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Care Opinion

Upsetting.

Posted By jefie

"Upsetting."

About: St Mary's Hospital / Gynaecology

(as the patient),

I went to the hospital for the first time to have an ultrasound scan because of reccurant miscarriage. The letter I received said to have a full bladder so I sat there desperate to go to the toilet for 20 minutes in a room covered in maternity scan pictures..

When I was called I was asked if I needed the toilet so I said yes obviously, I was then told to empty my bladder as I was having an internal ultrasound. A bit of warning about this may have been nice as I would have worn more appropriate clothing to cover myself sa bit and the fact that I was on my period was just shrugged off. I was asked to take my bottom half of clothing off - wasn't offered anywhere to get undresssed, just in the middle of the room on a chair, no sheet to put round me like I am used to at Tameside hospital. Then the examination was performed with complete disregard for me saying it was hurting a lot. I felt they had no bedside manner whatsoever. It may as well have been a robot performing the scan. At the end I was just told to get dressed and she left the room and shut the door and left me to find my own way out! 

So all in all a very upsetting and painful experience, I do not think I would choose to have a child here.

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Responses

Response from Patient Experience Team, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust 7 years ago
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 20/02/2017 at 12:51
Published on Care Opinion at 13:33

Thank you for your feedback. We were sorry to learn that your experience was not as positive as we would hope in the Ultrasound department at Saint Mary’s Hospital. It is important to us that comments are heard and seen as an opportunity provided to the service to make changes and improvements wherever possible.

Your concerns have also been raised directly with the Lead Sonographers in the department involved so that they can look into them so that others don’t experience the same issues as you did. Mrs Lorimer has advised me that they now undertake the majority of Gynaecology/early pregnancy pelvic scans transvaginally (unlike several years ago when most would have been transabdominal with a full bladder); this is due to advances in technology and so changed techniques. She will advise the Consultants to select TV Pelvis scan on the electronic ordering system rather than “pelvis ultrasound” as this in turn would generate a more appropriate letter being sent to patients regarding a transvaginal scan as there is no requirement for bladder filling.

We do apologise for the poor attitude of the member of staff in the department and we will feed back your comments so our staff can learn from your experience. Mrs Lorimer will ensure that all patients are escorted from the scan room and not left to get dressed alone after the scan-so as not to feel “abandoned”. To ensure that a patients privacy is respected, a large white paper cover sheet will be offered to the patient as they are getting undressed, along with an explanation of how they will be lying on the examination couch on a raised cushion/foam wedge which is also covered by a paper sheet.

It is difficult to respond to all posts in a full way often because of a lack of detailed information, therefore if you would like to discuss your experience with us in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 0161 276 8686 or by e-mailing pals@cmft.nhs.uk quoting reference number PO16/0369.

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