Picture: SANDRA MORELLO
A MOUNT Gambier father has called on Western Victorian hospitals to change their day surgery discharge policies amid what could have been a catastrophic outcome for his family.
Nathan Schuster says the life of his precious 19-month-old daughter Ella hung in the balance after undergoing tonsil and adenoid day surgery at a Victorian hospital.
If it was not for the expedited efforts of Mount Gambier Hospital, the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide, his much loved daughter may not have survived.
“I actually thought I had lost my daughter at one point,” Mr Schuster told The Border Watch yesterday.
The concerned father said he wanted to speak out and push for change given many families took their children over the border for this type of surgery.
He is calling for Victorian hospitals to sweep in changes to ensure young children – who have undergone day surgery – must be admitted overnight.
“Why do (bad) things always have to happen, before something is done?” Mr Schuster questioned.
The father is expecting his partner Jen and precious daughter to return home today after days at the Adelaide hospital.
“Ella was booked in first thing Monday morning and she went into surgery around 8.30am South Australian time,” Mr Schuster revealed.
“After a few hours she was up, walking around and everything seemed fine and we were discharged around 3pm South Australian time.”
But it all started to unravel later that night after returning to Mount Gambier.
“Ella started grizzling, we tried to get her to sleep, but she would not settle. By this time it had been three hours so I said ‘right, I have a bad feeling’ so we took her to the Mount Gambier Hospital around midnight,” he explained.
According to the father, the hospital’s emergency department was swift and took her straight in.
“At this time Ella started to have a bleed and that’s when the doctors turned around and said to us they did not have the specialist there if this turns out to be a bad bleed,” Mr Schuster said.
Frighteningly, the couple was told Ella would need emergency surgery and the Royal Flying Doctors Service, along with the MedSTAR team was notified.
“The Flying Doctors and the specialised MedSTAR team arrived around 10.30am and in the meantime Ella had all the drips in and we got up to Adelaide by around lunchtime,” he said.
“We got to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital by ambulance.
“They had a team ready to go, looked straight over her and they were really concerned.”
Leaving for a short time to organise overnight accommodation, he was told on his return that Ella had suffered haemorrhaging.
“Ella lost a lot of blood and had to have blood transfusions – at that stage it did cross my mind that I may not see my daughter again,” Mr Schuster said.
“I looked at my partner Jen who was in tears – the medical staff told us to go and see Ella before they put her in.
“When I saw her I thought she was gone given the look on her face. She could not even put her head up.”
The medical staff told the couple the wound over the tonsils had not sealed over, which was causing the bleed.
“The doctors also told us we had done the right thing by taking her to the Mount Gambier Hospital and then being flown to Adelaide – it could have been a lot worse,” Mr Schuster added.
While he understood there was always “risks” with surgery and was happy with the service provided by the Victorian hospital, he said he was pushing for mandatory overnight hospital stays for young children who had undergone surgery.
“The staff were really friendly and the surgeon has been in contact with us since,” the relieved father said.
“Apparently in Victoria, it is standard practice to do day release with babies – I think that is ridiculous.”
Flabbergasted they were released with a 19-month-old baby, he believed there should be a minimum 48-hour admission time for certain age groups.
“I have been on the phone to the hospital and management has indicated they will look into the matter for people coming over from Mount Gambier,” Mr Schuster said.
“It just seems stupid that it is not already (in place). It is a long drive home in the car if something went wrong.”
He described the efforts of the Mount Gambier Hospital and the RFDS and the MedSTAR team as “awesome”.
