"Efficent and largely professional. Some lacked..."

What I liked

I actually visited twice once at the outpaitents clinc and then at the day surgery unit.

At the out paitent clinc I was seen very quickly and did not have to wait too long, As I was arranging a termination of a pregnancy I had to see a number of staff including a counselor, someone to take my bloods, family planning nurse, a doctor to do my scan and the consultant. In terms of staff I found most to be very professional if not a little 'cold' (except the guy who took my blood, who made me laugh).

At the day surgery unit I found everything to be again very professional and the staff were alot more helpful and warmer. The anaesthetist in particular was brilliant, really friendly and put me at ease. He explained exactly what he was doing while he was doing it which, for someone like me, was perfect. The staff who got us ready for surgery we also great and understanding.

What could be improved

Outpatients Clinic- having a consultation about the termination of a pregnancy in the general outpatients clinc is, in my view, insensitive (particularly as it is also in the same section as prenatal care for pregnant women). Arranging a termination is stressful and very personal. The staff did not explain clearly what was going to happen when so I felt "lost" between the various people I had to see. The counselor was pointless. She treated it like a box ticking exercise which was fine for me - I was sure - but she would have been no help to someone who was having difficulty with the decision. I was also deeply disappointed with the staff who did my scan. Despite the doctor turning the screen away so I didn't see the embryo when he was doing the scan, the heathcare assistant was so rude and bossy and rushing me to get off the bed by the time I sat down at the desk to discuss things with the doctor, he was still looking over the scan and there was no way for me to not see them. Despite being sure about my decision this was upsetting.

At the Day Surgery Unit 2 things. One, it would be nice if staff introduced themselves, a name is important to set people at ease. Two, noone actually explained the procedure. Now that might have been because I gave off an air of confidence that I knew what was happening (i'd done my research) but I would have expected that someone would go through the details of what was going to happen.

Those are just two small complaints about the Day Surgery Unit. Overall I felt very well looked after and thank you to everyone who looked after me that morning xxx