"Basic mistakes"

I was scheduled for a colonoscopy at Southampton General Hospital recently.

I arrived on time. I had to wait over an hour and a half to be seen. I was not the only patient who had to wait well over an hour to be seen. In this time no one updated anyone about how long it would take for them to be seen. In this day and age of multimedia it would be a simply thing to send out texts to people to let them know how late you are running so they are not sitting around on uncomfortable chairs with no information. It's just rude.

Then when I finally went in to be seen it transpired that the nurse who had done the initial assessment had failed to note that I lived on my own and had no one to collect me or ensure I got home safely and in the absence of a bed being booked should have been given an appointment first thing in the morning so that meant by the time the sedation wore off I would be able to get home myself in safety.

I was offered an appointment first thing the following morning which I declined as I would have had to go without any food for about 48 hours which would have made me ill. The appointment has now been rescheduled for around another two weeks time first thing in the morning. However I am not happy about this. I have already lost two days for the wasted appointment (one day for the procedure and the day before because I was unable to leave home to go anywhere due to the powerful laxatives you have to take the day before.

I now have to go through this incredibly unpleasant experience a second time as well as losing a further two days of my life. Had the arrangements been made properly in the first place I should have been given an appointment at the correct time and the waste of my time and money would not have occurred. It is essential that staff communicate properly with each other about patient needs, that records of patient needs and conversations are written properly to avoid these basic mistakes being made.