"Post surgery treatment"

I was admitted to Fremantle hostpital for a tonsillectomy and stayed over night. The night I stayed I was in excruciating pain after surgery and asked for stronger pain relief to have the nurses tell me that there were no doctors on and I’d have to make do with Panadol and nurofen until the morning. I barely slept from the pain from fresh surgery and was in tears by the morning. The dr didn’t write me a script until the next morning and only prescribed me 2.5mg of oxy to be taken 8hourly. 

I understand the standard post tonsillectomy medication given is 10mg every 8 hours. I was not discharged with any post care instructions or antibiotics and told they would follow up in 6 weeks.

Recently I have had the most painful 8 days in my entire life. I presented to FSH ED and it was only by the 4th time that I believe I was treated adequately and am now finally on the mend. 

The first time the junior doctor only prescribed me 5 tablets of 5mg of oxy and told me to take that every 8 hours for pain, they said it looked like it could be infected but wasn’t sure. I was discharged.

Second time they told me the same and the junior dr gave me another script for 10, 5mg tablets and said if I needed more I’d have to contact the surgeon who did my operation. Not once did anyone check for an infection or try figure out why my pain was so severe, I couldn’t eat or drink and ended up going 72 without food.

The 3rd presentation we were made as a category 5 and waited 4.5 hours until we left and I went home in serious pain. I rang Fremantle hostpital to speak to the surgeon but it was the weekend and they weren’t available so they told me to go to emergency or a GP.

I went to my GP and they took one look at me and told me I looked absolutely terrible, I’d lost 5kgs and I definatley looked to have an infection so they wrote me a letter asking for me to have an ENT review and told me to go back to emergency. I went back to emergency, gave them the letter and then sat in absolutely excruciating pain for 5 hours.

I was finally seen by a junior doctor who wrote down everything I told them that had happened and listened to my concerns and got a senior doctor who was seemingly appalled by the apparent inadequate medicating and post care of Fremantle hostpital and also from the other doctors I had seen in emergency that week.

They gave me antibiotics and a script for a box of 10mg of oxy. Finally after 9 days of feeling like I was going to die, not be able to eat/drink/talk; I am starting to get my pain under control and the infection and inflammation is going down. I’m so scared to think what would have happened if I had been seen by another doctor that night. 

9 days of the worst pain in my life that I believe could have been prevented if Fremantle had have discharged me with correct medication and post care information or follow up. 

I’m absolutely disgusted and have no faith in the health system whatsoever after this mess. I work casual (not by choice) and I’ve had to take 10 days off work non paid and won’t be back anytime soon as I’m still on the mend. 

I will be putting in formal complaints as I feel this level of care is not what I pay my taxes for. I believe this level of care is disgusting!