I am extremely shocked and traumatized by multiple horrific experiences that my animals and I had at SASH. I was a loyal customer for about 11 years. So was Sydney Pet Rescue and Adoption, the charity... Read More
I am extremely shocked and traumatized by multiple horrific experiences that my animals and I had at SASH. I was a loyal customer for about 11 years. So was Sydney Pet Rescue and Adoption, the charity I run. I took all of mine and SPRA's animals out of SASH, in April this year, after SASH's treatment was indicated to have poisoned my little cat, Benny, and subsequently cost him his life. And similarly SPRA Benny, a little cat belonging to SPRA. The standard of treatment, and the standard of care, and the standard of behaviour which I experienced at SASH was like nothing that I have ever seen before. This is not the hospital that I thought it was.
Dr Joanna White treated my little boy with the cheapest drug, not the safest drug ie Aluminium Hydroxide. She said that she forgot that the powdered form of the drug was stronger than the tablet form. She forgot, over the whole 9 months of Benny's treatment. She only remembered, after I asked her if the powdered form and the tablet form were equivalent. She also forgot, over the whole 11 months of SPRA Benny's treatment. She didn't weigh the Aluminium Hydroxide, and wrongly assumed how many mgs were in a tsp. It appears that this led to an extreme overdose. The compounding chemist, and my husband, who is an industrial chemist, both weighed the Aluminum Hydroxide powder, which confirmed that the actual dose was extremely excessive compared to the IRIS Guidelines, which is the international standard providing guidance on renal management in cats and dogs. It also looks like Dr Joanna White also mismanaged Benny's thyroid treatment, with critical adverse effects.
IT LOOKS LIKE SASH HAS PROBABLY BEEN OVERDOSING OTHER RENAL PATIENTS SIMILARLY, AND PROBABLY FOR A LONG TIME. It seems likely that other pets would probably have suffered similarly, and probably lost their lives prematurely, to the toxic effects of this drug, though their families would probably not have known. A large number of vets and specialists dispensed the drug, and wrote prescriptions, without weighing the drug.
3 times over the period of Benny's treatment, I questioned the safety and dose of this drug. At the beginning, I flagged that this drug is used increasingly less to treat humans because of the risk of Aluminium toxicity. Each time, my concerns were dismissed. Eventually, after the third time I questioned the safety and dose, Dr Joanna White and her colleague agreed that the dose was excessive, and it was then reduced, and soon after, it was withdrawn, at my request. Too late for my little boy, who had become sicker and sicker, as she had continued to escalate the dose of this toxic drug, for which NO SAFE DOSE has been established (hence the reason it could only be used OFF LABEL. It was also used without my informed consent).
After withdrawing Benny from SASH, he was treated at Sydney Veterinary Emergency and Specialists (SVES) at Rosebery, which proved to be a more caring and dilligent hospital. Ben improved initially when the drug was withdrawn, but tragically, it was too late, as my precious little boy's body was devastated by the toxic effects of this drug. Ben meant the world to us, and we did everything possible to save him. On the last day, whilst in hospital at SVES, Ben finished up having seizures, and there was no option but euthanasia. I feel completely broken hearted and destroyed by what SASH did. SASH let down both Bennys, and BETRAYED MY TRUST over and over again. SASH did not care about my little boy when treatment went wrong, and does not care about his grieving family. They failed to investigate both Benny's deaths, and it looks like they all went out of their way to cover up their mistakes. Failing to investigate serious complaints is consistent with covering up mistakes. The Directors have refused to answer any questions about either Benny's treatment. Just another slap in the face to a grieving family. I will be lodging a complaint with the Veterinary Practitioner's Board, and various other authorities. And I will be taking the matter further.
N.B. if your cat or dog has been treated for a kidney or thyroid condition, I would be interested to hear about your experiences. Please contact me.
Michelle Alber
President, Sydney Pet Rescue & Adoption Read Less