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"Demeaning Consultant "

About: Northampton General Hospital (Acute)

I went to the Forrest centre as I was referred by my GP due to a small lump in my breast. I was naturally very nervous about this but have always been of the understanding it's better to get it checked than feel like you can't. So I went to the appointment and the consultant was in the room for no longer than 2 minutes, asked why I was there, I told him I had a lump in my breast, he examined me and said 'lump is a stretch of your imagination'. He told me it was just tissue and nothing like a lump. This made me feel so small and like I could no longer go back if I felt I had some concern. He didn't ask any previous history (of which about 80% of my maternal history includes breast cancer so I was understandably nervous.) he didn't reassure me that I did the right thing coming in, he made me feel like I was wasting his time and he then swiftly left the room and I was told I could leave. I didn't get any reassurance and was left feeling like I had made it all up and that he didn't believe my concerns and didn't give me chance to talk and if I had spoken I don't feel like he would have listened to me. I feel in this day and age that women shouldnt be told by doctors or consultants that they're hysterical and imagining things, I never want another young woman to go through an appointment like that and for them to not trust their guts and end up with something that could have been avoided if someone had listened to them.

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Responses

Response from Sara Francis, Deputy Head of Patient Experience & Engagement, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust 5 months ago
Sara Francis
Deputy Head of Patient Experience & Engagement,
Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
Submitted on 26/11/2024 at 16:15
Published on Care Opinion at 16:15


picture of Sara Francis

Good afternoon,

Firstly, my sincere apologies for the lateness in responding to your feedback.

We are so sorry to hear that you had such a negative experience at the Forrest Centre at NGH.

You most definitely did the right thing by getting checked out and were not wasting anyone's time. You did the right thing. Its always better to be safe than sorry!

We are sorry you did not receive the support and understanding that you needed for what was probably a very worrying time for you, taking into account your family history.

We will ensure your feedback is sent to the Senior Management Team at the Forrest Centre immediately who will review your feedback.

If you would like to speak to someone about this please contact the Patient Experience Department via email at: ngh-tr.PatientExperience@nhs.net and we will do our very best to help.

With warm regards

Sara Francis
Patient Experience Team

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