"My patient story"

Long story short, my appendix wanted out. I presented at the local ED (Bunbury) one weekend morning in a great deal of lower abdominal pain. After sitting in the waiting room for a while I was seen by a nurse who quickly got me through & some much needed pain relief. After some indecision on what my problem was, I was given a CT Scan which found my appendix was inflamed & needed to come out. I was told at the time that I would be having the operation that evening/night. After some more waiting around & no further information given, I was told I was going to be admitted to the surgical ward for observation. After being admitted to the surgical ward later that night, was given more pain relief & hooked up to a drip or two. Throughout the night various obs were taken.

The night I was admitted to the surgical ward, my spouse was told that because of an emergency C Section be carried out in the one operating theatre I would have my operation the next morning & that I was second on the list. I believe the first patient on the list would be going into theatre in the morning & I would be going in a few hours after that. My scheduled time came and went, and the patient who was in before me was still in their bed next to me and clearly, in my opinion, getting very frustrated that they hadn’t had their surgery yet, and that they hadn’t been told anything. As you can imagine, by this time I knew there was no chance I was going to get my surgery anytime soon. Again, as with the patient next to me, I was given no information on what was happening. Anyway, the patient next to me went in later that morning & I eventually went in shortly after midday.

One nurse in particular was very good, Glenda, I believe this woman should be given a pay rise. She is brilliant at her job. She couldn’t do enough for her patients in every way.

Overall, I’d give my stay in Bunbury Hospital a very generous 5 out of 10. I feel I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone that was in pain, pre-op or post-op.