Common Patient Fears
What are the most common fears or concerns that patients have as they prepare for their operation with you? We very much focus on a patient's comorbidities, their past medical history, why they've been to see a doctor before.
Actually I think we spend very little time talking to them about their anxieties and concerns and I always say look it doesn't matter whether you're having an operation on your on your heart or on your foot but you know your anxieties are your anxieties and I think we have to understand as doctors that it's a big deal for these patients to come in.
They've made preparations at home, they've had some food in the freezer, got someone to look after their cat, they've had to make plans at home and they've had to deal with the psychological burden of having the anaesthetic and I think their anxieties are actually voiced to me on an almost daily basis.
People always talk about two main things on their morning operation just before I put them to sleep you know, will I wake up? I can pretty much guarantee that won't happen. And will I die? And again we can pretty much guarantee for most operations that that won't happen but me quoting a statistic such as you're more at risk of dying if you got the bus into hospital than having anaesthetic. People can't work that risk out. I can't work that risk out. I can quote numbers all day long but it doesn't make someone feel better.