The Dunedin resident is still waiting for the much-needed surgery she was told would take place in May last year.
This follows Dunedin Hospital’s recent delays to some scheduled surgeries amid staff shortages and an overwhelmed emergency department, as reported by the Otago Daily Times last month.
Miss Patrick said she had spent the last year struggling to cope with extreme tiredness and constant sickness, but the health system appeared indifferent.
"They just don’t care.
"I feel like because I don’t have a lot of money, or insurance, I don’t matter," she said.
She was waiting for a tonsillectomy and an operation to help her breathe through her nose, as well as a wrist operation to take place at the same time.
In February last year, May was given as the date for surgery, but her situation had now continued unresolved for more than a year.
Waking up, her head would feel foggy and she would be "absolutely knackered", although she would try to put on a brave face.
"In an hour, I would stop breathing 30 times for over a minute.
"[The specialist] said essentially I’m getting two hours sleep a night."
This left her feeling constantly unwell, and she was afraid of driving because of the risk of falling asleep at the wheel, even for just a moment.
Despite the support of "amazing" colleagues, she felt her job as an childhood teacher — a role she needed to be constantly alert for — was in jeopardy due to her condition.
As getting to bed as early as possible for up to 13 hours of sleep was always a priority, it also impacted her social connections.
She had rung the hospital several times to check when surgery might go ahead, and was most recently told her information could not be found but the hospital would call her back.
"I’m heard nothing at all, from anyone."
Recently the situation had improved, as after a year of waiting the hospital had provided her with a continuous positive airway pressure machine.
Wearing this while sleeping, she felt a lot better.
However it was difficult to wear, did not help her frequent bouts of tonsilitis, and was only a stop-gap measure.
"It would be a lot better if I had surgery to open up my airways."
Her doctor and a respiratory specialist had both written advising the hospital the surgery needed to go ahead.
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand Southern interim hospital and specialist services leader Hamish Brown said urgent treatment was prioritised for the most acute patients, which could result in planned procedures being delayed.
"Te Whatu Ora Southern apologises to any patient who has experienced deferrals in planned care, and when an expected correspondence is not received in a timely manner." he said.
"We know this can be distressing and frustrating and we sympathise with these patients."
A national multi-year plan programme was being developed to address the backlog.
There were currently 709 patients on the ear, nose and throat surgery waiting list in Dunedin, and the average time they had been waiting was 163 days.
It was against HNZ policy to comment on individual patients, he said.
The day after the Otago Daily Times put questions to Te Whatu Ora, Miss Patrick said she had been contacted about her situation and her surgery was now set to take place next month.
