Woman Had Surgery For Bone Spurs In Spine After She Says Hospital Sent Her Home

A woman said she was sent home from her local emergency room in pain — only to later require surgery for bone spurs in her spine.

Amanda Young of Queensland, Australia, called an ambulance in 2023 due to escalating back pain and was taken to the Townsville University Hospital, where she said she received pain medication and was sent home shortly after, local outlet 7 News reported.

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Four hours later, Young told 7 News she returned to the hospital screaming in agony. There, she claimed she was met with opposition from the medical facility’s staff, explaining, “I was told by the doctor there to ‘shut up,’ (but) due to my symptoms and me being in painI couldn’t control it.”

“I was told they’ve already done everything that they can for me, that my medication was appropriate, that they’ve upped the doses of a nerve blocker that was already not working, which is why I ended up back in the hospital,” Young added to the outlet.

Young told 7 News she eventually ended up being placed in a bed in the hospital following her pleas.

“I couldn’t even get up and go to the bathroom. I begged them for a bedpan. They wouldn’t even give me a bedpan,” she claimed to the outlet. “I was forced to go off the side of the bed. It was very embarrassing.”

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Young also claimed to 7 News that when she requested medication to help ease her immediate pain, she felt she was treated like a “drug seeker.”

“I was told there was nothing wrong with me,” she said to the outlet.

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According to Young, she was eventually sent home in a taxi. She said she “crawled” to her front door and into bed.

The next day, Young told 7 News she returned to the hospital and invoked Ryan’s Rulewhich enables patients in Queensland to initiate an urgent review of their care if they believe treatment has not been appropriately escalated. (The rule is named for Ryan Saunders, a teenager who died in 2007 after he failed to receive appropriate medical care.)

Young said she was then taken to the hospital’s surgery department for a consultation.

“They medicated me straight away, gave me appropriate medication to settle down my symptoms. I was told that he did believe me and that they would eventually operate on me, but they weren’t going to talk about it at that point in time because of the pain and what I’ve been through the last 38 hours,” she told 7 News.

When Young finally received surgery the following year, she told News 7 that surgeons removed a number of large bone spurs in her back that had not previously been discernible through an MRI.

Young claimed to 7 News that the operation took “an extra four hours longer than what it was supposed to, due to the severity of the condition,” and she believes her delay in care and surgery ultimately led to permanent damage.

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“I feel like now, because I wasn’t essential, and they didn’t act quick enough, that I’ve been left with permanent nerve damage and constant cramps every single night,” she explained to 7 News.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Townsville Hospital and Health Service chief executive Kieran Keyes said, “While I acknowledge this patient’s experience and understand the distress associated with complex and chronic pain conditions, investigations into these claims have found that the patient’s concerns were not ignored and the care provided by our staff was appropriate.”

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“The patient has previously raised a number of concerns with Townsville Hospital and Health Service regarding emergency department presentations, the use of Ryan’s Rule and the timing of follow-up treatment,” she continued. “These matters were reviewed through our established patient feedback processes and were also referred to the independent Office of the Health Ombudsman, which concluded in January 2025 that the complaint had been managed appropriately.”

“In relation to the patient’s presentations to the emergency department in March 2023, on each occasion, the patient was clinically assessed, provided pain relief, and managed appropriately based on symptoms and a clinical examination,” Keyes added. “In relation to claims about Ryan’s Rule, our senior clinical staff thoroughly reviewed the patient following concerns raised during one of her presentations to the emergency department. This included a senior medical officer, a clinical nurse consultant and an after-hours nurse manager. Hospital records indicate that no further Ryan’s Rule escalation was activated following these reviews.”

Keyes also said that “Townsville Hospital and Health Service remains committed to providing safe, respectful and patient-centred care, and encourages any patient with concerns about their treatment to contact our patient feedback service.”

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The Office of the Health Ombudsman did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’S request for comment.

Young told 7 News that she is speaking out now because, while she has the privilege of advocating for herselfshe worries about others who may not be able to do the same.

“I’ve got a voice,” she said. “I can talk and advocate for myself, but it leaves me worried about the vulnerable people that don’t know their rights, that are too afraid to speak up.”