Dubbo Base Hospital: Patient’s appendix burst while waiting for surgery in emergency department recliner

A patient’s appendix burst while sitting in a reclining chair for more than 24 hours in a regional emergency department because there were “no beds”. Here’s the latest.

Dubbo Base Hospital. Picture: Ryan Young

A patient with abdomen pain, found to be acute appendicitis, had his appendix burst while waiting for surgery after 24 hours in an emergency department’s recliner chair.

Kate Lees and her 21-year-old son Oliver presented themselves to the Emergency Department of Dubbo Base Hospital on September 11 about 9am after Oliver had two days of abdominal pain, where he was triaged within 15 minutes.

“They assessed him, organised for a scan, so that was all good. Then they realised he had appendicitis, and they said they would operate on him,” Ms Lees said.

However, there were no beds “so he was left in a reclining chair until Thursday”.

“He was starting to get in a lot of pain by this stage,” she said.

Oliver Lees’ appendix burst while he was seated in a reclining chair for more than 24 hours. (AAP Image/Richard Walker)

Ms Lees reiterated the nurse and other staff were “great” but, after sitting in a reclining chair for more than 24 hours, Oliver’s appendix burst.

“Even the doctor said it was a mess. He was worried that he was going to have to take some of his [Oliver’s] bowel,” she said.

“When I asked, ‘why did it take so long?’ he said ‘we just didn’t have a bed’.”

Ms Lees told this publication the surgery went as well, but she was not satisfied with the service.

She said the doctor wanted to discharge her son on Friday, but they stayed until Saturday morning as they live two hours from Dubbo.

Ms Lees said while Oliver was seated in the reclining chair, she asked the staff if it would be easier to go to another hospital, but they said, “it’s the same everywhere”.

“They’re all understaffed, it’s really disappointing. It’s a shame because Dubbo caters for such a huge area, and it still can’t cater,” she said.

Bureau of Health Information Healthcare revealed their latest quarterly report from April to June 2024, and recorded 10,488 attendances in Dubbo Base Hospital, an increase of 4.3 per cent, compared with the same quarter in 2023. Photo: Max Fleet / NewsMail

“We’ve got all these little hospitals which are great, but our local one can’t do surgeries, so we didn’t even bother stopping there for scans or anything.”

A spokesman for the Western NSW Local Health District said the hospital extend their “sincere apologies” to the patient and the family for their recent experience.

“We acknowledge the concerns raised and we are contacting the family to discuss their experience of care,” he said.

“The safety of our patients is our highest priority, and we work hard to ensure patients are triaged and treated within the required time frame for each patient’s level of urgency.”

Last week, the Bureau of Health Information Healthcare revealed its latest quarterly report from April to June 2024.

The report recorded 10,488 attendances in Dubbo Base Hospital, an increase of 4.3 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2023.

“Despite this increase in demand, the majority of patients (76.8 per cent) started their treatment on time at Dubbo Base Hospital, which is significantly better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (57.3 per cent),” the spokesman said.

In a separate statement, the spokesman said Dubbo Base Hospital performed 1029 planned surgeries during quarter, with all urgent planned surgeries performed on time.