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Urgent appendix removal

Posted By hippohr76

"Urgent appendix removal"

About: Royal Perth Hospital / General Surgery & Ward 6H

(as the patient),

I knew that there was something wrong and that it wasn’t going away so went to a local GP that afternoon and was given a letter for the hospital ED.

I feel it must have been clear that it was an appendix issue and this would need to be removed, because I was put on a pathway towards surgery and moved through the hospital smoothly.  Processes happened around me and the surgical team saw me after I had been prepared for surgery on the ward.  There was no unexpected delay and surgery happened in the afternoon and I spent a night on the ward, recovering from the anaesthetic and starting my surgery recovery.  

I was discharged to home the next day and in my own bed by the afternoon.  I was in the hospital for about 42 hours.  It was a seamless and reassuring experience for someone with significant anxiety about healthcare.

There were two aspects of my care that were significant.  

1. I came out of the anaesthetic very distressed.  I was later told this is a recognised thing known as ‘emergence agitation’, which made sense once I was aware of it.  There may be a case for adding this to the information given about anaesthetic reactions, so that it may be a bit less terrifying.

2. I felt the night staff were noisy and disrespectful, socialising and calling out in the corridor, making sleep impossible for me.  Even when asked to not be noisy, it still continued.

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Responses

Response from Ben Noteboom, Executive Director, Royal Perth Bentley Group 8 months ago
Ben Noteboom
Executive Director,
Royal Perth Bentley Group

Submitted on 14/08/2023 at 11:25 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 11:36 AM

picture of Ben Noteboom

Dear hippohr76

Thank you for taking the time to share your story on Care Opinion.

It is a worrying time when your health deteriorates to such an extent it requires a hospital admission, and even more so as you are already aware of how anxious this makes you feel. It was therefore pleasing to read that from the moment you commenced your healthcare journey at Royal Perth Hospital the treatment and care you received was seamless. I will take great delight in sharing your words of appreciation with the medical and nursing professionals involved in caring for you.

I was very sorry to hear of your post-anaesthetic reaction after surgery. While these episodes are a known complication occurring during the recovery period, they are fortunately generally short in duration, with the patient receiving close monitoring by the Recovery Nurse who is skilled in post-anaesthesia care. When patients are booked electively for surgery, a pre-admission anaesthetic review provides the Anaesthetist chance to discuss any perceived complications including ‘emergence agitation,’ especially if the patient has experienced this previously. Regrettably, as your diagnosis and admission for surgery was expedited swiftly this did not happen, and I acknowledge that this must have been a very distressing time for you. The Head of Department for Anaesthesia has been made aware of your feedback and we thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Night staff do make every effort to minimise noise in an attempt lessen the impact on patients; however, the Nurse Unit Manager for Ward 6H has been made aware of your comments and will discuss your feedback with their team. This is a timely reminder for all our Royal Perth Bentley staff to ensure patients feel comfortable in their environment, regardless of the time of day.

Thanks again for sharing your experience on Care Opinion, so that we can learn and improve the care we deliver to our patients and the community.

I wish you all the best in your recovery.

Kind regards

Ben Noteboom

A/Executive Director

Royal Perth Bentley Group

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