While I was waiting for my procedure there was very loud talking coming from the curtained area right across from me for an extended period of time. About 30 minutes after I arrived a man asked if they could use the area for 20 minutes and that his wife's procedure was canceled and would be rescheduled for the next day. I had arrived at 8:30 so this request happened at around 9;00 a.m. The loud talking went on for at least 45 minutes and when they started talking about medical procedures and people dying, I became rather upset as it was affecting my mental well-being. I called for help and the nurse who came said the people across the hall included a very senior doctor and then she disappeared after telling me I would soon be picked up for my procedure. Next the man across the hall asked if they could stay in that area longer, and I heard someone say "yes". I piped up and said, "Please no I am sick of you talking very loudly right across the hall." The woman visiting the patient who I was informed was the wife of this very senior doctor, came over and pulled back my curtain and apologized for the noise, but she was visiting a cancer patient. I said that I am on my own cancer journey and all the talk was upsetting to me and I couldn't relax and prepare myself for my own procedure. I said she should know better since she is a nurse practitioner. She was wearing a hospital name tag with her name and profession clearly visible. Meanwhile the nurse that answered my call, went to the manager of the department to tell her what was happening. She apologized to me and made sure I was okay to go ahead with my surgery. The surgery went well and very quickly and the manager checked in with me before I left. There was no more loud talking from the area across the hall. Unfortunately, then there was a 25-minute wait for someone to come with a wheelchair. The nurse that checked me in went herself to get one and we began to move down the hall just as the transport person arrived. I am healing well from the surgery, but I am disappointed that medical professionals would be so careless and unaware of what they were saying and who was hearing it.
ASLMC IR