"Anaesthetist"

I was a patient at Royal Hospital for Women. I was there was for an egg collection. The staff at admissions were absolutely lovely, in particular the nurse who did my intake, Rachael. I felt comfortable and cared for.

However, I was very upset by the anaesthetist. I have had many surgeries previously, a few large surgeries as well as previous egg collections so have met my fair share of anaesthetists and have never been one to complain.

I found this anaesthetist was abrupt and rude. They did not introduce themselves as all previous staff had, I had no idea they were the anaesthetist. It seemed they were irritated that nurses had put on embla patches to try and relieve my anxiety around needles. I recall the anaesthetist told me off saying that I wasn’t a child and that I didn’t need that and that I had made their job a lot more difficult. I felt they ripped them off in a rough manner that seemed to me to be intentional. They went on to give me what I believe they called ‘a little lesson’ about finding veins. I found them very patronising.

I did begin to cry and was frustrated that I couldn’t say anything to defend myself as ultimately I was relying on them to keep me safe during the procedure.

I felt very silly for crying until I spoke with two other patients in the recovery ward who said that they had made them cry too! It seemed 3 out of 3 in one day, I feel this is very concerning.

The nurses and doctor were so lovely and asked what was wrong when I was crying but I couldn’t say as the anaesthetist was at the bedside.

I feel the anaesthetist definitely requires some training in bedside manner, compassion and keeping their professional frustrations to themselves or discussing them with team members rather than patients who I feel are already vulnerable and stressed.