To think that a hospital should have a female gynecologist?

[crazyspaniel]

My local hospital only has male gynecologists. If I want to see a female practitioner I have to travel 40 miles. In the end I went to my local hospital and found the whole experience somewhat traumatic - the fact that the doctors were male was part of the reason for finding it so horrible and humiliating.

Is it really so hard to hire a female gynecologist? I get that consultants are often of a generation when not many women went into medicine (and particularly surgery), but there are now more women than men becoming doctors and one of the doctors in the room was SHO level (or whatever they call them now), so not of that generation. I really think this is one area of medicine where there should be female quotas and where each hospital should have at least one female practitioner.

"Cocoflower, I suppose my problem with it is that everyone has preferences about a great many things."

" where the NHS can provide for preferences of patients,"

What preferences do people have of who cares for them, apart from sex, race and possibly religion? What preferences were you talking about then?

Sexuality? Nationality?

SardineQueen, to clarify:

you would strip women of the rights to ask for a female for intimate examinations

The right to request, yes. And to grant, if practical (e.g. scheduling could allow it). The right to dictate hiring policies with positive discrimination, no.

You would remove the aim of single sex hospital wards

Personally, yes. I honestly thing we have more pressing things to address in the NHS from what I've seen than single sex ward issues. Clearly some people have a problem with it, but I think that the funding we do have, and the manpower we have to improve its services across the board - single sex wards are so far down the list of priorities (in my opinion) as to be virtually not on the radar.

You would remove mixed changing areas

Or at least increase the proportion of unisex areas significantly, yes.

You realise that this would result in death for some women, mean that others were unable to buy clothes or participate in sports, and would make life a nightmare for a lot of elderly people on geriatric wards

Well, yes. See my post above about individual attitudes not being good for the collective. In my opinion.

You know this and you don't care.

Not at all. Disagreeing isn't the same as not caring. It's not fair to suggest that.

Well, preferences such as "ability to speak my language" if you're a foreign national living in the UK and on an NHS ward?

Not all preferences have to do with offensive preferences, you know (such as e.g. a white man asking that he isn't treated by a black doctor, which is clearly not going to be something a hospital can allow!).

Crazy Spaniel - I was like you and I didn't have a smear test at all until I was 34. I hated the thought of it. However we were referred for fertility treatment and they refused to treat me until I'd had one saying that there would be a lot more interference with IUI and IVF if it came to it.

After having a child you really don't care whether your doc is male or female.

So you do care about old people on geriatric wards wanting to be single sex.

You really care, but you would change it to mixed sex, even though that's absolutely not what the majority want.

Would you change to no choice in sex of healthcare provider and mixed sex for everything, across the country as a whole, no matter what it was? I can think of a lot of examples where that would be a bad thing.

"Well, preferences such as "ability to speak my language" if you're a foreign national living in the UK and on an NHS ward?"

You think that interpreters should be available for all languages, or medics available that speak all languages?

And you have worries about cost?

I cannot think of any preferences that are acceptable apart from sex, and most people think that is not either. So I don't see what preferences you were talking about, I really don't.

SardineQueen you seem to have a bit of a bee in your bonnet about my posts on here, which wasn't my intention. I genuinely don't have time (or care enough) to respond to your last two posts in detail - indeed you've just confirmed to me that I tend to get overly involved in threads on MN because I find a lot of the topics discussed so interesting, but that it can be a massive distraction too. But the sun is shining outside, the kids will be home soon, and frankly, I have better things to be doing than justifying myself over and over to someone on an internet forum. I think this is the final straw that confirms I should take a small break from MN for a while. Thank you for helping to confirm this to me. This sounds a bit like a flounce, but it isn't really meant as such. It's more of a shrug of the shoulders and a "meh", really. So, ciao!

How strange

I haven't got a bee in my bonnet, I am simply challenging some of the points you raise as I find them to be extreme and I very much disagree with them. That is what MN is all about.

Have a nice day. It's pissing down here

Getting changed and mixed sex wards is nothing to do with it. People want privacy.
If they need to see a doctor they need to see a doctor and the doctor should be appointed because they are the best person for the job-not because they are a woman.
When I have registered with a GP no one has ever asked me if I would prefer a man or a woman.
I do loathe these double standards. Imagine when my husband registered with a doctor (we have just moved and he got a woman doctor) and he said he didn't want a woman-the fuss would be tremendous-especially on here! I would need a tin hat if I said he was perfectly reasonable to ask for a man!
And yet women are supposed to be able to do it and you have to be understanding!
It should work both ways. Women get jobs because they are the best applicant and it should never to be to 'fill a quota'.
If OP objects she has the option of travelling 40 miles-an option she should take rather than wanting things to suit her.
Rather silly if the man who has been appointed is wonderfully understanding and the woman she travels 40 miles to see is dismissive with a poor 'bedside manner'.
All jobs should be open to women and all open to men-without discrimination and quotas.

you can legally express a preferene for a male/female doctor but in many hospitals there will only be 1 consultant in a speciality on duty at a time because even if full time they may be between hospitals or on tuesdays 1 is in theatre the other on the wards/out patients , when you sign any consent form even with your consultant it will state there is no guarantee who will perform surgery as your surgeon may start it but will almost certainly leave suturing to their SHO. or they may be off sick on scheduled day and someone else steps in way too much red tape to run round doing all paperwork twice as now someone else

at out patients you may have appointment to see Ms K consultant gyna but it is for her clinics not her personally you may see SHO or regisitrar first then either her or perhaps no-one else, you there can be all sorts of reasions in a busy hospital why your preference can not be met
When it comes to personal care you can request male/female carers for bathing etc, this is really really important to 80-90% of geriatric patients and to certain religious groups but just because you are neither religious or old does it mean yo can not have a preference, single wards are a pet hate with many; most people who need help with toileting do not want someone of opposie sex, there have been numerou threads on MN about people who feel very very uncomfortable with DP seeing or hearing them use toilet. some of these issues that look minor have been proved to have significant impact on recovery single sex wards, appetising hot food, ( wont eat food they need to get healthy again because thought of cold soup/cottage pie is unbearable) dignity, been talked to as adult rather than infantilised whic in some cases means being called mrs jones or Elizabeth rather than lizzie

The reason people describe OP as possibly phobic rather than just a preference is because it is seriously affecting her life choices and though she knows intellectually she should have smear her fear stops her it is also stops her thinking of children this should be treated with the same degree of compassion as those who fear flying, spiders, leaving home and needles

OP I recommend some counselling to try and help you deal with this not just for gynae reasons which you may be able to avoid but at some point nearly everyone has to go to hospital and be an in-patient and if you are not scared or worried about gender of doctor etc it would help, but for you it seems even if a gentle female was guaranteed you might still have a problem so please try and find some help as in needing help YANBU but in insisting policy recruitment changes YABU.

A sensible post sarahtigh.

exotic the person who expressed the strongest views about this, also had strong views about getting changed and mixed sex wards. My posts were to her.

I know-but they are an entirely different issue. I wouldn't want any man from the street watching me get changed, but I would want the best doctor for the job.

If my husband only wanted a male doctor I would understand 100%. I couldnt care less what anyone else thought!

I would understand if my eldery grandfather wanted the same. He is from a very different generation.

If, when my daughters hit puberty and may only want to see females due to their changing bodies I would be fine.

I do not see how its sexist at all frankly. Its personal preference.

Yes If someone said I only want a female solicitor ,for example, that is sexist.

But our bodies are a very different matter. It is intimate, personal and for some embrassing. Our bodies are linked to many psychological issues including self-esteem.

We cannot pretend our healthcare is not far more complex issue. People forget we are human sometimes.

Hospitals are overstretched as it is without having to timetable according to gender. My experience is that you may well think that you have an appointment with a consultant and his/her registrar turns up instead.

exotic for some women they are not a different issue - they have been culturally conditioned not to show their genitals to strange men, and they cannot switch off that conditioning and the emotional response however much they know their behaviour is illogical.

My elderly mother wants a doctor with English as a first language so that she can understand what he is saying, she is hard of hearing. She does at least know that she can't say so-she just hopes. You can't specify the creed, colour or age so I don't see why you should specify sex.

exotic do you genuinely understand why some women (and men) might feel uncomfortable having their genitals examined by someone of the opposite sex?

I don't understand how anyone could not understand that

He isn't a 'strange man' he is a professional who will make her better. If a woman is dying on the street she wouldn't turn away the person who could save her because he is the wrong sex!

Of course I understand it-but they need to get past it. If they can't it is up to them to travel the 40 miles.

I do not think many care about sex in A&E situation or even going in about the flu

It is over intimate issues, when examation of your private parts that problems arise

I meant sex of the medical staff! Opps

That poster was talking about not being allowed to ask for a female for smears and the deaths being the price you have to pay - all of that stuff.

You are responding to posts I made in response to something else, with your views, which is confusing.

My response to the OP was that the NHS has limited funds and so she should work with what she is offered to get the best outcome for her.

crazyspaniel yabu
you really have to address your problem and it is not the problem of finding the female gynecologist. it is a very sad and unnecessary situation where one cannot have smear test or having children because of fear of being examined.

please do not delay it for smear testing in particular, it can be a life-saving procedure.