To object to a 'no children under 16 on the premises' rule at a clinic?

[FannyBazaar]

I had to make a booking for an ultrasound scan and was really shocked to be told that children are not allowed on the premises.

I generally take my DC with me wherever I go if I can't arrange things around school time and have done since I became a mother. Last time I had a scan this was never mentioned and was at a place I have regularly taken DC with me although last scan was during school and work hours so it didn't matter to me.

I am appalled at the blanket ban policy because I think it makes life extremely difficult for single parents or anyone who doesn't have anyone else readily available to take the DC.

I also don't get it because every day hundreds of women have ultrasound scans in other places and with their DC present in the room or even leaving them in the waiting room.

I dare say they've had their fair share of unruly children but then again, that happens everywhere.

gosh my 12/15 year old is a nightmare. Exactly why you wouldn't want them there, who's to say which ones are well behaved and which are not?

Really? Sure I know they can be a pain sometimes, but I would expect a 12 year old to be able to sit and entertain themselves for half an hour in a waiting room surely? I mean, what the heck are they going to do?

GoldiChops that's a whole other thing that makes no sense about their ban ! They did say that 'children over 16' (adults? surely) are treated there. What happens if a child needs a scan?

Honestly, I didn't even mention a child before being told this rule.

What on earth would they do if a child required a ultrasound

It doesn't matter what they're going to do, they won't be doing it as they're not allowed or welcome in that environment.

OP needs to accept it and make other arrangements.

YANBU...words fail me...the UK is such a an anti-child/young adult culture.

Actually thinking about it, I had quite a few ultrasounds before I was 16 due to period problems which turned out to be PCOS. I was under 16 when I was told I'd be unlikely to have children without help, drugs or whatever. My mum and 2 siblings would wait in the waiting room, else I'd have been completely alone if I as the patient was allowed in but not my siblings, which would mean my mum couldn't have come too. Crickey. I was just thinking actual pregnancy, but there are so many other reasons for a scan.

It doesn't matter what they're going to do, they won't be doing it as they're not allowed or welcome in that environment.

Righty ho. Although the op was asking why they shouldn't be allowed. That was the point of her op. I can't see a valid reason why they shouldn't be allowed. Can you?

YANBU...words fail me...the UK is such a an anti-child/young adult culture.

Yes it really is.

Fanny, is it a privately run clinic but you have been referred from the NHS?
I work for the NHS and have never heard of a blanket ban. There are obviously some tests that you can't bring children to, and others which it would be much better not to bring children to, but a 'no children on the premises' rule is something different entirely.

The other arrangements were that I cancelled it. I think this company, contracted to the NHS, makes healthcare difficult to access for people with young children, especially single parents or those who work.

It can be very difficult to arrange both childcare and time off work especially if you do not want to share any medical details with anyone else.

If I went for an NHS managed scan at an NHS hospital there would be no such rule.

Your posts are all a bit vague about what type of scan it is, I think that is relevant to whether it is unreasonable to have children present. Plus I have never heard of this in the NHS so if its private they can do what they like!

Unless there is something I'm missing it seems like a silly rule to me.
I would email a quick complaint to the company and ask your GP to refer you somewhere else. As you said to an NHS hospital. If the company loses buisness because of it they may change their policy.

Dh was in a neuro unit for a while. No kids at all. I had to farm out my 18mo as it was in a different city, so I didn't see her for 5 days.

When my kid has required neuro assessment she was deffo treated completely separately in a paed unit. The only adults were staff and parents, no patients.

I assume there are specific circumstances which make a child-free zone desirable, and vice versa.

That said, my kids have had a variety of scans and most places accommodate both. I assume this is a more specialist facility, whether it's just for a look-see or others are requiring more in-depth investigation.

I have two children & have had a previous ectopic pregnancy.

When I was in the early stages of pregnancy with DD2 I needed a scan to check she was in the right place. DH was in Afghanistan, no family within 4 hours, we had just moved house. I had no one to leave DD1 with.

The EPAU said 'no children' I said tough! I will wait around the corner as to not upset the other women in the waiting room but I have to bring her & my health trumps anybody else's feelings! They let me bring her.

I think ideally you should try and leave the DC but if you can't, you can't and that's it they will have to be present.

Sometimes, for a gynae type scan, if the patients bladder isn't full enough , we have to do a trans vaginal scan , which you certainly wouldn't want a child to see.

If you have been referred to a private hospital then it is fair enough for that hospital to maintain its rules for the sake of it's patients that are paying differently.

Things like this are the reasons why the NHS is in dire need of better funding and management so that it can cope with it's users without farming them out to other providers.

I took DD1(2.5) to my 20w scan without thinking about it (never crossed my mind not to until I joined MN).

DH was in Europe and Grandparents were many hours away.

Had it been bad news I'd have had to hold it together all week until DH got back anyhow.

Plus I have never heard of this in the NHS so if its private they can do what they like!

I've had it happen to me in the NHS. I just brought the children anyway.

Oh and I've never been told by a private clinic not to bring children. On the odd occasion I've been at the doctor's and had a child with me and needed a couple of minutes privacy then either a nurse or a receptionst has looked after the children for me.

I agree that for most, if not all, medical appointments and scans, it's best not to bring children along if it can be avoided - as pp have mentioned, no children present means it's easier for the staff to concentrate on the patient, it's easier to discuss any bad news, and it avoids disruption to other patients.

But a blanket ban just seems wrong.

Banning all children means that parents who can't get other childcare are excluded from getting any medical treatment at all from this clinic at all. That seems very unfair to me.

a) Can you tell us what sort of scan it is?

b) What sort of premises the private company uses?

c) Whether there was previous NHS provision locally, and if not where you would have to travel to?

d) Whether it is still possible to request you are seen in location c) if you cannot access the (new? additional?) provision?

Sometimes, for a gynae type scan, if the patients bladder isn't full enough , we have to do a trans vaginal scan , which you certainly wouldn't want a child to see.

Well it's not ideal but this is the lot of the single parent. I've had to take my three yo to my smear. Sometimes there just isn't another option. Op the rule is ridiculous. Awful if people have had bad news but one doesn't manage a waiting room on this basis.

Is this by any chance, a fertility-related clinic? In that case, I would heartily support the child-free policy!