To have found my first mammogram really upsetting?

No but this whole thing came down to whether consent is necessary and my view is that it is not. As to whether the radiographer was rude / abrupt then I think these facets can be very subjective.

Well presumably you are aware some women have a history of abuse, so why do I need to disclose it? I shouldn’t have to tell a stranger that in order to be treated with kindness. No woman should. This is why it’s needed.

People who have experienced abuse shouldn't have to inform the HCPs of that to be treated kindly. It should just be normal to treat people undergoing ANY medical procedure, especially one that makes you feel vulnerable, kindly. It takes no more time than being terse. I can't possibly see how that could be considered unreasonable.

I think even on a busy day, possibly running behind, it will not add much to a nurse's time to say things like, "I just need to adjust you here," "I'm moving your left breast to a better position," "this is going to be uncomfortable," just basic stuff while doing the job that needs doing - but which would make a big difference to the patient's experience as it happens.

Why don’t you think women should be asked before being grabbed by a stranger, why isn’t their comfort important to you? Why do you think it’s too much to expect a medical professional to ask before touching? It takes seconds. You’re insisting it’s not needed, when many women here are telling you it is, yet you decide to ignore them, why?

Yup! Pithy (concise) Punchy (you were trying to be forceful and effective). So you succeeded in the former but spectacularly failed in the latter (IMO).

I am very very sorry for your experience of abuse that is horrific. But nowhere in the initial posting was this mentioned as a relevant factor. Of course for people who have been through a traumatic experience like your's I can see that the procedure could be conducted differently. Like I said my comments were not said in the context of the OP having suffered abuse because this was not mentioned.

So even though you know it would make many women more comfortable, you don’t think it’s important enough? And let’s just be clear again, this is in regards to simply treating a patient with respect and asking for consent first. Just literally takes a couple of seconds, but you think it’s too much bother? Sounds very callus to me. Patients are consenting to the medical appointment by turning up, sure, but that doesn’t mean they expect to suddenly be manhandled. Also they are free to leave whenever they want, and it’s what I will do if anyone ever tries to grab me like that.

Do you have any empathy at all for women like me who have been abused? I was sexually abused as a child, it’s something you NEVER get over, and situations like this are very difficult for me. Being treated with kindness makes the whole thing so much easier and less traumatic. I can only be grateful that the amazing medical staff I’ve encountered don’t have your dehumanising attitude.

Pithy and punchy? 😊

Maybe next time there will be sweets and cookies offered. If you cannot locate information about the conduct of a mammogram and if you were concerned, then I think that falls on you to a certain extent. As for chastising the staff - what you see as abrupt - others like me would see as professionalism. So we are back to that notion that people can have different perceptions - the thing you were so keen to outline remember?

No idea what you are talking about now. And you jumped on my post calling me clueless remember? So I am confused as to why you are confused.

I think there's a few unfair comments here.
Being lucky to get this kind of scanning for free is a separate issue to the fact that the radiographer had no people skills and didn't maintain this lady's dignity at all.
This would have upset me too. I sometimes ask for a chaperone to intimate procedures - is this an option for next time? No idea why but the second I step foot in a hospital my heart rate goes crazy!

Then surely the issue of 'initially' offering consent is irrelevant, which is exactly what I said in the first place?
Not sure why you needed to comment, to be honest.

What was lacking on the transparency front, please do enlighten me?

What surprises me is the number of people don't think someone else's experience can be different from their own.
As stated earlier my experience was similar to the OPs.
My appointment came via text, there was no accompanying leaflet.
I've just checked the website links the text directed me to, as I began to wonder whether my memory wasn't right.
No where did it say that the radiographer would need to touch me - either my breasts or any part of me.
It said the procedure might be uncomfortable.
My radiographer knew it was my first time because she asked me as she was at the reception desk.
She gave no hello when I went into the room. Just told me to take my top off and go to the machine. She gave no indication of what she would do. Just gave very abrupt instructions of move here, hold that etc.
There was no personal interaction at all.

I can quite believe the OPs account.
Equally I believe others that say they had a different experience. I hope that maybe next time mine and the OPs might be better too.

Exactly and yet i am the one called clueless and lacking in nuance...

Calm down I did not say you cannot withdraw from the procedure of course you can - but you can do this irrespective of whether your 'consent' was sought explicitly. What on earth are you talking about? I also didn't refer to you as idiot so maybe you are projecting.

To be fair to marinade they didn’t say that consent couldn’t be withdrawn at any time during the procedure.

I think it is dogmatic to pursue this line of thinking when the process works so seemlessly for so many people. I have found that the coomments are so damning and critical of the medical staff performing the procedure as to be disrespectful. They are undertaking such an important role with time constraints. Why do you need to add to this additional layer of 'consent' when it is obvious patients are entering of their own free will with an informed mind set if they have read the leaflets provided? When you say that it will help a lot of women feel more comfortable, what is this actually based on? The NHS employs evidence based practice so if the process was so broken then I think it would have been remedied or changed by now?

How clueless are you!? Do you not understand anything about nuance?

Nobody is disputing WHAT is done at a mammogram - just HOW it is done. I know that my breasts will need to be placed on a machine. I'm not an idiot!

However, if at any point during the procedure, I don't like HOW my breasts are being placed on the machine, I can absolutely withdraw my consent.

Who the hell are you to say I can't!?

It works in the same way it works for a smear or any other medical appointment. It’s not hard to ask before you touch someone, I’m staggered you have problems understanding that frankly

It's not lack of understanding, it's disagreeing with you that it's necessary in the context of someone willingly turning up for a very specific non mandatory medical check

You think the experience the op had was done with full transparency? Really?!

She's not lucky or privileged to have experienced what she experienced. She deserves the opportunity to give informed consent and to not be manhandled. How many other women has this radiographer done this to, ensuring they'll never go back for another mammogram?

Access to healthcare shouldn't come with feeling like your boundaries have been violated.

Op you also shouldn't be forced to disclose a disability to be treated like a human being but in future you may need to take the SEN option.

Why are you so against medical staff having to ask before they touch someone, especially when you know it will help a lot of women feel more comfortable?

I understand that is triggering and I am very sorry for your experience. But I cannot agree with the comparisons that have been drawn with reference to the concept of consent in the context of a rape vs a mammogram. The procedure is undertaken with full transparency and without any coercion which is the opposite of an assault on one's person.