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Unprofessional and disturbing smear test…

Story from nhs.uk

"Unprofessional and disturbing smear test…"

About: Ancoats Urban Village Medical Practice

I had a very disturbing experience during a smear test at this hospital. The nurse used the flashlight on her phone during the procedure because she said the examination lamp wasn’t working. That alone felt incredibly unprofessional and made me uncomfortable.

Even worse, she caused heavy bleeding during the procedure. I’ve been having smear tests regularly since I was 17 and I’ve never bled like that before. It was day 12 of my cycle, so definitely not my period. The bleeding started immediately after the appointment and continued until the next day.

This experience really shook me, and I think people deserve to know what kind of care they might receive here.

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Responses

Response from Ancoats Urban Village Medical Practice 2 weeks ago
Ancoats Urban Village Medical Practice

Submitted on 19/06/2025 at 20:38
Published on nhs.uk at 20:38

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. I am very sorry to hear about your recent experience, and I want to acknowledge how upsetting this must have been for you. Your comments are important to us, and we are grateful that you brought this to our attention.

You are absolutely right that patients should expect a professional and comfortable environment during such a personal procedure. On the day of your appointment, we unfortunately experienced a problem with the lighting in the room, and I apologise that this was not properly explained at the time. This is not the standard of care we want to provide. We have since addressed the issue with the equipment to make sure it does not happen again.

I am also very sorry to hear about the bleeding and distress you experienced after the procedure. We take this seriously, and I would like to invite you to contact me directly so we can look into this further and offer any support you may need. Please be assured that we are reviewing what happened to see what we can learn and how we can improve.

If you are willing please email gmicb-mh.uvmp@nhs.net and we will be happy to speak with you.

Thank you again for raising your concerns. We hope you are recovering and that we can restore your confidence in our service.

Kay Keane

Practice Manager

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