"Sensitive staff but less sensitive doctor on Coventry gynae ward"

At my 12 week scan I was informed that I had suffered a missed miscarriage. The sonographer and midwife in the ultrasound room were very considerate in how they explained this news to me and my partner and we were taken upstairs to the EPU where my options were explained to me. I opted for an ERPC, which was booked in the next day.

I arrived on Ward 23 where I was shown to my bed and the usual pre-op assessments were made. The nursing staff were fantastic, the right amount of sympathetic and professional. The surgeon/doctor who was assigned to me had unfortunately let the side down. On arrival to my bed he was amazed that I had opted for surgery, asking loudly 'why?' and not really caring for my answer.

He was obviously very rushed as the ward was extremely busy but I could hear him arguing with a nurse outside my curtain about whether I had been consented for surgery or not (I hadn't, as she was trying to tell him). When presenting me with the consent form he ticked one of the boxes on my behalf without explaining any of the form to me. The box was whether I consented to the products being removed being tested on. When I asked him to explain this to me further he was bewildered that I may be upset at the thought of my dead foetus being tested on.

The final insult was when we popped his head round my curtain and loudly told me from the end of my bed an intimate procedure a nurse was on her way to do. I felt embarrassed and humiliated by his lack of thought towards my dignity.

The nursing staff on the other hand were fantastic, they made an awful experience bearable and were always kind yet professional even though they were as overstretched.

The anaesthetist and staff in theatre were also fantastic, comforting me when I was upset and taking time to explain everything in detail to me - I can't thank them enough.