"Indifference in the Cardiac Imaging Dept."

I had an appointment at The Cardiac Imaging Dept. of Kettering General. During the time I waited with my daughter for my name to be called we spent the time reading a newspaper cutting on the wall about the Dept. having received an award for excellence. We also watched a video on a loop (so we saw it several times) saying female patients will be given gowns for the Cardiac Imaging procedure.

The technician who greeted me told me when I entered the room to strip to the waist and get on the bed. There was no cubicle to hang my clothes and no indication of privacy whatsoever! I asked the technician if I was to be given something to wear? The reply was, “no, I need to get to your chest.” So I then asked for a towel instead, but was refused; even though there would have been no difficulty getting to my chest with a towel over me.

Eventually I was given a blue paper thing which looked like a giant toilet seat cover, I put it on and the test proceeded. After a minute or two I asked for the fan to be turned off as it was blowing on my back and making me cold, the technician said it was the air conditioning, and didn’t move. After a few more minutes, I said, ‘the fan is making me VERY cold’ it was then, fairly reluctantly, turned off.

When the procedure was over, I asked for something to clean off the KY jelly that had been spread all over me, I was told to clean it off with the gown, and if I needed more paper to take it from the bed, the technician then left the room. Both the gown and the paper on the bed are non-absorbent so I had a hard time cleaning off the stuff. A roll of kitchen paper, or Kleenex tissues for that purpose would be a kind and considerate thing to provide for patients.

Patients should ALWAYS have their modesty respected. It should be the first thing people in the medical field are taught, along with washing their hands BEFORE and after they touch someone.

TIP: For the people who are unlucky enough to have this test. I suggest you take with you a towel or a proper hospital gown (if you have one) also, a supply of Kleenex tissues, or a roll of kitchen paper to clean yourself up afterwards since none of these are provided by the hospital.