"Swan district hospital, lack care, no communication, kicked out far from home"

I was transferred to Swan District hospital from the local country hospital by ambulance for a huge abscess needing surgery. To my knowledge it was arranged so that the staff at the hospital were aware I was coming and that they were waiting for me so I should see someone fairly soon due to my condition at the time. I arrived at 2pm through the ambulance entrance. I had not had anything to drink since 8am and had a drip connected. They turned off the drip, put me in a wheelchair and sat me in a waiting area but every time someone opened the toilet door too far it whacked the abscess if I did not manage to stop it. So I waited, and waited. I was not given any pain relief, checked on or had the drip reactivated for the hours I waited. Eventually I was taken into a room where I was told that I was not expected, there was no paperwork, and I had to go through full triage then wait my turn. I insisted on pain relief and demanded that they find the paperwork. I felt that I was being called a liar when I said that I had been transferred by ambulance, through the ambulance entrance, and the paperwork should all be there unless it was lost. When they found it, I was transferred into emergency. At 6.30pm it seemed that word came through that everything had to hurry because they were waiting for me in surgery and they had been looking for me. I was taken into a ward at 6. 30pm, a nurse with a strong accent (that I could not understand) came along and told me to rush through filling in paperwork and get changed. Another nurse came and took over I think because it was taking too long because I could not understand the other nurse. By 7pm I was rushed out into surgery.

On the outside of a door into the theatres there was a sign that people with allergies must wear a red cap. I pointed out to staff that as I had an allergy so I should have a red cap. It seemed to me that they did not know what I was talking about. Only when they went back and looked did it seem that they knew I was right so they changed it.

About 8pm I was back in the ward. A tray was put beside the bed with sandwiches, ice cream and juice on it. An oxygen mask was put on my face, and I was told it was not to be removed. Half an hour later a nurse asked why I was not eating and drinking!

6. 30am the next morning I was given pain relief and told it was to cover a dressing change and shower. That never happened until 11am with no further pain meds. About 10am I was told they were putting the discharge papers together. I asked how I was to get home, and was told it was not up to them. They can only transport city people. I live a way outside of Perth. They eventually gave me a cab charge to Midland station and was told to get myself somewhere from there. 1pm they asked why I was still there because I should have been gone. I told them I was still waiting for the paperwork to come, which they tried to say I had been given. I overheard the staff talking outside the room and I believe they said the papers had been given to someone, and if it was not me then they did not have an idea who it was. So much for privacy.

At 2pm I was put into a taxi and told to find my way home. I had no further pain relief, and there was only one train that comes back here which does not leave until 5. 50pm and gets in at 7.10pm. I was told to entertain myself until then. Luckily I had enough to pay for the train and to get a taxi home from the local station, or I would have been stranded and had to try and get strangers to pay for me. It was just 18 hours from getting out of surgery to being kicked out on the streets alone far from home, in pain. By the time I managed to get home, I was sick, in pain, and had major swelling to the leg. To me it appeared obvious that this was apparently an acceptable way to treat a patient.