"Surgery for gall bladder removal"

I had to have my gall bladder removed following intense intermittent pain for a number of months. I was referred to the Shirley Oaks Hospital to have this procedure completed. The initial consultations and preliminary checks were quite positive, with the Consultant being friendly and informative, and nursing staff who completed other assessments, presenting as thorough and competent. 

I thought I would be in very good hands and be looked after well for the procedure and in the aftermath, especially as this is a private hospital, but my faith was somewhat misplaced, unfortunately. Whilst the surgery itself went relatively smoothly, I was really quite ill afterwards, to the point that I was unable to stand up without starting to black out. Despite this, and narrating this difficulty to staff (and in fact, staff seeing this for themselves), I was put under considerable pressure to get up, get moving, and frankly, to get out. There did not seem to be much if any understanding on the part of the nursing team (with the possible exception of one nurse) that I was not faring very well after the operation, and after slightly over 24 hours later, I was sent home. This was without any explanation as to what recovery time could be, or acknowledgement about how much internal work had actually taken place through surgery. (It was only 2 weeks later that the nurse at my GP surgery explained this all to me, whilst she was removing my stitches). 

The aftercare was pretty shoddy. After getting home, I was shocked to learn that I could not lie down - and this was a problem for 2.5 weeks afterwards. Why was I not forewarned that this might happen? (A simple Google search told me that this was a possibility). Why was I not forewarned of the fallout of having a general anesthetic (i.e., intense fatigue for 3-4 weeks afterwards?). 

The experience, despite starting off with promise, was disappointing to say the least, as I was very much made to feel that I should have made a quicker recovery and should not be wasting a bed space. It is a sad story indeed, that a sick patient's wellbeing is treated as secondary. This is made all the more insulting as I am a health care professional myself, who strives to put my patient's feelings at the heart of everything I do. It's very basic really.