Languge, language ... a patient says he felt intimidated after Cairns doctor Roxanne Wu let fly in her surgery.
Doctor shocks patient with stream of foul language
Blames it on stress of staff shortages
Sources say she`d make Gordon Ramsay blush
A CAIRNS doctor has blamed the stress of carrying the city`s surgical load for using language so blue "it would make Gordon Ramsay blush".
Gordonvale pensioner Bobby Rolph, 68, yesterday said he was so intimidated by the swearing of Dr Roxanne Wu that he has fired off a letter of complaint to Health Minister Stephen Robertson.
"Her opening gambit to me was "I hate coming to this f…ing clinic, it f…s me right off’," said Mr Rolph, who saw Dr Wu in June about a heart problem.
"She was dropping the f-word left, right and centre.
"I’m far from a prude, but I was offended. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough."
He said in a contest with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, who is known for his colourful language, Dr Wu would "probably outdo him".
Dr Wu, who has worked at the Cairns Base Hospital as a visiting medical officer for more than 20 years, yesterday admitted having a reputation for "calling a spade a bloody shovel".
"There’s no denying I occasionally use foul and colourful language in theatre; a lot of surgeons do," she said.
"But I don’t habitually swear in front of patients.
"If he’d told me he was upset I would have apologised profoundly."
But Mr Rolph said he was too scared at the time to speak out.
Cairns Base Hospital staff who work with Dr Wu told The Cairns Post Mr Rolph was not alone in witnessing outbursts by the outspoken surgeon.
"The young doctors and the nurses are usually the ones caught in the cross-fire," said one staffer, who asked not to be named.
Dr Wu said her workload had increased dramatically since former hospital director of surgery Dr Christina Steffen pulled out of clinical work due to an internal staff dispute.
Dr Wu said she was so stressed by the staff shortage she too felt ready to walk out.
"We are seriously bloody understaffed here," she said.
Dr Wu said people dealt with stress in different ways.
"Some people swear, some people kick their wives, some people bottle it up," she said.
CBH acting CEO Angela Beckett said the hospital was duty-bound to investigate any official complaint against a staff member.
so if the public go to hospital and use this language from the stress of waiting is it ok? or is it considered a medical condition?maybe we could call it f***obia or f***osis
Posted by: shelly of bris 3:41am today
Did she kill him????? NO!!! so what is the prob;em if she can diagnose a patient correct who cares about her say a few f words sheesh! if it was anything like where i come from it takes weeks to see a doctor! so who really gives a SH!T if they swear they are only human too !
Posted by: Katie28 of Bunbury 3:14am today
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