Patient’s spirits sink as lengthy wait for surgery drags on
A woman whisked to Waikato Hospital for urgent surgery on her broken leg has endured an 11-day wait in the wrong ward.
A fall from a horse on June 17 left Georgina Lloyd largely immobilised with her foot skewed to one side. She needs screws and plates for her snapped tibia and fibula to heal. However, she said she endured a seven-hour wait ‘‘pretty much immobilised’’ in the Waikato ED after an ambulance transferred her from Thames Hospital.
That was followed by a much longer wait in a bed in the Ear, Nose and Throat ward – without any fresh gowns or bedsheets – until hospital staff apologised on Monday night.
Lloyd has begun each morning as a nil by mouth, meaning no food or drink from 2am until 10am. And every day at 10am, she learnt that her surgery would not go ahead that day.
By day 10, she said she had become a ‘‘broken soul’’.
‘‘I’ve seen people come and go in my ward. I’ve seen someone else with a similar injury come in on Saturday and they were talking about doing her today. I just don’t understand. I’m really starting to think maybe you’ve got to be loud and obnoxious to get anything done.’’
Lloyd’s attempts to get moved into the private health system had been unsuccessful because ACC needed paperwork she could not get hold of.
Meanwhile, a ‘‘practically inhumane’’ lack of hygiene had added to her almost two-week discomfort, she said. In the ear, nose and throat ward, she said her bedsheets and gown were not changed and she spotted faeces smeared across the bathroom wall which did not get removed.
Things have not gone to plan – DHB
After RNZ contacted Waikato District Health Board on Monday night, Lloyd was moved into the orthopaedic ward, given a fresh hospital gown and bedsheets and told she was third on the surgery waitlist.
The health board told RNZ staff had met with Lloyd to discuss her concerns and to extend their sincere apologies.
In a statement, it explained it had been scheduling extra acute theatres to cope with high demand. But, in Lloyd’s case, it conceded things had not gone to plan.
‘‘We agree that in this case there was a lack of clear communication with this patient with regard to their treatment plan and this has contributed to confusion and concern.’’
It said the condition of the ward, as described by Lloyd, was also not up to standard.
‘‘What you have described is not an acceptable level of cleanliness and we will undertake an audit of the relevant area to ensure it is being cleaned to an appropriate standard.’’ —RNZ