"I was treated like a procedure, not a person"

I went in for a cervical biopsy under general anesthetic as a day patient. I expected to wait, and be treated quite dispassionately. That's fine.

I didn't expect how the anaesthetic was delivered - I was wheeled into the anaesthetic room where one man was standing with his back to me. I was left alone with him and he walked behind me talking about the procedure of applying the drip and counting down. He didn't introduce himself, or make eye contact. Only when he put the tube into my hand did I see his face.

I then fell asleep, without really knowing what was happening, where I was going to go, or how long I would be under.

When I woke up I was on my own, in a noisy, open room. I woke up and just cried with shock. A nurse eventually came and gave me some water and a tissue. There was no privacy and I felt exposed.

I felt awful, upset and uninformed. But mostly I felt that I couldn't trust anyone around me, even though I'd been unconscious and in their power. I wasn't treated like a person, just a procedure on a trolley.