nearest urgent care centre which was at Hammersmith Hospital. I was taken to the specialist medical assessment unit there and then admitted to a ward – within a couple of hours I was getting treatment.”
For the next five days she was too ill to get out of bed and was on fluids and intravenous antibiotics.
Consultant in infectious diseases Prof Sunil Shaunak diagnosed Ms Daenell and treated her. He said: "If Emily had waited another 24 hours before getting help, her chances of survival would have been greatly reduced. This is a rare case - we only see around two a year and we are a specialist centre. It will take Emily four or five weeks to fully get over it."
The patient praised staff for the help she received. She said: “I was really pleased with the care I got. The nurses were really friendly and Prof Shaunak came to see me often. He was really quick to diagnose me which was lucky given the nature of what I had."
A hospital spokesperson said Department of Health guidelines prevented it from naming the rare infection.
Hammersmith Hospital’s urgent care centre and specialist medicine assessment centre is open 24-7 and is available to respond to health needs that cannot wait for a GP appointment. It was expanded from 12 to 24 hours last year following the closure of A&E units at Hammersmith and Central Middlesex Hospitals .
