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"I felt utterly depersonalised"

About: North Devon District Hospital / Endoscopy

(as the patient),

I recently attended for a flexible sigmoidoscopy procedure. The Admin and Nursing staff were all brilliant! They were welcoming, caring and friendly and they are to be heartily congratulated and thanked.

Not so the Consultant. I found them devoid of social skills and empty of a bedside manner. They failed to greet me and did not introduce theirself. Their communication with me was minimal and I felt utterly depersonalised. Were it not for the 2 nurses, I would have felt like a lump of meat to be dealt with!! Certainly the outcome was good as there was no doubting the consultant's skill and efficiency with the procedure.

Perhaps some consultant colleagues could instruct this consultant in the ways of professional friendly interpersonal skills that will give confidence and reassurance to patients going through what is a potentially life concerning experiences. Apart from this 10 out of 10 for the Barnstaple Hospital Endoscopy Unit.

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Responses

Response from Cara Jones, Endoscopy Unit Manager - NDDH, Endoscopy Unit (Northern Services), Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 3 weeks ago
Cara Jones
Endoscopy Unit Manager - NDDH, Endoscopy Unit (Northern Services),
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Submitted on 20/10/2025 at 09:33
Published on Care Opinion at 09:33


Dear Regular Customer,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience following your recent visit. I am pleased to hear that you found our administrative and nursing teams to be welcoming, caring and supportive, your kind comments will be shared with them. I am sorry to learn that your interaction with the consultant left you feeling depersonalised and unsupported. This is not the standard of communication we aim to provide and we fully appreciate how important it is for patients to feel respected and reassured at every stage of their care.

I would like to look into the issue you have raised in more detail. If you are able to contact me via carajones@nhs.net quoting Care Opinion reference 1397596 and provide further details I will be able to investigate.

I appreciate that may have chosen to leave feedback via Care Opinion because you prefer to remain anonymous. If this is the case, please can I reassure you that this story will be discussed at our next team meeting for reflection and to improve the experience for future patients.

Kind regards

Cara

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