"Upset and depressed by the conditions on the ward"

I was admitted to this ward in June 2025 for pain management after a biopsy of my uterus. I have a large uterine fibroid and endometriosis.

The gynaecology doctor took the biopsy without numbing me or doing anything at all to limit and mitigate the severe pain I was already in.

The nurses on the ward were all wonderful - one nurse in particular really seemed to understand the pain levels of their patients. They were warm, caring and empathetic. All of the nurses were very good. Some of the very best I've ever encountered in my many hospital stays over my lifetime.

The ward itself is one of the most unpleasant and depressing places I've ever been. I have had many hospitals stays in my lifetime and am fully aware that it is generally unpleasant and uncomfortable. However, I've never stayed in a ward that has made me feel worse, mentally.

There's no actual bays, no privacy, only one toilet (which was at the opposite end of the ward to my bed - it was extremely painful for me and many other patients to walk) and the beds are horrendously low. I think that all of this should change and be fixed.

In my view, this ward is a literal demonstration of medical misogyny in action. There were women in horrific pain in their most intimate and private areas, some also grieving ectopic pregnancies, and I believe this ward did nothing to protect the dignity and privacy of these poor women. I am genuinely disgusted by the conditions these women, myself included, are expected to heal and get help.

I discharged myself specifically because of how bad this environment was. I am still very upset and depressed by the conditions the women who were in there were having to heal in. I think the depression about the state of women's health care in the NHS will stay with me forever after this experience. I am ashamed that the service I have been paying into for 25 years has what I feel is contempt and disdain for female health. 

This ward should be studied  and held up as an example of what I believe medical misogyny looks like within our prepaid service.