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HelenH

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Everything posted by HelenH

  1. Community Post
    Hi @Exonian Thank you for sharing a gruesome and shocking experience. A really chilling indictment: ‘I will never, ever consent to any medical or surgical procedure again without doing extensive research, because HCPs cannot be trusted to tell the truth or act in the patient’s best interests, which is an extremely sad indictment.’
  2. Community Post
    Hi @Exonian That sounds ghastly, so sorry to hear. And being a nurse, you’ll be even more aghast at how awful it is that women’s pain is ignored or minimised. Something that many women are understandably shocked about. If there was something that you’d want to share your reflections as a patient and a professional, we’d welcome that on the hub. Thank you again, sharing your insights, Helen
  3. Community Post
    Sorry Tricia to hear of your experience and the pain. It's definitely too often the case that women are not given information in advance on the levels of pain likely or the pain relief available; and it's their right to chose. Without this, we consider its not informed consent. @Katharine Tylko and colleagues at CAPH are more up on the reseach that me but it's clear that much more research is needed to better understand the risk factors for women. It does seem that not having a vaginal birth may be a contributory factor. Thank you for sharing your experience. We refer to these testimonies in our camapiagning and awareness raising so they do make a difference. Helen
  4. Community Post
    Hello @Beckyish and very sorry to hear of your experience. It’s ghastly and all the more shocking for you not being given sufficient information to make an informed decision to consent to treatment, something that is your legal right. I shudder at your testimony ‘The pain was unbearable … a struggled to cope, the surgeon had to stop to ask me to try and relax to allow him to continue.’ Sounds absolutely barbaric. Thank you for sharing your insights. We are collating these experiences to press ahead the need for reform, see our call for action blog, details below. It also links to the CAPH, a campaign and support group who you may wish to get in touch with, lovely women and we support them as much as we can. Thank you again for sharing https://www.pslhub.org/learn/patient-safety-in-health-and-care/womens-health/hysteroscopy-6-calls-for-action-to-prevent-avoidable-harm-r8848/
  5. Community Post
    The blog I referred to is here https://www.pslhub.org/learn/patient-safety-in-health-and-care/womens-health/hysteroscopy-6-calls-for-action-to-prevent-avoidable-harm-r8848/
  6. Community Post
    Thanks @Eliza for sharing your distressing and painful experience. We’ve just published an updated blog about why change is urgently needed and hope the continued reporting of personal experiences with the policy influencing will drive the improvements needed.
  7. Content Article Comment
    Thanks for sharing and so sad to hear your reflections. Encouraging retirees back to the workforce might be quite a challenge!
  8. Community Post
    Horrendous experience, so awful for you. And awful that others are likely to be suffering without the change in attitude and approach that are needed.
  9. Content Article Comment
    Yes, interesting recommendation. As you say, guidance isn’t legally binding. It’s something we highlight a lot at Patient Safety Learning, the inconsistency of response to guidance and failure to implement good practice. Something we highlighted in a blog last year https://www.patientsafetylearning.org/blog/mind-the-implementation-gap-the-persistence-of-avoidable-harm-in-the-nhs
  10. Content Article Comment
    You’re welcome! Lovely to get your feedback
  11. Community Post
    Relieved to hear you had a positive experience. Services clearly can provided that are pain free and enable women to make choices on their care. That’s what we want for everyone
  12. Content Article Comment
    Thanks @lzipperer Festive greetings to you and thanks always for your support. Interesting developments in the US on patient safety, here’s to strengthened Federal leadership and action in 2023 🎄
  13. Content Article Comment
    Hi @richard vA. I've been speaking with Henrietta a few times and she presented at out 'Safety for All' conference last week. That was filmed so we'll be sharing that as soon as we've done the video editing. There is an e-form for patient reporting but it's difficult to find and is woeful. It's part of the NRLS replacement, the LFPSE programme but there's no timeline for its development that I'm aware of. I understand that her office will have 4 staff only and she's actively recruiting. It's a requirement of the Commisisoner's role to have a stakeholder advisory group and I would expect that patients and patient groups would have a strong voice in this. I know she's been meeting with many in her first few months and is looking for people to contact her office with their views. Here contact details are: [email protected]. Hope that's helpful Helen
  14. Community Post
    Just read it. Very interesting. I would argue furiously if I was an in patient and anyone tried to take my insulin pump or cgm off me. Direct complaint to senior management if they even tried and I was able to do so. Hospitals and health professionals in general or unrelated care will typically understand the diabetes rule book - which is ok for generic ‘how it works’ but not for someone who is on a pump who has taken a few months to get your levels balanced on a pump - plus often needs tweaking. Applying generic rules simply is not good enough to deprive someone of a working system if they already have a pump and are able to use it. Visits to doctors ‘specialist’ nurses often results in their gaining useful information and insights as to diabetes, certainly I don’t get anything out of it given my understanding is much greater than theirs. Even my pump consultant can’t necessarily offer much apart from fine tuning settings and control options, she is fully aware that I know best how my body works and reacts to insulin given I’ve been administering it to myself since 1985. It really is frightening prospect as a diabetic to think that your hard work could be undone by someone with no practical working knowledge of diabetes and their ‘attitude’ to anyone who actually does know better than them. posted in response to my Facebook post by my cousin, Steve Smith
  15. Community Post
    Awful to hear your experience and thank you for sharing @Teresa1. I agree with @Exonian. The Campaign is fantastic and unites so many women who have had dreadful experiences. It is gaslighting when you’re prevented/persuaded not to have the option of GA that is clearly part of RCOG guidance. Services should be there to support women’s choice. It’s their right.
  16. Community Post
    Hi Leo, that's a very good question and it would be great to get some discussion going about this. I met yesterday with some primary care patient safety leads. I'm about to write to them so will add you question and invite them to respond. Thanks Helen
  17. Community Post
    Hi @Jules Gabrielle That's great to hear. What a positive experience with caring staff. Thank you for sharing. If you'd like to, Care Opinion are a fantastic organisation for giving feedback to NHS organisations. The feedback is available to share with individual staff members and in these difficult times, that's always great to hear
  18. Community Post
    Hi @CarrieThat's so horrible, that the pain and trauma of a past experience is so terrifying to consider, that future diagnostic and treatments options just can't be coped with. Wise words @Katharine Tylko as ever.
  19. Community Post
    Thx for sharing. You’re right, it doesn’t seem to be getting better from the many testimonies shared with us. Barbaric and misogynistic. I’m raising with the newly appointed Patient Safety Commissioner
  20. Community Post
    There isn’t enough research to help differentiate and help with risk assessment. That’s part of the problem. That’s my understanding too, that those that have given birth by Caesarian section are more vulnerable to pain. I wonder @Katharine Tylko Whether there is research on that?
  21. Content Article Comment
    Hi @Colette Laws-Chapman What a good question! Lets add any answers and content to the hub Searching the hub, I found this. Helpful?
  22. Community Post
    Absolutely shocking responses to a Sling The Mesh survey. Blog being published by@Kath Sansom shortly on this.
  23. Community Post
    Hi @Dagg Thank you so much for sharing your experience and the broadly very supportive approach at St James’. If you’d like to, Care Opinion are a good way of reporting back to service providers, positive (and indeed negative) feedback. It’s great to know that good practice is being applied
  24. Content Article Comment
    Too right @Steve Turner And staff managing complaints seem to be ostracised within the Trust ‘Complaints staff attributed this lack of timely action to an avoidant and defensive attitude towards complaints on the frontline, contributing to their sense of being othered within the institution’
  25. Community Post
    How horrendous for you. Thank you for posting your experience as we hope that greater awareness will lead to change and the end to this barbaric experience. As @Elliemay suggests, the Campaign group are a good place to seek support and advice. And I agree that Care Opinion to share information as well as, if you feel able to do this, a more formal complaint to the Trust. I hope your recover soon. Such a terrible trauma you’ve been through.

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