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I felt heavily judged

Posted By crocodilehg97

"I felt heavily judged"

About: Children & Young People Physical Health / Doncaster Zone 5-19

(as the patient),

I went to talk about options for terminating my pregnancy and the member of staff I spoke with asked me if I wanted to have a chlamydia screening and when I said no they kept pushing, asking me why I didn’t want one, and essentially made me feel like I had to have one and that it wasn’t my choice on whether I could or couldn’t have one.

The member of staff asked me multiple times on whether I wanted the screening or not and I kept saying no, but after feeling forced to, I said yes just to have them stop asking.

They did help book me in to have my termination and understood I was moving away shortly, but when I asked what I was meant to do if I couldn’t be seen before I go away, they told me I’ll just have to keep it with me when I’m working away.

I felt heavily judged by this member of staff and it has made me feel like I can’t go back. It felt to me like they don’t agree with abortions and was making it difficult so I’d keep the child.

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Responses

Response from Kate Watkins, Service Manager, Children's Care Group, RDaSH 3 months ago
We are preparing to make a change
Kate Watkins
Service Manager, Children's Care Group,
RDaSH

Submitted on 04/04/2025 at 12:57
Published on Care Opinion at 13:57

picture of Kate Watkins

Dear crocodilehg97

I am sincerely sorry that you felt you were heavily judged by one of our nurses. I can hand on heart say, that this would not have been their intention and they will feel very upset that their actions have led to you feeling this way.

Discussions around termination of pregnancy are common within this setting and our nurses should navigate this subject with compassion every time. I am saddened this was not your experience.

I am also sorry that you felt Chlamydia Screening was being pushed onto you. Chlamydia is very common amongst young people, often symptom free and can cause long-term complications. It is the nurses job to inform and educate young people around this, however, I appreciate on this occasion, it was not a priority conversation for you and we should have respected your decision.

I will share your experience with our nurses in our next team meeting, and together we will consider what changes we can implement to reduce the chances of someone else having the same negative experience as you.

I will be sure the share the outcome of these discussions on this platform so you can see how we are learning and improving from your feedback.

If you would like to discuss this matter further, please feel free to contact me at the clinic. Kate Watkins -Service manager 0300 0213032

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Response from Kate Watkins, Service Manager, Children's Care Group, RDaSH last month
Kate Watkins
Service Manager, Children's Care Group,
RDaSH

Submitted on 22/05/2025 at 16:35
Published on Care Opinion at 16:35

picture of Kate Watkins

Hello

I wanted to update you on the discussions we held in our team meeting following your feedback. The team were very grateful for your feedback and the opportunity to improve other people's experiences.

The team took time to reflect on your experience and perspective and concluded that perhaps they had become a little desensitised to the anxiety and worries of young people, when accessing services for the type of support and treatment you required.

We are sorry about that.

Your feedback helped us to walk a mile in your shoe's and enable everyone in the team to reflect on what they could do differently to prevent feelings of judgement.

I hope you find yourself in better circumstances, but if not, we would welcome a second opportunity at being a source of future support for you.

All the best

Kate

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