"Inadequate care recovering from Open Heart Surgery"

I want to make it clear that the doctors and the majority of nurses at Fiona Stanley Hospital who cared for my parent from their admission through to CCU, Ward 4D, and ICU were amazing and extremely caring.

However, after my parent was transferred from ICU to Ward 4C, I believe the care they received reflected an inadequate standard of care and conduct that could reasonably be considered unprofessional and neglectful.

My parent became linked with Fiona Stanley Hospital after we attended the Emergency Department in August 2025. In October 2025, they were was admitted to CCU and shortly after was transferred to Ward 4D in preparation for surgery. My parent underwent CABG and a valve replacement and remained in ICU for a few days following the procedure. We were informed that there were complications and that their recovery was slower compared to other patients. For several days, my parent was unable to speak properly and took longer to respond. A brain scan was performed, and I was initially told that the results were normal.

Eventually, my parent was transferred to Ward 4C. This is when I feel the standard of care they received significantly declined. At this point, my parent was only three to four days post–open heart surgery. It is reasonable to expect that a patient recovering from such a major surgery would be closely monitored, regularly checked, and appropriately attended to. I was with my parent every day from morning until night from the first day they were admitted. They went from receiving excellent care to receiving what I feel to be inadequate and, at times, “barely enough” care from nurses and junior doctors in Ward 4C.

Most days, this ward appeared to have only two nurses, and on a good day, three. The nurses’ station was unattended for most of the day.

When my parent was commenced on warfarin, we were advised that their blood levels needed to be checked daily. However, their observations were not done regularly. There were multiple occasions where nurses only attended to administer medication, with no checks or monitoring performed. Following surgery, my parent experienced several ongoing issues. I reported instances where they became confused, as well as severe dizziness and nausea that made it difficult for them to get out of bed. I recall a doctor stating that another scan and eventually an MRI would be required to assess my parent's condition. This did not occur at that time.

My parent also experienced incontinence issues following the surgery. On one occasion, when they had an accident, they attempted to clean themselves without assistance because they had rung for a nurse and no one attended.

On the first day my parent was transferred to Ward 4C, the wound dressing on their leg came off and was never redressed. Even when the wound was weeping, we were advised by a nurse that it needed to air-dry to heal. Fast forward to now, this wound is open, infected, and requires daily dressings due, I believe, to not being properly cared for. My parent is diabetic, which makes this especially concerning.

Within two to three days of being in Ward 4C, I noticed a significant decline in my parent. They stopped eating, and their mood and behaviour were consistently low. When I asked them if they were okay, my parent told me they just wanted to go home because they felt uncared for.

I raised my concerns with two nurses. One nurse dismissed my concerns and defended the staff. I then spoke with another nurse who appeared to show more care and understanding. I explained everything that had been happening and advised that since being moved to Ward 4C, my parent had not been receiving adequate care. I specifically raised concerns that their blood levels were not being checked and that regular observations were not being done. This nurse suggested that these checks may have been completed in the morning. I was very firm in stating that this had not occurred for at least two to three days, as my parent would normally inform me when these checks were done. I explained that given my parent had undergone major surgery, I expected their care to increase rather than decrease; however, I feel the opposite had occurred.

Following this conversation, the next day we were informed that my parent was being transferred back to Ward 4D. Upon their arrival in Ward 4D, I overheard a nurse state that no notes had been handed over and that there was no pending workup documented. I had to explain my parent's symptoms and history from the beginning, as though no information had been provided about what had occurred since their transfer from ICU.

The care in Ward 4D did improve. However, there appeared to be significant gaps in information, and the nurses in Ward 4D were unaware of important details. We were also kept in the dark regarding what had occurred during my parent's time in Ward 4C.

Eventually, my parent did undergo an MRI of their brain; however, we were never informed of the results. The next thing we were told was that my parent was being transferred to Bunbury Regional Hospital for rehabilitation. This occurred after they had been in Fiona Stanley Hospital for four weeks.

My parent then spent an additional two weeks at Bunbury Regional Hospital. Staff there expressed surprise that we had not been informed of the MRI results prior to my parent's transfer. It was at Bunbury Regional Hospital that we were finally advised that my parent had suffered mini strokes during surgery and had small blood clots in their brain, which explained why their recovery would take longer.