I had a colonoscopy yesterday by Nurse Practitioners. It was extremely painful and the sedation I was given woefully inadequate. I have no complaint about the competence of the practitioners nor indeed the care I received but in this day and age nobody should have to suffer high levels of pain during an invasive investigation as colonoscopy is. I was completely awake and alert throughout and had, apparently the maximum sedation dose permitted. It was no way enough.
I had a colonoscopy 10 years ago. It was done under deep sedation by a colo rectal surgeon. I had no pain and was asleep throughout.
This clearly needs to be addressed. I am guessing that nurses are not allowed to administer more than a certain amount of sedation/analgesia as there is no anaethetist present to intubate etc. I was told that deep sedation is a risk as,if the patient is unconscious, they are unable to cooperate/expressdiscomfort and that increases the risk of perforation etc.
This is not fair on the patient. I had 5 polyps removed which means I will be recalled next year for a further colonoscopy. I will refuse this unless I can be assured of adequate sedation.
