Letter to PALS

[ailbhe]

Hi,

While at my pre-op today for a gynaecological issue I saw a notice up asking that staff remind women to shave before surgery. I asked the nurse if I should shave, and she said no, but that the consultant preferred "ladies" to "tidy the garden."

The consultant's aesthetic preferences are not a patient's concern, and should never be made a patient's concern, and if there is no surgical need - no incision within the hairline, etc - then there is no medical requirement to depilate. Genital exposure is personal enough without bringing the surgeon's personal aesthetic preferences into it.

I have a personal preference for a gynaecologist who can cope with normal adult female anatomy.

A.

Comments

[sashajwolf]

Go you! This is a great letter.

[sfred]

This.

[clanwilliam]

WTF? I'd send a formal complaint about that (edited to add: to the GMC). Utterly unprofessional and rather threatening. I could understand a "please trim" from the POV of making things easier for the surgeon in a practical sense, but the rest?

[kaberett]

Nice letter.

[birke]

Right on.

[glitzfrau.livejournal.com]

seriously? SERIOUSLY????

And they actually said GARDEN???????

Good for your letter.

[pauamma]

"As requested, I weeded our kitchen garden yesterday, and made sure to bring back the tools to the shed when I was done. But I'm not sure what has to do with the surgical procedure we're discussing. Could you explain?"

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Bonus points for bringing a home grown cabbage in a neat box to hospital as a present for the surgical team to have with their dinner after a day in theatre.

[pauamma]

*grin*

[venta.livejournal.com]

I could believe that perhaps shorter hair might be not a surgical necessity, but might make performing some surgeries easier - in which case it is a reasonable request. However, if that's the case it should be made clear and not expressed in twee euphemisms :(

[barakta]

I agree re twee euphemisms and it should be a choice to have the medical staff deal with that while you're under GA if you can't or don't want to do it beforehand. I would have difficulty complying for physical disability reasons and it's horrid having to ask for special treatment.


Ailbhe: I have found PALS at my local hospital responsive to feedback about some access issues I've had with them and the hospital in general so I hope your PALS is equally sensible.

[snorkel-maiden.livejournal.com]

Good- I was going to ask if you were writing to them. Ridiculous people. Are women undergoing heart surgery required to have pre-op breast implants so their surgeons have a 'nice' view on the way in?

[yiskah.livejournal.com]

WHAT THE ACTUAL F. That is OUTRAGEOUS. Yes perhaps if there has to be an incision below the hairline the area should be shaved but even if that's the case surely it should be done by the surgical team? I don't see people going in for brain surgery being asked to shave their own heads beforehand. And to even phrase it in those sorts of terms is repulsive. So glad you wrote a letter!

[biascut.livejournal.com]

I know I said this on Twitter but NO ACTUAL WORDS.

I think it's a good letter, although I've seen advice to be clear in complaints letters about what you want to happen next. Do you want to re-arrange your appointment with a different consultant, or to make sure that any future appointments are with a different consultant, or to make sure that the nurse you spoke to and the consultant you are seeing are given training on what normal human genitalia look like? I think you tend to get a quicker and more effective response if they can see what you want them to *do*, even if it's just to say, "we can't do that, but we are doing this".

[rmc28]

OMFG.

Thank you for writing the letter. I am VERY ANGRY just reading it second-hand.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Oh my what the. How are these people allowed a job dealing with humans?

[beckyl.livejournal.com]

I stand by my earlier reaction, and am glad you are writing to them.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

What the actual fuck?

Thank you for writing that letter. Goddamn that arrogant man.

[gloriap.livejournal.com]

Best wishes for successful,incident-free surgery.

[the-same-sky.livejournal.com]

Agree agree agree.

Sorry, I am kind of running out of words.

All I can say is YES you are so right.

And NO, that request from the hospital, or any request of it's kind, is absolutely inappropriate and downright wrong. Like morally wrong. Women get to be any way we wish to be regarding our public hair. And for it to be required to be otherwise for any reason other than medical is... [I've actually just been trying to work out how the prescribed removal of body hair must actually breach our human rights in some way, but I am can't work out which article that would come under in the Convention. Surely we have a right to freedom about this?]

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

wtf! hope the letter does some good.

[helenprev.livejournal.com]

Stunned. Horrified. I have no other words.

Thank you for writing the letter.

[etoile-violet.livejournal.com]

Appalling. Great letter though.