Warrington Hospital 2024-01-08 Person 4 5 0

I felt I wasn’t given enough detail about the preparation and actual procedure. The colonoscopy was a follow up to a hospital admission in October 2023, maybe that was why I felt unprepared for the procedure. I had to ring the endoscopy department 2 days before the procedure to clarify some details. I was offered sedation during the procedure which I accepted thinking that it would relief any discomfort . However I actually experienced quite a lot of severe intermittent pain and I had to use gas and air to give some relief. I was very unprepared for that especially as anecdotally I understood that sedatives meant that did not happen. Maybe I was unlucky? It was a very traumatic experience which I would not want to repeat. However I cannot fault the staff they were respectful, compassionate and considerate at all times.

It was almost 3 months since my hospital admission for bowel inflammation before the colonoscopy and at no point did anyone explain in detail what happens. I was just told to book a colonoscopy in 8 to 10 weeks time. I would have benefitted from a face to face appointment to explain preparation and procedure in more detail, including the possibility of severe pain for which I was totally unprepared. I like to be fully informed and in control and in this case I felt I wasn’t.