Doctor warns poor care at root of outcry over medical test leaving women in agony
A leading consultant has warned that poor care is at the root of a growing outcry over an invasive medical test that has left women in agony.
Dr Helgi Johannsson, vice-president of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, has spoken out about the hysteroscopy after the Sunday Mail revealed the suffering of a series of female patients.
His intervention comes amid a growing backlash around the procedure used to investigate and treat problems in the womb, with more than 3000 women now reporting being left with post-traumatic stress and excruciating pain.
The test involves a long scope being inserted into the womb, often without anaesthetic, leaving one in three in pain.
Dr Johannsson, a consultant anaesthetist at Charing Cross Hospital in London, said: “It sounds like a lot of this is poor care and badly handled, and emotionally badly handled, and (they) didn’t stop when they were supposed to.
“Stories of being held down to finish the procedure are just awful. It’s important that we make the OH as good as we can possibly make it, including some sort of inhalation sedation, but having the ability to say stop when you need to is so important and a measure of good care.”
Source: Daily Record, 7 May 2023
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