HelenH

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

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.

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 

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? 

Absolutely shocking responses to a Sling The Mesh survey. Blog being published by@Kath Sansom shortly on this.

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 

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. 

Hi @Lynne Williams

That's awful for you. And shows that the impact for patient safety goes far beyond the initial harm and moral injury.

Thanks for sharing, Helen

Hi @Alison R thank you, that’s really helpful, excellent suggestion. We’d be very happy to share anything that’s developed for wider benefit and learning.

I didn’t get to raise on my call this morning so I’m following up with an email. I’ll let you know any suggestions that come back from this. Helen 

That’s gruesome, I’m so sorry to hear this. Completely unacceptable and against all the guidance. We must must must make this barbaric process stop. 
 

it’s not always easy to follow up and complain. It’s my view that such harm should be reported as a serious safety incident by the staff and then fully investigated. 

@Claire Cox do you think we could encourage a formal thematic review of these cases? 

Hi Kerry, good idea. I’m not sure but I’m speaking to an Assistant Director and PS lead of a MH Trust tomorrow with the PS leads at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I’ll ask them if they have a template or criteria. And if not, who might they suggest we approach. Thanks, Helen 
 

@Steve Turner any suggestions? @Claire Cox Shall we ask the PSMN members on Friday? 

Hi Alison, that’s great, looking forward to connecting on that. H

helen@patientsafetylearning.com

Thanks Cake, very pleased too that you were offered those options, exactly what we are looking for everyone. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and wishing you well for the procedure. 
 

I don’t know if you’d like to give the Trust feedback but Care Opinion are a fabulous service and website if you’d like to do so. Always great to recognise good quality and responsive care. 

Best wishes

Helen 

Hi Alison,

Great question, we'll help you find out. Suggest that we raise with the Patient Safety Manager Network group and see if they know. @Claire Cox Are you ok to follow up?

Also we can promote your question widely through our social media. Are you happy for us to include you in the tweet directly? If so, let me have the details and we'll get on to that. We don't have to, so no worries if you'd prefer anonymity.

I'm also working with South London and Maudsley FT and I'll ask their Assistant Director lead, she's a role at the Royal College so might know.

Might be good to set up a network for this. Let us know if you'd like to talk to us about how we might help if this is something you'd be keen to explore.

You're welcome to contact me direct too -  helen@patientsafetylearning.org

Best wishes

Helen, Chief Executive

@Patient Safety Learning @Mark Hughes

Thank you for your comment, it’s very heartening to hear your experience. Clearly it was uncomfortable but you were well looked after and reassured. Best wishes, Helen 

A huge thank you for sharing your initially horrendous experience and then of the excellent and compassionate care. 
 

I very much support your final point. 

Thank you all for sharing your ghastly experiences. You should not have been violated in this way, it’s barbaric and completely unacceptable.
 

We’re supporting and promoting the excellent work that Hysteroscopy Action are taking to drive change. I’ve  been talking today about the Women’s health strategy that is being developed and the need to ensure the governments approach includes the experience of women experiencing pain, not receiving information for legal content, being traumatised and left anxious for future care. And the action needed to prevent this avoidable harm. We want to promote this at a national conference later this year, I hope that happens. 

Really so kind of you to share your experience and so pleased it was so positive, even if a little uncomfortable at times. Well done to Perth Royal Infirmary 

Hi Abigail, Great that you like the hub, thanks for the feedback. And of course, we welcome you sharing with friends and colleagues so more can benefit and contribute.

I'd love to hear more about your PhD and it looks invaluable to the work we're doing. I'll email you separately,

Helen

So sorry to hear your experience Jane, three times, ghastly. Following the guidance, NHS provision and support is patchy and inconsistent. Something that campaigners have been highlighting for years. The broad response is ‘the guidance is there, NHS providers need to follow it.’ Not much help to women when clearly this doesn’t happen. The government have just published a vision for a Women’s health strategy, a few days ago. We will continue to support campaigners and push for action. A strategy, a policy, a commitment is not enough whilst women are experiencing such avoidable pain. 

This is such a ghastly experience for you. I’m so sorry to hear that you weren’t given the information, care and support you needed. It’s a harrowing read and I’m sending you my best wishes and commitment that we’ll do all we can to expose and address this terrible practice. Helen 

Key Learning 12: ‘In a service in which clinicians are routinely told if it is not written down it did not happen it is simply not acceptable for management colleagues to regard themselves as exempt from such strictures.’

Key Learning 11: ‘ Had the management focus been upon the question of Why rather than Who, it would have helped to foster a culture where those who have what they believe to be a legitimate patient safety concern feel free to express it through an appropriate channel.’

KL 10: ‘The need for an open culture in which staff understand the importance of incident reporting, confident that all will be dealt with fairly, is one that applies to all NHS organisations. A culture where staff feel the need to keep their heads down has to be addressed.’

Key Learning 9: ‘an apparent reluctance to raise a Datix.. In the best NHS organisations, there should be a high level of incident reporting combined with low levels of harm to patients and risks to patient safety. Datix reports help to identify and address patient safety risks.’