I am having my first baby and have been very impressed with the care provided by my community midwife who is always kind, helpful and knowledgable. However I was recently referred for a consultant appointment at the ante natal department by my midwife due to anxiety surrounding a pre-existing condition. Whilst the midwife who took my blood pressure and welcomed me to the unit was kind and reassuring I was upset by the level of care I received from the doctor. Having initially been told I would be seeing a female consultant I was assigned a male doctor with no warning which increased my anxiety and which I thought was insensitive given the nature of my condition. The doctor was, in my view, quite brusque and in a rush and did not take the time to reassure me. Moreover, he was rather dismissive simply discharging me from consultant care without carrying out any physical examination (he listened to the baby's heartbeat but did not carry out an examination of me- I had attended because I experience severe pain and anxiety due to vaginisimus and want to rule out a physical cause and also ensure there are procedures in place to reduce my discomfort during necessary examinations) and without really addressing the nature of my concerns. He did not take any medical history in respect of my difficulties or properly explore the issues that were concerning me. I would say that in total my appointment lasted less than 10 minutes. At one stage I was visibly distressed and in tears because I was so anxious about the appointment and the implications for the rest of my pregnancy but I was not even offered a tissue or time to compose myself. I have been left feeling very worried about the rest of my care when I eventually go into hospital for the delivery due to this bad experience.
"Disappointed with level of care from Doctor"
About: East Surrey Hospital East Surrey Hospital Redhill RH1 5RH
Posted via nhs.uk
Do you have a similar story to tell?
Tell your story & make a difference ››
Responses
See more responses from Maxine May
See more responses from East Surrey Hospital