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Carol Jones

June 2, 2005

If you have had an anaesthetic awareness experience, and are willing to share it for research purposes, you may be particularly interested in the work of Carol Jones.

Carol is a clinical psychologist who has been working for the NHS since 2003. Her initial interest in anaesthetic awareness arose out of the doctoral research she undertook under the supervision of Professor Michael Wang. She became so interested in this area that, following the completion of her thesis, she decided to continue with her research.

Anyone who has experienced anaesthetic awareness will vouch for the fact that it is a terrifying and lonely experience. The full extent of the problem, and its effects on victims, is still not known. Carol’s research is helping not only to raise ‘awareness of awareness’, but also to increase understanding of how an experience of awareness affects the individual.

She believes that raising awareness of awareness “can have a real impact on reducing it’s frequency, or at the very least impact on how future cases are handled by medical staff.”

Preliminary research has already provided vital evidence to show that the way those who have suffered awareness are handled by medical staff has a huge impact on how the individual involved is affected by the trauma.

The research project therefore focuses on the effects that being aware during surgery has upon that individual’s life. By helping to increase understanding of these effects, the project aims to inform health carers of the most positive ways of offering support to victims in the future.

The study is conducted using questionnaires, and is delivered to participants by e-mail or post. All information will remain anonymous, and participants are free to withdraw from the study at any time.

If you are willing to take part in, or have any questions about, this research please contact Carol at carol.jones@leedsth.nhs.uk