"Being a patient"

I was booked into Manjimup Hospital for a colonoscopy during the Coronavirus Pandemic. A few days prior, there was a National Government directive to cancel all procedures except category 1 and urgent category 2. The day after that directive, I saw the anaesthetist and filled out all relevant documents for the hospital. Went to hospital to drop documents off to the doctor’s nurse and go over final instructions and sign paperwork. The nurse at the hospital even said that they were surprised that the procedure was still going ahead. But I hadn’t heard from the doctor's surgery so continued with what I had to do.

I woke the day before the procedure morning and started only drinking clear fluids and stopped eating as directed by the doctor. I rang the doctor's surgery in Bunbury that morning to confirm if my procedure was cancelled or still going ahead. I didn't want to start the long cleaning process and the doctor then ring up to says it was cancelled. The receptionist on the phone said it was still going ahead, but they did ask if I had had an ECG. I said no, why. They said it's OK, they just had to ask. I found this all very strange.

So in the afternoon, I proceeded with the doctor's directions to start the cleansing process so I was ready for the next morning. The morning of my procedure, I woke after a very wakeful night with running to the loo and stopped my last fluids early in the morning.

My spouse dropped me off at the hospital. When I got to the counter in the ward to advise I was there, the administration were surprised as I wasn't on the list that was sent through to the hospital. I said I hadn't had a phone call advising it was cancelled and I have done the preparation for the colonoscopy. I felt so upset.

The hospital staff were amazing and so friendly. The administrator assisted me and was so gentle as I was already feeling light-headed from the cleansing process and not eating in 24 hours. The hospital staff ran around sorting the theatre list and managed to add me to the end of the list and the procedure was done.   The hospital staff were just wonderful. Well done Manjimup Hospital staff.