"Three stents and home"

From checking in at 0730 to departure at 1700 everyone performed their duties in a timely fashion, with skill, good humour and calmness, all of which was reassuring throughout the day. The experience in the "lab" where my 3 stents were fitted was fine, everyone in a quite numerous team knew what to do and when to do it, the registrar and cardiologist working closely together as a well-oiled machine, quietly and efficiently. Firm and reassuring instructions were given to me occasionally such as "Stop breathing Mr. -----, ....breath again."

I did not know that stents, or indeed 3, were needed but when I was shown the before and after x-ray screen shots I was astounded at the obvious benefits that I could see in the blood flow through my artery. Before I left the lab (after a total time of about 50 minutes) the cardiologist answered my two questions without hesitation and was very helpful. I began to feel better immediately too.

I was given my clothes straight away before returning to the waiting room together with a snack from my locker and told without asking when I could be picked up to go home (5 p.m.) and allowed to use the outside line to ring home with a short report, as the mobile 'phone signal is not good.

Thus began the recovery-period-cum-wait, along with half a dozen other patients who came and went to the "lab" as the day went by. We were well served by a variety of staff with information, dressing checks, news of a short delay in proceedings to cope with two emergency heart attack arrivals, tea, coffee and biscuits, transport enquiries, all delivered very pleasantly. Conversations with each other helped the time to go by, I'm sure, rather than being isolated.

When staff were giving us as individuals sometimes quite detailed information about our particular treatments and post-procedure issues it was all done there in the waiting room, so we all heard it all, which was good as we learned something about what we should expect ourselves, where relevant to our different conditions. Nothing confidential was involved here, obviously, this being done at a desk elsewhere.

Having a WC en-suite was very "convenient".

It was interesting in my case to be invited to participate in a research programme looking at my particular type of stent; the researcher was knowledgeable, informative and polite as we went through a simple consent form.