Sleep Study Experience

@patgalca (18481)
Orangeville, Ontario
October 16, 2018 3:46pm CST
My daughter's boyfriend lives close to a hospital where I had a sleep study scheduled. He had visited there recently and said it was a bad hospital. He went to emergency so things are always crappy in emergency. I went to the hospital for my consult. Met with the doctor, chatted, he was very friendly. Everything seemed cool. We booked my sleep study for a month later, which was this past Tuesday (October 9th). If you don't know, a sleep study is done at a clinic (this one was in the hospital). You stay overnight and are hooked up to a bunch of machines so they can monitor you. I'm not sure whether they monitor you visually. You go at night and they release you at 5:00 in the morning. Because it was a 45 minute drive and I didn't know whether I would get much sleep, I had my husband drive me and told him to pick me up at 5:30 the next morning. I had a lot of anxiety leading up to this "procedure". I get to the hospital, check in at the desk and get my wrist band, then go up to the second floor where the sleep clinic is. That, and another clinic. Well, there was no one there. I went over to the other clinic where a nurse was getting ready to go home. She told me the sleep clinic was on the other side and I told her no one was there. She came over with me. There were three doors wide open, but not the technician's door. She thought that was funny because she is usually there early setting up. I sat by myself for half an hour when a man and is elderly mother arrived. She was going to stay until he was settled as he was not in good physical shape. A few minutes later another woman showed up. She was not happy to be there. She already has a CPAP machine but can't use it when she has allergies so thought getting a study was moot. The real purpose for the study is to see if you need a CPAP machine, not something I want. I had arrived at the hospital at 8:45 for my 9pm appointment. At 9:45 a security guard showed up doing her rounds. We told her no one was there and she radioed down to reception. "Not again", we heard through the walkie talkie. Apparently there are 3 different technicians and this was the one gal's last day and guess she just decided not to come to work. We were all sent home. The others wanted their money back for parking. Me? I had to try and get my husband on the phone waking SOMEONE up in our house who got him out of bed to drive another 45 minutes back to get me. He was pretty p.o.'d and I told him not to worry, I wasn't coming back. The irony is we kept getting reminder calls and told we would be charged $350 if we didn't show up. I wanted $350 for THEM not showing up. They called the next day to reschedule and I said, "No thank you." Daughter's boyfriend is right. Not a great hospital. It is the smallest hospital I've ever seen. Our hospital is twice the size, why can't we have a sleep clinic here? My other option is driving to a bigger hospital, in a bigger city, with a lot more traffic, meaning a longer drive. I'm not going to do it unless my doctor insists. All the anxiety I went through leading up to nothing. The security guard took me to the basement cafeteria where I could watch tv and not be infected by those in the emergency waiting room. She was super nice. And now I'm sick again anyway.
7 people like this
7 responses
@NJChicaa (127116)
• United States
16 Oct 18
You should definitely get the sleep study done. My CPAP machine has really improved my sleep which has improved my days.
2 people like this
@patgalca (18481)
• Orangeville, Ontario
17 Oct 18
I know but what I would have to go through to try and sleep all hooked up. Then the money spent on a machine, adapting to sleeping with that, and now there are kits you need to clean the darn things - more money! I am sick of paying out so many dollars just to feel well.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (127116)
• United States
17 Oct 18
@patgalca My insurance paid for the CPAP due to the sleep study results saying that I desperately needed one and I slept just fine from the very first night with it. Cleaning it is simple--you don't need a kit. Don't make excuses. Just reschedule the sleep study. If you have sleep apnea, you'll sleep so much better with a CPAP.
@patgalca (18481)
• Orangeville, Ontario
17 Oct 18
@NJChicaa I'm sure my doctor will insist I get the study done at the other location.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (120533)
• United States
16 Oct 18
Wow, that is pathetic. Both of my parents had to do a sleep study, and both ended up needing CPAP machines. They let my dad go earlier than they usually do, but he was his own way home. Both of my parents felt a lot better after they got used to them. I cannot believe they were so inept. You can write a review of them online, probably.
2 people like this
@patgalca (18481)
• Orangeville, Ontario
17 Oct 18
Actually every employee I encountered at that hospital were very friendly and kind. The doctor himself made small talk about the book I was reading, the shirt I was wearing, etc. The security guard was super sweet. And a nurse came into the cafeteria, maybe to keep me company. Not sure. We chatted a bit and she lives in my town so she understood the drive. It was just that one person who didn't bother to come to work. There are some jobs where you just can't do that. You are the only one doing that job and there are people coming to see YOU. Don't be an idiot. I hope they don't give her a good reference for her next job.
2 people like this
@AmbiePam (120533)
• United States
17 Oct 18
@patgalca That makes me sad. One person can give the whole place a bad rep.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51811)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
16 Oct 18
Oh, how rotten! If WE don't show up or come late, WE get penalized but when THEY do it, oops! so sorry, shall we reschedule?
2 people like this
@patgalca (18481)
• Orangeville, Ontario
17 Oct 18
Yup. I was supposed to mention the $350 to the person when they called to reschedule.... try and get it out of them. But I was asleep when they phoned and wasn't thinking about everything discussed the night before.
1 person likes this
@Inlemay (17712)
• South Africa
16 Oct 18
what an ordeal - actually terrible behaviour on their part.
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18481)
• Orangeville, Ontario
17 Oct 18
Terrible behaviour indeed, but only on that one woman. Or perhaps all 3 technicians should shoulder some of the blame as they should be working as a team.
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18481)
• Orangeville, Ontario
17 Oct 18
@Inlemay That's the thing... they should be working as a team. The three technicians sometimes get their wires crossed as to whose turn it is to work. These are obviously educated people. They can't follow a schedule?
1 person likes this
@Inlemay (17712)
• South Africa
17 Oct 18
@patgalca I think the whole team should be held accountable for shoddy service.
1 person likes this
@xFiacre (14783)
• Ireland
18 Oct 18
@patgalca I just wouldn’t be able to sleep during a sleep study, and I’d not want to anything.
@Morleyhunt (21741)
• Canada
16 Oct 18
Sorry you had this experience.
1 person likes this
@amadeo (111937)
• United States
16 Oct 18
I was supposed to go one many years ago and never did.