Lung abscess treatment in 2 Thoracic surgery clinics in Melbourne

Husband went in for a minor procedure with an epidural. The admission forms were filled out accurately but once we were admitted the nursing staff did not understand what the term “ as required” meant when associated with a dosage regime even though we explained it twice politely. The senior nurse was aggressive and hostile tried to gaslight us, accused us of not knowing what we were talking about, effectively implying that we were stupid. So after the staff trying to insult, demean and belittle us, without success by the way, we foolishly assumed the matter as settled. Silly us! The next day, post surgery, a hostile nurse charged into my husband’s room and “told him off”. Unfortunately variations of the disrespectful behaviour continued. I arrived to find my husband upset, agitated and distressed. I came to the conclusion that it would be in his best interest to leave. It was a very unpleasant experience which we would not recommend to anyone. Needless to say we will never go to a St Vincent’s Hospital again! My husband felt disrespected, bullied and harassed.He was right. That is exactly what happened. Leaving resolved the problem with a minimum of fuss.

After staying overnight with my son for an Adenotonsillectomy surgery, I'm afraid to say that I was extremely disappointed with our overall experience. Although St Vincent's was not our first choice, we did not have the option of going to our preferred hospital due to the surgeons availability and the urgent nature of our request. Needless to say, I was not all that fussed initially as I have been an inpatient at many private hospitals and have never had a bad experience. However, unfortunately, St Vincent's did not live up to it's expectations and I've received better care at public hospitals over the years. For a start, the "room service" which requires the patient to phone the kitchen and place the order of their choice sounded like a fantastic idea to begin with however, they failed to advise that the kitchen won't always answer when you call and upon placing your order, there is up to a 45 minute wait to receive your meal. Too bad if your child is hungry or thirsty as we were trying to get through to them to order our breakfast for 1.5 hours with no success only to be told we could not go home until my son had something to eat - not sure how they expect that when there is no food for him to eat?! There's also no set meals so if you can't get through on the phone to place your order, you simply don't eat! Also, the food in general was of poor quality. All the "hot" meals we ordered were served cold and utterly tasteless. My son was in severe pain following the surgery and vomited during the middle of the night which warranted the call for a nurse as his bed sheets were all soiled. Whilst a nurse arrived promptly to our call for help, to clean up the mess, she simply pulled off the soiled sheets, threw a towel on the floor to cover the vomit which spilled off the bed and left the room, leaving my son to sleep in a half made bed with hardly any blankets. The next morning on our discharge day, there was only one nurse rostered on for the entire paediatric unit and she advised that her shift finished at 11am and she has to close the ward down which means all patients had to be discharged by 11am. Too bad if there were complications and your kid was required to extend their stay!! I don't blame the nurses as it's not their fault they are the only ones rostered on and the one who was, was doing her best considering. However, I am incredibly disgusted with the deplorable service provided by the hospital in general, considering we pay an arm and a leg for the best possible health care - it's a disgrace. I will never go back to that hospital and will stick to our preferred option in the future.

My son aged 6 had a Adenotonsillectomy which required an overnight stay. The Children's ward was cheerfully decorated in a dinosaur theme which also included a games area. The nurses were lovely and very thorough. We had a lovely experience. A great hospital and a fantastic Children's ward.

I don't know where to start from,I had a fall on Oct 7 2023 and ambulance took me to ED,I was attended fast and though I was high with green whistle but I can still say all the staff who attended me was very supportive. Mind it I never been to hospital in my full life. After I came out of theatre, I moved to orthopedic ward,some ward5 ..sorry don't exactly remember, but the Nursing staff there was so helpful and supportive they really tried there best,they talk positive they listen you ,understand you and took care of your dignity and privacy,after a week I moved to.plastic OMG the Nursing staff there was like an angles sorry I can't name anyone as they all were the best including an Asian uni student.what a great level of skills and patience the staff have.thank you very much all doctors and nursing staff to fix me up and taking a great care of me.will surely visit in person to pay my gratitude and to say thanks to all once am completely recovered. Wish you all a very merry x mas and a happy new year. Regards

You've been fantastic! Your positive attitude and kindness reassured my family that I was being looked after, and throughout my stay I felt I was in good hands. I am now feeling stronger, and I am feeling much more hopeful about my recovery. Kind regards, Saba

We were ask to attend for an elective planned surgery. This is a second procedure follow on from the first. The 1st admission process was smooth with minor hiccups that we overlooked because we were happy with the surgical outcome. The second procedure we were aware that we might be the 3rd listed for surgery. We were advised to attend for pre-admission procedure at 6.30 am. We did as we were told. The nurse advised us that we might be called in at 1130hrs to get ready to be taken to theatre. We waited, waited and waited and no call for theatre or a decency of an update on the delay. We attend RMH at the surgeon request which we know is best with the expert in the field here. We attended as private patient in a public system. We don't have any problem with that arrangement either. But someone who is highly anxious with heighten anxiety and a delay such as this is entirely unacceptable. It further exacerbated with such appalling poor communication. Providing the best health care does not stop at surgical outcome alone, but how the patient and the family made to feel the entire experience will be what constitutes best health care. I don't know this is a result of poor training where empathy is out of the window or complete complacency of the public system. If one were to admit to ED, with no bed within 4 hours will be a red flag. Not until we approached the reception staff we received an update. What has been a good encounter is tarnish by such lack of attention to basic courtesy of good communication. Very disappointing today.

Thursday 8th December 9.30pm to 2.30 Janice the nurse in emergency was amazing. She was kind and caring and looked after my son who was having heart problems. Thank you so much Janice! The doctor was also lovely A kind Irish man Very helpful, answering all of our questions.

my partner was taken into the ER on tuesday afternoon and spend all night and all morning wednesday there, the nurses were amazingly dutiful and took great care of both him and me. our nurse sarah went above and beyond for us and did her best to make us comfortable and keep him in the best condition possible at the time. i'm super thankful for all the nurses.

Long waits for surgeries and wait times can take over an hour for a booked appointment. A Dr or two aren’t helpful but staff do their best with the pressure and demand they are under. I have been going to this hospital since birth. They are doing more renovations so it should more upgraded within the next few years. Apart from that staff and nurses are great. Cafes and plenty of food and coffee to grab whilst you wait.

If you want to feel safe, respected and that you will recieve decent care, then don't go to this Emergency Department. The street from the car park to the ED is dark and deserted, the triage nurse was condescending and kept trying to put words int my mouth about my own pain to minimise it. The admin person was deadpan and complained that my doctor was not on their records at the same address I had for her. She kept looking at me like it was my mistake. The room seemed deliberately set up to get rid of people, the temperature was freezing cold, the television was so loud that people were having trouble hearing their name called. It also forced staff to yell names out, contributing to the excessive unreasonable amount of noise. Some poor baby was crying, clearly distressed, for half an hour (seemingly unattended) and three elderly people were left in cold uncomfortable seats that caused my body pain, so I hate to imagine their pain. And to top things off, the hand sanitiser was empty, so chances are if you touched anything, it would have germs on it. Just don't go there. Clearly they don't want you and you will be in more pain leaving than when you arrived.

The emergency staff and most of the nurses were fantastic. Once you reach the maximum subsidy they get from the commonwealth government regardless of how sick you are. You are moved to the ends of the hospital with no care or caring. I was told my private health insurance made no difference here and I should be in a private hospital. We wonder why our health system is so screwed up. This is a great indication why. I will be going private from now on. I know where my business is not wanted.

My friend was in hospital for 5 hours complaining she was unable to breathe due to a most likely respiratory infection. She got let into emergency pretty fast but then after getting a few blood tests and a cannula nothing else really happened. After the cannula, the doctor said she most likely had an infection, she asked them ‘what type of infection’ and he said ‘I don’t know, I’ve only known you for two minutes’. And then after waiting for a while, we asked another nurse if we could just get an update and she said ‘if we ask the doctors, that means they stop working’ and then opened our curtain and wouldn’t let us shut it because ‘she wouldn’t be able to see we were there’. Then after another hour we asked to leave and then the nice nurse that we liked said we could because they did all they could, when they could’ve told us that many hours ago. We still have no idea what is wrong with our friend #emo 😖

You will probably die before you get your waitlist surgery appointment date, unless another hospital saves you out of your misery. Stay away from this hospital as there is absolutely no compassion here!!

This was my fourth time at this hospital for post-surgery exercise, today I had two other people's records on my file. The staff member that was assigned to me, was confused because of this. I was there for my back exercise, not my hip or knee. You can only blame the Qld health office staff for this. THANK GOD I WAS NOT HAVING A OPERATION. ANOTHER MISTAKE FROM QLD HEALTH

I had a hemorrhage type stroke in the ER room after being denied the usage of Ryan's Rule, staff is extremely rude and unprofessional. Since the stroke I have been refused triage and denied medical treatment every time I attempt to present to emergency with the Doctor's very rudely telling me they aren't going to treat me and to go home during my acute medical episode which included my brain actively hemorrhaging. Have only ever received treatment when the Police have done an EEA which involved the staff drugging with me high amounts of Morphine the first time and Fentanyl the second time making me unconscious for the EEA before releasing me outside which resulted in me getting hit by a car. Incredibly disgusting behavior by an abhorrent group of staff and pathetic excuses for Nurses and Doctors.

I had self funded surgery here 6 weeks ago. My surgeon and anaesthetist were amazing. 10/10. The nurses I had when I came out of recovery were great. Attention to detail, caring, wonderful. The nurses I had the following day were average. The surgery cost $11950, I was in hospital less than 18 hours. My admission was messed up, so after fasting from 9pm for an 8am surgery, I wasn’t admitted until after 4pm. Surgery went great and was out of recovery by 8pm. The next morning I wasn’t given any fluids or anything and was discharged not long after waking. I was given the wrong discharge papers and medication scripts too. Please do better in future. I would definitely think twice about having surgery here again.

All the staff at the Wesley are amazing. Even when staff are super busy, they are friendly, they make time for you and your every concern. The staff look happy and appear to work as a well oiled team. Comfortable rooms and great food choices (including Vegan options) and service. Remember, it is a Hospital not a restaurant. It really is the best! Thank you Wesley

Professional staff, every nurse and doctors were amazing at the Wesley hospital. Special thanks to Dr GOUGH who performed an excellent thyroid operation.

Saved my life (twice). Had I been anywhere else I would be 6 foot under. Thank you so much to all the staff who helped me and medical records in particular Ms Gee who was highly competent. I would like to thank the surgeon and staff who operated on me. I simple do not understand the negative reviews here, try going to other parts of the world and see healthcare others have. Thank you.

I recently had a positive experience at Canberra Hospital, and I'm eager to share my feedback. Dr. Phillip, the surgeon, delivered an outstanding level of care, demonstrating expertise and professionalism throughout. Nurse Manita was incredibly cooperative, ensuring I felt comfortable and well-informed during my stay. The follow-up care from Nurse '' ROSE'' was exceptional—her kindness, care, and sweet demeanor made a significant difference in my overall experience. I appreciate the dedication and compassion displayed by the medical team at Canberra Hospital.

Very professional staff working efficiently and compassionately under enormous pressure due to a chronically underfunded hospital system. Many of the negative reviews reveal narrow minded attitudes and highly unrealistic expectations of a stressed public health system. We are lucky to have such a hospital in Canberra, which last I was aware is actually the second busiest trauma hospital in the nation- accepting patients not only from Canberra but transfers from regional areas and Sydney.

Waited since 11pm to be seen, at 5.30am was taken in to be seen by a doctor, 7am and still not seen by a doctor and asked to leave the room and bed as someone else needs it. Absolutely shocking. One doctor on. We are in Australia and cannot receive decent medical attention. Disgusted and will never return here. Triage staff rude.

UPDATE CANCELS Pediatric APPOINTMENT OF MY FIVE YR OLD NEPHEW A DAY BEFORE BY TEXT AND SAID ANOTHER APPOINTMENT WILL BE SENT OUT BY MAIL. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Looking abit disheveled bc of lack of sleep and nurse looks me up and down with a judgey look on her face and rolls her eyes. Honestly the nurses are awful. Trainee nurses can't hit veins and be disclosing personal information about themselves (that they take Zoloft, while forgetting to tell drs I need pain medication, put hot tea in front of my face nearly permanently scarring my eye, also forgetting to ask Drs to check my cervix which nearly led to the loss of my baby and when it finally was checked baby was about to be born her head was past cervix expected to deliver baby on my own and i was unessasarly on heavy painkillers for longer which led to withdrawal symptoms for my child.) Honestly completely unprofessional if they're having a bad day. Old hospital is falling apart while private is upgraded. Honestly if your overworked you shouldn't be working. And that's part of your training. Completely alienated by the nurses looking after my child, it's literally fd up. No information on breastfeeding just yes or no and then a pump sent to my room. Resulting in potentially life threatening mastitis. Along with completely messing up my mental health the social workers seriously need to learn some decorum or at least basic manners.

80 year old woman sat in ED waiting room after botched abdominal surgery in regional hospital. Sat in wheelchair for about five hours in FMC ED after being hastily sewn up by regional surgeon. No pain relief given, eventually admitted into ED and given a bed around 11:00 pm, seen by doctor around 4:00 am the following morning… Eventually admitted to appropriate ward where the specialist and nurses have been brilliant!