"No communication"

I was recently referred for a heart scan after something showed up on my ECG taken at a pre-op assessment clinic.  This heart scan  happened at the Cardiology Out-Patient Department at ARI and it was the most horrific experience I've ever had in a clinical setting, which is surprising given it was a heart scan and not an invasive procedure (of which I've had a few previously).

I was taken into a room by a member of staff but I can't tell you anything about them in terms of their name or job title as they didn't introduce themself, there was also another member of staff in the room but again as above I have no idea who they were either.  There was no talk about what was going to happen during this procedure, other than being told to remove my clothing on my top half and lie down.  

The person who took me into the room then went straight into the procedure with the scanner whilst the other person asked if it was okay for them to watch the procedure (to which I agreed, but again I still had no idea who was who).

The pain from the pressure that was used to push the scanner down was horrific and was right over scar tissue from a recent procedure but the person doing the scan just carried on even though they knew I was in pain as they commented on it.  During this they and the other staff member kept whispering to one another.  After about 20 minutes of this horrific experience, the other person got up (the one who had asked if they could watch the scan) and took over and although it was slightly less painful with them, it was still really sore.  Again there was no communication as to why they were taking over and again there was lots of whispering between them with no direct communication with me as the patient.  After 10 minutes of this new person scanning, I was told I could now leave.  No communication at all about what happens now results wise.  I was so traumatised after this whole experience I couldn't wait to leave.

I got home to find bruising over my chest and have had to take medication to cope with the residual pain. Whilst I expected some pressure from the probe on my chest i didn't expect this amount of pain after.

All in all I've never experienced such a horrific experience as I did during this assessment.  I felt like I was just treated like something you would step on rather than a human being.  I would hate for anyone else to go through this.  It seriously puts me off returning to the hospital for any more procedures/treatments which I know are coming.