"A bit disappointed"

My optician told me this was a fantastic clinic, so I had high hopes, but even though the operation seems to have been successful – I haven’t had the six week check yet – I found the experience unpleasant. The man who welcomed me at the door was charming, but otherwise I thought the staff were physically slightly rough in the way treatment was administered. They were clearly in a hurry and afterwards I felt a bit like a sheep that had been rushed through the sheep dip.

Every time eye drops were administered during the preparation stage it was done very quickly and impatiently and on one occasion a scrunched up tissue was accidentally pressed hard into my other eye.

People were superficially pleasant enough and the surgeon seemed to know what he was doing but, again, the operation was done very quickly and slightly roughly.

I am only 61 but the majority of the patients were quite elderly, and I felt there was something a little bit inhuman in the treatment. Since passing the age of about 55 I have noticed that I am treated differently as a patient, and slightly more as if I am just an object. And that is what I felt like in this clinic, an object. Being female probably doesn’t help.

No doubt the workers at the clinic are under a great deal of pressure to meet targets and catch up with waiting lists, but I still think there should be a little more gentleness and kindness in the process.