Judith Jolly described her experience at the hospital as “chaos” during the holiday period after receiving conflicting information from “a different staff member every day” and being told the delay in diagnosis was due to staffing shortages.

Mrs Jolly, 72, was vomiting bile and in significant pain for six days before her family decided to call the hospital’s “emergency response” number. They had been told fluid taken from “areas of concern” in her abdominal cavity would take up to 10 days to be analysed.

“I was as crook as a dog throwing up for days,” Mrs Jolly said.  “It just seemed no one in the department knew what to do because they kept saying to me that it was the wrong time of the year and everyone in the hospital was running on skeleton staff.”

Mrs Jolly presented to the Calvary Mater Hospital on Friday, December 30, with “significant abdominal pain” and symptoms of constipation, but she was transferred to a bed in gynaecology at the John Hunter after x-rays and blood tests revealed a “potentially serious” health problem. But her son, Peter Jolly, said that was all they knew for five days.

He said a doctor from another department, general and abdominal surgeon Dr Jon Gani, intervened on day five after becoming concerned about Mrs Jolly’s “dark bile”. He was worried about a “mass” causing a bowel obstruction. Despite the doctor requesting Mrs Jolly be given food intravenously, as she had not eaten in five days, the family was told there was “no one available” to connect the line.

Mr Jolly said results began arriving after he called the emergency response number. They were told the surgeon, gynaecological oncologist Dr Ken Jaaback, would return from annual leave early to perform the “urgent” seven hour surgery the next day. Mrs Jolly was diagnosed with fallopian tube cancer, which had spread to her ovaries and bowel.

“Why is the NSW Government making retail shopping centres open on public holidays – and it’s packed with staff – but won’t adequately staff a hospital like this one, which should be saving lives?” Mrs Jolly said.

The family has issued a formal complaint to John Hunter Hospital.

Hospital general manager Debbie Bradley said consistent nurse-to-patient ratios were maintained in holiday periods, and consultant level medical staff were rostered on. During reduced activity periods, plans and protocols were in place for subspecialties, such as gynaecological oncology services. She said clinicians initially suspected Mrs Jolly had a bowel obstruction, the management for which included a “rest” period where the patient could not eat or drink. She said a review of Mrs Jolly’s medical record had shown her care and treatment was clinically appropriate and consistent with care at any other time.

“Pathology testing of biopsies for a definitive diagnosis can take up to 10 days because they require specialised processes and review by a pathologist,” Ms Bradley said.

“The definitive diagnosis directs appropriate surgical intervention and care because an abdominal mass can have a variety of causes, including ovarian, bowel, bladder, gall bladder or pancreatic cancer. Each of these would require treatment by different subspecialties.”