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Your Day of Surgery
Bunbury Day Hospital is committed to providing you with expert medical care in a comfortable and caring environment. Here we guide you through your hospital stay, so you can understand what to expect from the time of your arrival through to your procedure, anaesthesia and subsequent recovery.
On Arrival
- Please sanitise your hands on arrival using the hand gel at reception. You will also see staff practising good hand hygiene throughout your admission.
- Our experienced team will check that your admission details are complete and correct and process any applicable health fund excess, co-payment or out-of-pocket expense.
- If you require a medical certificate, please let us know as early as possible so we can organise to have this ready for you before you go home.
Correct Identification
Whilst in hospital, you will be given an identification band to wear on your wrist. Staff will routinely check the information on your identification band to ensure your personal details and medical record are correct. For your safety, this will happen each time you are given medication and when handing your care over to another staff member.
Before Theatre
From reception our nurse will accompany you to the preoperative area where you can change into your hospital gown (if required). Your nurse will make you comfortable and prepare you for your procedure, confirming your:
- Personal details
- Procedure being performed
- Signed consent form
- Health history, medications and allergies
- Fasting status
Your nurse will take a set of observations (including your blood pressure, pulse and breathing rate, blood oxygen and blood sugar levels) and apply your compression stockings if necessary. For your health and safety, your nurse may also complete further assessments, such as Falls or Blood Clot risk assessments.
If you are feeling cold, please notify our staff, and we will provide you with a warm blanket. Here your Doctor and Anaesthetist will meet with you, review your Health Assessment form and answer any last-minute questions you may have.
Correct Site Surgery
We recommend you re-read your consent form before your procedure to make sure the information you consented to is correct from when you first signed the form. Please do this before you take any medicines that can make you drowsy.
Please confirm with our staff which part of the body you are having surgery on. Your Doctor may also mark the body part for surgery with a surgical pen. This mark must not be smudged or removed as the Doctor and nurse will view the marking before surgery commences.
Your Procedure
Our theatre nurses will then accompany you into the operating room and help you to move onto the operating table. Please advise our staff if the temperature in the room feels cold, and they will make you comfortable.
If you are undergoing general anaesthetic or intravenous sedation, your anaesthetist and their assistant will place an oxygen mask on your face, insert an intravenous drip into your arm and place adhesive dots on your chest to monitor your heart. Throughout your surgery, you will be well cared for by our specialised team, that includes your Doctor, Anaesthetist and nurses.
Your Recovery
After your procedure, you will awake in the specialised first stage recovery area where you will be closely monitored by our recovery nurse who will check your observations, wounds and any drains. Our recover nurse will closely assess your pain management and make you as comfortable as possible.
For paediatric patients, parents or carers are brought into the recovery area as soon as their child is awake.
Once your observations are stable and you are alert following your procedure, you will be transferred from first stage recovery to a recliner chair in the second stage recovery area where you will be offered light refreshments. The time spent in recovery is dependent on the type of anaesthetic given for your procedure and how well you are feeling.
Time Spent in Recovery
- General Anaesthetic – approximately two hours
- Intravenous Sedation Anaesthetic – approximately 30 minutes to 1.5 hours depending on your recovery
- Local Anaesthetic – once a normal set of observations are taken
From recovery, you will move to the discharge lounge which is an indication you are doing well. We will notify your family of your progress and you will soon be ready for discharge.
