"Sylvia Pankhurst Contraception"

Today I went to the Sylvia Pankhurst Centre in Mile End Hospital to get emergency contraception and was expecting to take the morning-after pill. The wait time was short.

I was seen by a nurse who was an absolute nightmare. She was describing contraception to me and was having to Google search what they were when I asked questions! She was also very, VERY rude. She was standoffish. Upon arrival, I told her that I was here for the morning-after pill. She proceeded to take me through a lot of non-emergency contraception methods and when I later mentioned the situation, she said ‘you never told me you needed that’ even though we had had a whole discussion about it. She was patronising and looked down on me. When she asked if I had any questions, I asked something (I think it was whether a copper coil would affect sex) and she said that you may be able to feel the threads. I responded that I didn’t mind that, and she said ‘well yes, but you asked me a question and I am answering it’. She was patronising and pushed me into agreeing to have a coil fitted when I really would have preferred to have the morning-after pill.

However, when I was taken to actually have it fitted, it was done by a Professor who I believe was from Royal Holloway and a couple of other members of staff. All three were true professionals and excelled at their job. They were understanding, compassionate and ensured I was as comfortable and satisfied as possible. These three women are an absolute credit to the NHS and the kind of staff that uphold the service. They were genuinely invested in my care and had the best interpersonal skills of any doctors I had ever met.