Cardio Respiratory Department visit

Yesterday was my first introduction to an ecg department.  Before the tour of the department I signed a disclosure agreement from the NHS Code of Practice on Protecting Patient Confidentiality.  Basically if I wish to involve patients with this research I have to gain their consent. On the tour I was introduced to a number of interesting areas from the waiting area to the preparation room and even the 'brew' room where members of staff (maybe even patients, I'll have to ask) can enjoy a cup of tea.

The waiting area was interesting from a patient point of view as I had to sit and wait to be seen.  As with most waiting areas that I have visited from dentists to doctors, the atmosphere was very quiet.  There was a number of basic chairs in an L shape around the room.  The ecg department recently moved to a newly furnished part of the building, so the chairs and carpets appeared to be in good condition.  As mentioned before the atmosphere appeared to be a little stifled, with whispered conversations.  For children there was only a couple of toys to play with and for adults there was information on procedures and pace makers. The information I collected was presented in what appeared to be a white grill.  I will be reading what I collected in order to gain an insight into how information is presented to the patient, both adults and children.

I was then invited into the office of one of the senior members of staff which is shared between two.  Although not the focus of this project, it may be interesting to investigate how they feel about sharing an office what are it's pros and cons?

We then moved onto one of the preparation rooms where the problem of tangled cables I had previously discussed with my guide was brought up.

When my guide detangled the cables it was clear how frustrating and time consuming the process of detangling these cables can be.  In the top image you can see there is a small space where cables should be ideally stored, however it is a very cramped space.  I can imagine, as you do with anything new and electrical that you buy for your house that the cables were neatly packed when it first arrived from the factory, but unfortunately you are left with no real practical storing options.  I was told that these machines sometimes don't even come with a storage compartment, and they are unfortunately left to dangle.  They are cleansed before and after each use.

This is one of the main complaints from the majority of the Cardio Respiratory department, where to and how to store the ecg cables.

More information from this tour will be added in the following days.