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A painful procedure without pain management

Posted By Lanaloo

"A painful procedure without pain management"

About: Sidwell Street Clinic / Exeter Sexual Health

(as a service user),

Firstly, I want to acknowledge the nurses who assisted me during my coil fitting. They were incredibly lovely and friendly, and I’m very grateful for their care. I cannot say enough nice things about them. However, I had an extremely painful experience during the procedure, to the point that I passed out from the pain.

Having previously had the copper coil inserted years ago, I was aware of how painful it would be. When I asked for anaesthetic, I was assured by my doctor that the spray and gel would be sufficient so I booked an appointment at Exeter. Despite taking paracetamol with codeine, and ibuprofen beforehand, as well as the anaesthetic, the pain was unbearable. My partner, who was present, was horrified by my reaction.

I find it unacceptable that women are expected to endure such a painful and invasive procedure without better pain management options. I will not be getting the coil again unless I can be fully sedated.

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Responses

Response from Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 4 months ago
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 31/01/2025 at 14:29
Published on Care Opinion at 14:30

My name is Heather Collins, and as the Deputy lead nurse for the Exeter Sexual health service I would like to respond to the concerns you raised about your coil fit experience in January 2025. Firstly, and most importantly, I hope that since the coil fit you have been, OK.

It is very reassuring to hear that the staff who assisted you were lovely and friendly and their caring nature was appreciated.

In sounds like your fit process was difficult, and we empathize fully that this can be the case for some patients. We strive to ensure that a full range of local anaesthesia options are offered by all clinicians but unfortunately, we are unable to offer sedation as an option. As part of this feedback, we will remind all staff to offer the range available in our clinics.

If there are any concerns about the coil, we encourage patients to attend for a routine check 6-weeks after the fit appointment which provides the opportunity to ensure everything has been OK since the insertion. I would encourage you to contact the clinic as soon as possible should you have any on-going problems with your device.

Finally, we always want to improve the service we provide, so please know that your feedback will enable us to look at what didn't go well, and hopefully make it a better experience for patients in the future, I hope despite all of the above, you are happy with you coil now. If you do require any follow-up, do not hesitate to contact the clinic to arrange an appointment: 0300 303 3989.

As this feedback system is anonymous, I am not able to check any further details about your appointment, however if you would like to talk in more detail about your experience, please email me at rduh.shexeteradmin@nhs.net and provide your name and contact details, and I will be in touch with you ASAP.

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