"Lack of communication and patient care"

I went for a gastroscopy at the planned investigation unit. I had to sit out in the waiting room for over two hours waiting for a bed. I understand units get busy but not once did anyone check on me or explain why there was such a long delay.

When I was eventually led into a cubicle the team were obviously rushing to make up for time. The second I got in the cubicle one nurse threw a gown at me, another started to take my blood pressure at the same time as another nurse was trying to insert a canula in my other arm. Oh and the consultant was pushing the consent form in my face to sign. There was no real communication with me or asking me how I felt.

Within three minutes I was wheeled into the procedure room and a mouth guard placed in my mouth before I could even blink. No words of reassurance from anyone and I felt very much an inconvenience, any sign of caring replaced my the need to rush. I found the actual procedure very uncomfortable and instead of reassuring me throughout it I just got told to stay still. Again just a word of reassurance or explanation would have eased my anxiety.

The mouth piece kept hitting my gag reflex and really hurt, it actually scratched the back of my throat quite badly and I felt as though I was being treated very heavy handedly. I have suffered from many health issues and had many procedures so I consider myself to be pretty tough but this was the first time ever (even after chemo and lumbar punctures) I burst into tears when back in the cubicle. I just felt very dehumanised, and it worried me that if someone as hospital savvy as me could feel that upset then how would someone new to hospital feel. A passing nurse chucked a box of tissues at me as they walked past.

After sedation I know from previous procedures that there should be a period of observation but within thirty minutes I was up in the waiting area to be collected. Previously I had always been told what had been found by the discharge nurse and given a sheet but was just told this time the results would be given in clinic. Having had another gastroscopy only eight months previously my experience suggests that this was just a way of rushing me out, I should have had a nurse explain the findings to me.

I left the hospital feeling very shaken up and confused how such a simple procedure could have left me feeling so distressed. On reflection it is clear that it was the way I felt I had become just a number to be rushed through at the end of a busy day. I have great respect for NHS staff on the frontline and understand the time constraints and pressures they are under.

I'm not writing this to make a complaint but more just to remind staff that behind the numbers we are still patients and a little communication and reassurance would go a long way. Oh and also to say that taking blood pressure at the same time as someone is putting a line in probably won't give you an accurate reading.