"An upsetting and inefficient experience"

I attended the surgery for a blood test to assess whether my gestational diabetes is at risk of developing into type 2 diabetes. The nurse I saw was abrupt in their tone and for some reason seemed extremely reluctant to attempt to take my blood, despite that being the sole purpose of the appointment. After one attempt they said I would need to re-book, something I was not keen to do given that I am 6 weeks postpartum and trying to get out for unnecessary appointments with my newborn is stressful, so I would obviously prefer if they attempted the blood test again, as I know, and they even stated that they are allowed to try 3 times. Giving up after 1 attempt seems incredibly inefficient, and, given the stretched capacity of the NHS at present, seems like a wasteful choice.

However, I managed to convince the nurse to try again and on attempt number 2, they were successful. They commented that I was lucky. This seemed like a bizarre statement to make given that there shouldn’t need to be luck involved, and that if they weren't able to get blood on attempt number 2 (which they were) then perhaps it would be down to their skill rather than my luck. I found the nurse's manner in general to be hostile and unfriendly. Their reluctance to take my blood made me question them, however I was keen to get my blood test complete.

After getting home from the appointment, I received a text telling me to call in with my height, weight and blood pressure readings. Obviously as a normal person I don’t have a blood pressure reading machine at home - but funnily enough there is one in the GP surgery I was in just 10 minutes prior - it would have been ideal if somebody could have taken my blood pressure or directed me to take it myself whilst I was at the surgery rather than waiting until I’d gotten home with my newborn. Nevertheless, I called the surgery, selected the appropriate option and was hung up on.

I called back and spoke to somebody, who told me to come back into the surgery. I am obviously not going to come back into the surgery and have my time wasted due to the error of the surgery's staff. I asked for the complaints procedure, and was sent a link, however the member of staff I spoke to hung up on me before taking my height or weight as had been requested. I now have no idea whether my blood test will be processed.

This experience made me feel distressed at a fragile time in my postpartum journey and made me question the abilities of the surgery's staff to adequately look after their patients and fulfil the requirements of their jobs. I left feeling as though no care had been taken in my treatment and unsure whether I could trust the surgery.