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From 1970s/80s
I remember… Backdrop to emergencies, 1970s/80s before security. Cursing drunks, occasional fight, screaming children, vomiting, police. London.
2020s
I remember … having surgery under local anaesthetic and hearing the beeps of the heartrate monitor – it stressed me out as it was going too quickly & I was trying to slow it down by breathing slowly. Mentioned it to surgeon who said ‘ooh I didn’t notice it!’
From 1960s
I remember… Clanking of the bed pan machine in 1960s when they were being sterilised. The night junior had the job of cleaning them.
I remember… My last FMRI scan. The previous time was so noisy, so I’d been told I could bring in my own music. I decided that, as it was so futuristic that I’d listen to David Bowie’s Space Oddity. Big Mistake! The tapping and banging just felt as though I was in a space capsule about to take off. It felt v. lonely. Next time – must bring some happy tunes.
From 1968
I remember lying in the bed listening to cuckoos, when I was having my son. You wouldn’t be able to do that now
I remember… The hospital at night is a time when noises travel down corridors into the ward and the bed-side giving rise to disquiet and disorientation and disturbance that interrupts the desire to sleep.