"Post Op Care"

I went in for surgery recently. My surgeon had informed me I would be staying overnight. 

When I woke up in recovery, I informed the nurses I had a bad headache and let them know when I’d fasted from and they got me a cool face washer. They said they would organise some sandwiches as I hadn’t eaten for so long now. While I laid there, they stood there having a personal conversation while I was trying to tell them I felt sick, but due to the personal conversation going on, I was left there on my own feeling extremely nauseous. When one nurse came close enough I was able to grab their attention and they gave me a sick bag and they wheeled me off to the ward. 

Once in the ward, I told them I was starving and they informed me they’d get me some sandwiches. In the meantime, they hooked me up to a BP cuff and oxygen saturation monitor as well as the IV I still had attached to my other hand. The BP machine was right at the end of the bed and I couldn’t move; I tried to pull it closer but I’d just come out of surgery and was too weak and I couldn’t reach my buzzer. Once my sibling arrived, they were was able to move the remote close enough for me to call for a nurse to unhook me so I could go to the toilet. 

When the nurse came back, they saw I was eating a snack my sibling had brought and said they could get me sandwiches. I said yes please I’m starving as I was still waiting for these sandwiches they’d been telling me about. The sandwiches never came. 

I had nurses telling me I could go home but my surgeon had told me I would be staying and I was confused as to what was going on and I ended up telling them I was staying as that was what had been planned. As well as never being given sandwiches, I was never given dinner and had to buzz to ask if I was getting anything to eat and the nurse scrounged up a cup of soup and sandwiches finally. 

After being discharged the next morning I spoke to my surgeon's office about a follow-up appointment where they informed me the surgeon was away and I couldn’t get an app for four weeks. I was concerned about not having my wound checked for this long and spoke to a nurse at the hospital whilst back there visiting a patient. They were great and said we could organise an appointment at the hospital to check the wound in two weeks' time and someone would be in touch.

Three days later, I was still waiting to hear about this appointment so I rang the hospital and spoke to two different people - one that answered the main number and then one in patient services I think it was. I explained to both people how I’d just had surgery and had spoken to a nurse about an appointment at the hospital as my surgeon was away and four weeks is a long time to wait for a wound check. I believe the second lady I spoke to was so rude and said they would love to know what the nurse told me, and that I could make an appointment and to go and see my GP if I want the dressing changed - a dressing change is not what I was after. 

So thanks to Central Gippsland Health for, what I feel is poor post-op care and a negative experience.