Well, that was on the morning of my operation. I went in the night before. It was a little bit more vague, because it was just, the ward was hotter than Hades, it was just so hot. And I hadn’t slept well and the bed was uncomfortable. And they’d said, “You mustn’t have anything to eat or drink after midnight.” And then in the morning it turned out I was third on the list, so they said it would be about half one by the time I had the operation [laughs]. Then the breakfast trolley came round and I thought, “Oh God.”
And I had a headache. And then she, the, I think she was a registrar anaesthetist suddenly appeared and said that they were doing a clinical trial on a new device to, it was a camera to put down your throat to see whether, the improvement in sore throats afterwards. And also it gave them a better view of the larynx. And so I quickly read through it and said, “Oh yes, that’s fine.” Because I thought, “Well, if I’m under an anaesthetic anyway, frankly I don’t really mind.” And if it’s something that gives them a better view of everything, then if there was any problems anywhere they would, they would be able to pick it up. So again it wasn’t a huge decision to make. But she did go through it all and there’d already been a study in Pakistan and Gloucester [laughs], which seemed odd, but yes, and she said that it, she’d, so far it seemed that things were improving. But it just seemed such a minor thing that frankly I didn’t mind at all.
What about the timing of that? Because that sounds like you were feeling quite vulnerable already at that point. Was it a good time to raise that or should it have been discussed at a different point?
I think, I think that was fine for what it was. If it had been something, you know, more, that I felt would have had more of an impact than that. But like I say, if you’re under anaesthetic anyway it can’t be that different to what they’re already doing. They’ve already done it on eight hundred people so, yes, it was fine. And then she came after the operation when I was just coming round and said, “How’s your throat? Is it sore?” And it wasn’t sore, so that was it.
So that’s partly what they were looking for?
Yes.
What else were they looking for?
Because they said it gives them an improved view of the larynx and the throat and that type of thing.
And are there any other safety concerns that they’re testing while they’re doing this?
I don’t think so, no. I think it is just a new piece of equipment that they’re trying out.
