"Lack of communication"

I was admitted to Worthing Hospital A&E whilst visiting my daughter with severe abdominal pain. The treatment I received in A&E was exceptional; I cannot thank them enough. After being diagnosed with gallbladder pancreatitis I was admitted onto a ward and cathetrised for monitoring purposes. Whilst I completely understood the need for the catheter, it was causing extreme pain and I feel that few staff on the ward listened to my complaints. After 18 hours it was removed at my insistance because the pain had become completely unbearable. I was constantly reassured by the surgical team that their intention was to stabilise my condition so that I could receive surgery near my home (200 miles away). At 10pm on the second night I was told out of the blue that I was being prepped for surgery first thing the following morning....no consultation beforehand, no explaination, although by now I was pain free. I then spent hours on the phone to my family whilst they trawled the internet for information about the proposed operation. The following morning, when I explained my situation to the surgeon they fully understood my decision to veto the surgery and discharged me to be referred to my local hospital...the first time since my admittance that I felt that someone had listened to me. I do not know if my experience is common in the south. I feel that my local hospitals have a completely different attitude to patient communication which instills trust. I'm employed as a Manager in a customer service industry and am also a qualified therapeutic counsellor; trained in reading body language and active listening. I found my experience disturbing as I was vulnerable, yet any decision-making seemed to be automatically removed.