The London Independent Hospital - part of Circle Health Group 2017-08-13 Person 1 5 0

I came for day surgery and my experience was awful. They put me on sleep without telling me so I woke up panicked and confused, they then immediately gave me morphine without asking if I asking it I wanted it explaining the side effects. When I went back to the ward feeling incredibly ill and confused I tried to get to sleep but couldnt because of a few members of staff having a loud shouting conversation next to my cubicle about a recent management restructure which they weren't happy with and I now know all the details of. This went on for an hour then they got called away and I fell asleep for a solid five minutes before I was woken up and told I had to walk to the toilet so the could discharge me. I have a problem with my ear which causes me to lose balance and this was triggered by the surgery so I was in a lot of pain, very confused and feeling incredibly nauseous. I had to have help getting to the toilet as I was so unsteady and the nurse then left me there and went back to the nurses station. I was actually quite frightened at the point as I felt I was going to fall and staggered back to my bed holding onto trolleys and rails as I walked - bearing in mind I walked past the station and they all just watched me with no offer to help. At this point I started vomiting and was given a bowl but no water and then left again. I was then told I was being discharged - I asked for a stick or crutch as I had no balance and was told no because the consultant, who I hadn't seen since before the surgery, said I didn't need one. I tried to explain my ear problem - through he sickness and nausea, and Was shouted and spoken over by the most condescending and rude man I have ever met. He started to lean on to my face and tell me if I had problems I should have said before but the consultants had said I'd be fine so I was fine. At the point I started to cry (which being English - I don't think I've ever done in public in my life). this was probably the most awful part of this whole ordeal as i couldn't walk, think clearly , articulate myself or sit up without feeling like I was going to vomit. A group of staff simply looked on without doing anything to help - it was only when a very kind porter walked past and heard what was going on and went and got me a crutch that I felt safe to leave - which actually, i didn't. I wasn't explained anything about the healing process, follow up appointments, the dressings, what I could do and when after the surgery or actually anything at all. I was literally given painkillers and pushed out because they were closing and obviously wanted me gone. When I got home I checked the notes they left me with and they said that I represented 0 on the pain chart, wasn't nauseous and could walk with no problems - not only was of this true I was never once asked. I could have been suffering with any number of serious side effects and they would not only have not know they wouldn't have listened had I told them. The care at this hospital was nothing short of appalling - I am refusing to go back for my follow up appointment And will take care of it through my gp because I do my trust that team to actually do their jobs and make sure I am recovering properly which is incredibly disconcerting considering I trusted them to perform the surgery on the first place. And to top it all off - no one actually told me what they had done in the surgery.