A mother has called out Joondalup Hospital after doctors delayed her son's appendicitis treatment and made her drive him to surgery herself, rather than in an ambulance.

Joondalup

Two patients have raised concerns about delays in receiving treatment for appendicitis at Joondalup Hospital. Sarah McLean reported that her 11-year-old son, Chase, waited over seven hours for intravenous antibiotics and was later transferred to another hospital for surgery, with staff indicating the situation could have become critical if delayed further. Similarly, former Perth radio host Heidi Anderson described waiting seven hours before leaving and only receiving surgery after returning with private scans. Joondalup Health Campus apologised to Anderson and stated that Chase was seen within recommended timeframes, explaining that young children are transferred for surgery as the hospital does not perform such procedures. The hospital also noted that appendix surgeries are typically scheduled for the following day to allow for fasting, but acknowledged that in Chase's case, this could have posed additional risk.

Joondalup Hospital under fire for delayed appendicitis treatment

Recovering at home after a traumatic ordeal. I knew just within me that something wasn't right. I'm just glad that I kept pushing and pushing. Sarah McLean took her 11-year-old son, Chase, to Joondalup Hospital last Tuesday morning in agony, telling staff of his unusually high pain threshold due to his autism and that she suspected appendicitis. He was seen by a doctor quickly, but it took more than seven hours to begin intravenous antibiotics. Sarah then told she'd have to drive him herself to the children's hospital with the drip in his arm. I was gobsmacked and I said, like, it's too dangerous. Finally taken in an ambulance but told it wasn't an emergency. She says it was another four hours at PCH before someone looked at his scans and he was rushed into surgery. They said to me, we were very lucky to get him in when we did because if we had left it any longer, it would have been a sepsis situation and he would have ended up in ICU. It was a similar story for former Perth Radio host Heidi Anderson, who waited seven hours at Joondalup Hospital with appendicitis before giving up and going home. Doctors only acting when she returned with private scans. When I got out of my surgery, one of the surgeons said to me, yeah, we're lucky we got it when we did. This story of mine is one of thousands and thousands and it just feels like no-one is listening. We know that when hospitals aren't properly resourced, that tragedy can happen. In a statement this afternoon, Joondalup Health Campus apologised to Heidi Anderson but it said it believed Chase's care was appropriate given that he was seen within the recommended time frame and that the hospital doesn't perform this type of surgery on young children, which is why he was transferred. They did note that appendix surgeries are usually done the following day to allow for patient fasting but in Chase's case, that could have been too late. Ursula?

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