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"Day surgery"

About: Fremantle Hospital and Health Service

(as the patient),

Was booked in for surgery recently. Fasted as asked to and arrived at 6:30am, as asked to. I have no family in Perth and was told I would need care after surgery so my mother flew over for the procedure. 

After sitting in day admission for 7 hours fasted (surgery gown on, blood tests and everything complete) my nurse finally came and got me to put my belongings away and get ready to move to theatre (mother had left at this point as it had been a long wait). As my nurse walked me down the hall a surgeon who I had met earlier moved me back into my bay where she told me my surgery had now been cancelled. There was clearly a lack of communication as the nurse was told it was my turn. I had waited 7 hours at this point, fasted for more than 13 hours. Extremely hungry, tired, and emotional. I had received no communication as to what was happening all morning. I was then told I would be put back on the wait list. Which I had already been on for 4 months - I leave WA in 3 months. I will have no family here for surgery now and my mother will not be able to come back over as we had to move all our commitments around for this surgery as it was. Very disappointed with the lack of communication. How surgery can completely just be cancelled after hours of sitting and waiting, and with no date given to me to reschedule?! I think this is an appalling system! 

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Responses

Response from Janet Zagari, Executive Director Transformation, South Metropolitan Health Service, South Metropolitan Health Service 5 years ago
Janet Zagari
Executive Director Transformation, South Metropolitan Health Service,
South Metropolitan Health Service
Submitted on 1/08/2018 at 4:23 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 4:40 PM


picture of Janet Zagari

Dear jas,

Thank you for posting your story on Patient Opinion. I was sorry to hear that your surgery was cancelled at such late notice.

Unfortunately on occasion we do have to cancel planned surgeries. Surgery lists are booked to full capacity to take full advantage of the surgical resource. Sometimes an earlier surgical case on the same list is much more complex than expected which reduces the time available for the other listed patients.

I apologise that the nursing team were not able to advise you earlier in the day that your surgery would not go ahead. We will endeavour to ensure that patients who may be impacted by having their surgery cancelled because of the scenario noted above are communicated to in a more timely and frequent manner. Sometimes this does not occur in the hope that we will manage to complete all surgery cases listed and do not wish to cause any undue distress to patients.

I note your special circumstances where you had no family support in Western Australia and your mother had flown in to support you. These circumstances should have been taken into account when we were scheduling your place on the surgical list and in the decision to cancel and I apologise that they were not.

Our sincere apologies for not managing to complete your surgery on this occasion.

Janet Zagari

Executive Director Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group

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