Hospital says it’s sorry for leaving patients in limbo
Two patients have received apologies from Waikato District Health Board over its failure to follow up on operations.
A woman who had a hysterectomy never received a follow- up check with her surgeon, despite ringing Waikato Hospital twice to ask for one.
And a teenager who underwent a specialised and risky spinal operation at the hospital last December has not been checked by the surgeon since.
Clytia Whyte, 33, was expecting a six- week follow- up with her surgeon after the operation in May but the appointment letter never arrived. When she rang Waikato Hospital to ask why, she was told the gynaecological follow- up clinic was closed so doctors could attend to new patients.
Whyte, a mother of one, said her life was in limbo because she still had pain and complications and she wanted advice from her surgeon including information on the results of the operation. She said she was appalled at the lack of post- operative follow- up care.
Euan Cameron, 18, was in a similar situation after a complicated eighthour operation. He said he didn’t know if his pain level was normal, what effect the painkiller Tramadol would have, when to start applying for jobs or what his limitations were.
He was checked once by another doctor in a follow- up visit at Waikato Hospital in mid- January but since then he has been on his own.
On Thursday the Herald revealed 13 orthopaedic surgeons criticised bosses at Waikato District Health Board for blocking them from patients needing post- operative follow- ups and repeatedly postponing some elective surgeries to meet health targets.
Waikato Hospital services executive director Brett Paradine claimed it was miscommunication but Cameron and Whyte’s cases show the situation has been ongoing.
The DHB was at risk of losing millions in health funding if it breached the Government- imposed targets including for First Specialist Assessments, where a patient must be seen within four months of being referred by a GP.
Yesterday Paradine apologised to both patients and offered Whyte a new appointment.
He said there was a problem with follow- up bookings in Women’s Health earlier this year and Whyte’s appointment was missed.
“The outpatients clinic is definitely not closed to follow- up appointments and we are very sorry if this is the message she received,” he said. “We wrote to GPs earlier this year to let them know they should contact us if they had any concerns about individual patients who they felt were not being seen in a timely manner.”
Cameron’s Rotorua- based mother, Sarah Cameron, was surprised her son had not been checked by his surgeon, Hamish Deverall, since the spinal fusion operation.
She said her son was scheduled for follow- up in March but when he rang to rearrange the appointment he was told he would have to go to Wellington Hospital because he was living in the capital. Wellington Hospital referred him back to Waikato.
“I’ve just had no luck really because it will just go back and forth.”
In the end Cameron had to guess the best time to begin a job because there was no way to contact the surgeon.
Paradine said Cameron saw a registrar in his first follow- up. He said records showed Cameron advised he no longer required the March 15 appointment because he had moved.
“It i s not unusual if someone moves out of the Waikato area that their follow- up care is carried out by another DHB in their local area.”
There was no record of Cameron being referred back to Waikato, Paradine said.
“We apologise if there was any confusion and are very happy to talk to the patient to explain the situation, if he’d like to get in touch with us.”
Euan Cameron