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"Poor ultrasound experience"

About: Gloucestershire Royal Hospital / Gynaecology

(as the patient),

I was due to have an ultrasound on my womb and was told to drink two pints of water one hour before, which I did. I also brought with me a further one litre bottle of water as I had been suffering with an upset stomach due to nerves of having the ultrasound.

I got to the appointment early and ended up being called in around 15 to 20 minutes to when the start of my appointment should have been. Once in the room, the nurse conducting the ultrasound didn't speak to me to begin with and just seemed generally angry or impatient. Then they said that my bladder wasn't full and they couldn't complete the procedure, asked very accusingly had I even drank the water I was supposed to. I said I had but that I had diarrhea so not sure if that would make a difference.  They proceeded to roll their eyes like they didn't believe I had drank the water and turned their back on me and sat down at the desk.

I mentioned I had more water with me, could I go and drink some and try again in 15 minutes (when the start of my appointment should be) and they said it takes longer than 5 minutes for it to pass through, but in such a tone as to make it sound like I was being thick. Prior to this, I had told them that I was told to say that I wasn't to have the internal examination, so this would mean that we wouldn't need the full time regardless. But they just told me that I would have to re-book and I ended up back in my car 10 minutes before the start of my actual appointment.

I tried to call from the car park and make a new appointment for the same day as I had to travel a long distance and take time off from work to be there. Unfortunately, after 30 minutes on hold, I was told that there were no other appointments available but they did tell me the reason I was seen early was because the previous person was a no-show.

I couldn't stop crying once I came off the phone, it was such a terrible experience in the way I was spoken to and treated. It could have gone so much differently if they had just seen me when my appointment should have been or been more understanding rather than treat me like an idiot or like I was wasting their time. Unfortunately, I cannot bring myself to go back to have the ultrasound and will just have to hope that I am actually okay despite the symptoms I have been experiencing. 

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Responses

Response from Jean Tucker, Patient Experience Improvement Manager, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 10 months ago
Jean Tucker
Patient Experience Improvement Manager,
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Submitted on 05/06/2023 at 14:10
Published on Care Opinion at 14:10


picture of Jean Tucker

Good afternoon

Thank you for taking the time to feedback to us about the poor experience that you had in radiology. I will forward your comments to the department so that they may reflect and learn from your experience.

I would urge you to make another appointment for an ultrasound as they are so important

Once again, I apologise for the experience that you had - we try hard to ensure all women are put at ease during ultrasounds and although we failed to reach the standard that you should expect, I would hope that in future appointments you would see a better version of our Trust.

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