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Post operative care at DPU

Posted By Anotherpt

"Post operative care at DPU"

About: Albany Health Campus / Day Procedure Unit Albany Health Campus / Recovery

(as the patient),

I underwent gynaecological surgery last week at Albany Health Campus. Initially planned for day surgery however due to pain and nausea I stayed in overnight. I wish I had of gone home. 

Recovery-

Significant pain in recovery- told they won't be able to stop the pain. Moved to DPU whilst still experiencing increased pain and drowsiness.

Left for extended period in DPU with no call bell in significant pain- in tears. Curtain left open while other patients looked on. Unable to get the attention of any other nurses.

Eventually nurse returned, maybe 30 minutes later realising I was in pain. Pain improved slightly after medication but going up again shortly afterwards.

Offered overnight admission for pain relief. In DPU offered 1 cup of coffee at 4pm- able to tolerate small amount but nauseous- made to take tablets later with old cold coffee. No water provided from 9am that morning until 8pm that night.

Unable to eat due to nausea. Able to have jelly only from evening meal tray- nurse handed over 'tolerating diet and fluids' to morning staff. 

Assisted to walk around the corner to overnight bed whilst still drowsey to go to the toilet. No offer of replacement pad for PV loss therfore blood through bed overnight.

Given 1 cup of water when moved to nearby room. No additional water provided until midnight when needing to take medication. Despite asking for something for nausea and pain not given anything for nausea. Told no water jugs left and given 1 cup of warm water.

Placed in room with 5 other patients. Patient adjacent had severe sleep apnoea and refusing to wear CPAP machine. Loud snoring and gasping keeping all other patients awake. Same patient playing white noise on phone with frequent ads and notifications at high volume disturbing other patients- same not addressed by staff.

No sleep. Requested ear plugs early- no effect from same. Discharged without tolerating diet and minimal fluid. Represented to ED a few days later with dehydration. I believe, extended recovery due to impacts of treatment on DPU.

This would definitely be the worst care I have had when recovering from an anaesthetic. In a vulnerable state, already exhausted, my basic dignity was not considered. The nursing staff stated I had 'tolerated diet' when I believe that clearly just by looking at the meal tray you would have known I struggled to eat anything. I was given 2-3 small cups of water between 4pm until 10am the next morning. 

Although I understand beds within the hospital are limited, placing a patient with severe sleep apnoea in a room with 5 other patients- two of which were trying to recover from surgery- is, in my opinion, neither considerate of the other patients nor providing a suitable environment for recovery. 

I believe basic principles of post anaesthetic/post operative care were not provided. 

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Responses

Response from Kate Hambleton, Director, Albany Health Campus, WACHS GS 3 months ago
Kate Hambleton
Director, Albany Health Campus,
WACHS GS

Submitted on 22/05/2026 at 3:59 PM
Published on Care Opinion Australia at 4:18 PM

Dear Anotherpt,

Thank you for sharing your experience following your recent surgery at Albany Health Campus.

We are very sorry to hear about the difficulties you faced during your recovery. The pain, nausea, limited access to fluids, delays in assistance, and concerns around dignity and communication you describe are not the standard of care we aim to provide, and we sincerely apologise for the distress this caused.

Your feedback raises important concerns about pain and symptom management, hydration, responsiveness to patients, documentation, and the ward environment. We are also concerned to hear that you required treatment for dehydration after discharge.

Your experience has been shared with the relevant teams so we can review what occurred, reinforce expectations around post-operative care, and identify improvements to prevent this happening again.

We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you directly to better understand your experience. If you are open to this, please do not hesitate to contact the Patient Safety and Quality Team on 08 9892 2665, Monday to Friday.

Thank you again for taking the time to provide feedback. We are sorry this was your experience and appreciate you bringing it to our attention.

Kate Hambleton
District Director |Lower Great Southern
WACHS Great Southern
Email: kate.hambleton@health.wa.gov.au
9892 2222

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Anotherpt (the patient)

I'm following up on a previous CareOpinion post I made about my post-operative care at Albany Health Campus- which can only be described as horrendous. This one is about something more serious: my operative notes and my histopathology results from this surgery don't match, and nobody has told me what happened or why.

I had gynaecological surgery earlier this year. The operative notes say a specific type of cyst was identified and removed. The histopathology on the tissue that was actually removed says otherwise — it was something else entirely, unrelated to what I'd been monitored for.

I'd been under long-term surveillance for that original cyst for 10 years. A follow-up ultrasound after my surgery showed it's still there. Despite that, nobody involved in my care has properly acknowledged this discrepancy. Actually, during my post op review with someone who is not a gynaecologist, on learning of these results I was laughed at when I suggested they may have missed the targeted cyst. I was also told my pelvic pain and nausea couldn't possibly be from the pelvic surgery I had had. An ultrasound sourced from a second opinion confirms its still there, I had a traumatic laproscopy for nothing and I now have other post op complications.

I've also submitted a Freedom of Information request for more information about my surgery. Despite following up multiple times, I still don't have confirmation it's even being processed.

I was discharged from the public system without post op review from a gynaecologist with no way to have this reviewed independently — the only follow-up pathway offered would mean returning to the same specialist who performed the surgery in question, the same people who have laughed in my face and caused significant personal distress. Given the nature of what I'm raising, that is not an appropriate or acceptable review pathway.

I have had zero communication about a formal clinical review into this except a vague acknowledgement of my previous CareOpinion, despite raising it directly. I'd like to know:

* Whether a clinical review has actually been started

*Who's responsible for it

*What timeframe I can expect

I'm still dealing with ongoing, unresolved symptoms since this surgery that I believe are connected to this. I'm not just asking for myself — this raises real questions about surgical documentation accuracy and, in my opinion, whether open disclosure means anything to this health campus.

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