That consultant said this word...

[Ozwizard]

I went to the hospital to see my results from my consultant. Result of this is that I will have to have surgery that has a six to eight week recovery time. As he was explaining my condition he said that it is very common in " Negroid ladies"!!
The nurse in the room looked at me and shifted uncomfortably in her seat! And I took a second to register if he really did say that. Then I did a nervous laugh and said to him " you must not use that word" he said "what, that is what you are" " what is wrong with Negroid"? I said " stop, use another word". He said " oh I didn't know that Negroid would offend you"
Aibu that he should not have said that word?

He needs educating on both counts (racism and sexism), OP. Definitely worthy of lodging a complaint.

Sorry to hear your news, and that it was additionally conveyed in such an insulting way.

Jessie yes I did have stats. I don't want to say too much in case I identify the Trust.

Do you really believe that any members of society who refuse treatment because it isn't delivered by somebody of their own sex, race or colour should be listened to seriously. Can you not imagine the outcry if a white female (do forgive me for using the term lady to which you object) refused to have her baby delivered by a black midwife. If the former isn't racist or sexist then why isn't the latter? The NHS can't have any patients dictating the races and gender of the people who treat them it is totally unacceptable whatever colour or creed they are.

The NHS exists to meet the clinical and public health needs of all citizens to the highest standards possible or it should. Its aim should be to ensure it provides the most clinically effective care as possible because that is all that can be defended by it.

Beaufort I think that some religions would prevent a woman being treated for gynae issues by a male doctor? I think it's stupid but it's not sexism. I do agree however that nobody should be pandered to because they object to the race of their healthcare professional.

Can you tell me more about the reliability of "outcome" stats? Are doctors universally ranked in this way? How do they work when not all starting from exactly the same set of patients ie one doc might just get a load of patients who were more ill to start with. Eg I know, having had IVF, that some clinics won't take really difficult cases so as to keep their live birth stats high.

The outcome of my condition will still be the same regardless of my race I agree Jessie.
Spearmint I think that he needs to be given advice into his people skills when giving such news. I'm not looking forward to the surgery as it is going to be a long recovery. I cannot imagine just accepting that word from anybody in any walk of life.

We are obviously using different definitions of racism.

Do scousers also experience racism?

Racism in Wales:

Huge numbers of schoolchildren in Wales do not think it is offensive to use racial slurs like p* for Pakistani people, a study of nearly 3,000 11-16 year olds has revealed

The poll, carried out by sport-based anti-racism charity Show Racism The Red Card over 12 months in Wales, revealed that:

Almost half those surveyed believe “coloured” is an acceptable term to use

42% believe the word “half-caste” is okay

One in four believe p* for a Pakistani person is acceptable

Almost one in five thought that the word ‘c***’ for a Chinese person was permissible in everyday language

Perhaps the most disturbing of all though, was the fact some school children didn’t consider ‘n***’ to be taboo

No, I completely disagree. The people I've seen using it are anti-racist campaigners and the like. I think it's to do with having a similar experience.

Well then, colour me enlightened.

If you asked him to stop he should have stopped

Ozwizard I hope your surgery goes well, I'm sorry to hear that it will leave you infertile but hope that you make a speedy recovery.

Interesting points made by pps about racism experienced by white Irish, Welsh and Traveller people. And about race being a social construct - that's the most important point, isn't it? We're all human, all need compassion and professionalism from doctors delivering difficult news, not to be blatantly categorised, dehumanised.

i'd be more offended by the 'Mr Right' comment tbh! thats an horrific thing to say to someone faced with losing their fertility. I've been where you are needing a hysterectomy OP, and i think if the doctor had said that to me, i'd have punched him in the face. I'd be complaining asap. I wish you luck with your surgery and recovery xx

laurief do you have a link to that study?

Racism. "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior."

Not sure why you chose to put that snippet in laurierf? What has that got to do with me saying that historically and presently the Welsh are subjected to racism/predjudice. What you just posted seems to show that you have searched online for something to show how bad the Welsh are regarding their usage of correct language towards people of other countries. We could equally find information online that shows how negative the English are towards people from other countries/cultures too.

I was referring to the statement that white people cannot experience racism.

I wouldn't use it. The only person I know who used it was very racist. It might have a non racist definition in a book but I wouldn't use it in a conversation.

have ever been referred to as Mongoloid/Negroid/Caucasoid in a clinical setting would be very illuminating, I think.

Never. Despite being in that setting many times. Have had the 'fat, fair, female, and forties' thing though. That got a .

Shit, Stratter that pretty much sums me up - what relevance does it have to medical risk ??

So are you saying Jessie that if a woman of a certain religion was admitted to hospital with an ectopic pregnancy about to rupture and only the male specialist was available to deal with it in time, that the woman and her family would refuse care on religious grounds. I think that's actually very unlikely and that pressure has been exerted in many cases by Imams and the like not necessarily speaking for their people but for their own dogma. I also think that even within the cultural groups we are discussing not all the women and families would take that stance but they are not the ones who are behind those exerting the pressure who assert they speak for them.

I agree that there are some groups who would prefer to be treated by females for religious reasons but it seems rather a shame that those are the groups who also are standing in the way of women's education and rights in many parts of the world. What will happen in parts of the world where there might be no female gynaecologists because females are stopped from being educated? We cannot in the UK support this sort of ethos in any way, shape or form.

Loving all the white people saying yabu and they don't mind what they are called blah blah. Negroid is not used in modern anthropology- stop linking to wiki. Negroid was used to denote the inferiority of African people. Consultants are medical, not anthropologists anyway! And no I am not jumping on the race card or whatever so many DM type people call it. This doctor may or may not be racist, but he is IGNORANT. Just like lots of the posters here. He should be reported and sent on a course so he can enter the year 2016.

Sorry, obviously I know how weight and health are linked- but the other bits?

white people do experience racism, cannot believe some are saying white people dont.

Only a few months ago a white man was stabbed and subjected to years of racial abuse and had his home set on fire... why because his neighbourhood only has 2 families who were white, in the end they had to move him and the other family because of serious risk to their lives. The police reports were staggering and the HA enforcement officer was also attacked for trying to help the families.

I'm Scottish and living in England and I myself have experienced causal racism, doesn't help I have ginger hair as well.

Black racism years ago was horrific and yes it clearly still goes on, but its nowhere near as bad as it was years ago, as a nation most educated people see all people as equals... hopefully in another 50 years it will get better as the years go on, as it has.

But to claim white people dont experience racism is incorrect, not all black people experience racism also.

No Beafort I am not "telling you" anything about religion and how it affects medical treatment, but you asked for reasons other than racism or sexism and I thought religion might be one, however I said " I think" and put a question mark on the sentence as I was not sure if it was true in practice. You clearly know more about the issue than I do so thanks for the clarification.

We could equally find information online that shows how negative the English are towards people from other countries/cultures too

Of course we could - very easily - because there is a lot of racism throughout the UK based on the colour of people's skin, which affects people when they are simply walking down the street, sitting on the bus, minding their own business, when no one has a clue what accent they have.

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/racism-wales-huge-numbers-welsh-7737761

I know sometimes when older people use offensive or outdated language excuses are made because it was what was used in their day etc.

But, age shouldn't be an excuse here, medical practises/ treatment etc are often changing as science advances, if a gp can keep up with this then he should be able to keep up with appropriate language to describe his patients.

Teachers and many other professions have to attend regular training courses, some of which include courses on equal opportunities or inclusivity etc. I'm surprised that GPs don't have to keep up to date with this stuff too. (Or if they do, he should understand why OP was offended, and certainly should know to not keep using it after he's been asked not to several times)

Gallstones, Jessie - which I don't have, incidentally.

I've noticed that some doctors, especially consultants, think that the social and professional status they hold entitles them to take no notice of the social mores, conventions and niceties that many other people try their best to observe and evolve.

If that manifests itself as a bit of an unconventional combination of shoes and socks, fine. If it manifests itself as a staggeringly insensitive choice of words that shows total ignorance of decades of cultural shift, not fine.

And I do think that kind of insensitivity is worrying from a professional competence point of view. It's obviously poor "bedside manner" but it also shows that he doesn't really think of his fellow human beings as being on the same level as himself. Could be a superiority complex, could be that people are just a succession of procedures now, not real live rounded human beings.

That may or may not have a racist component to it in this case. But even if it is isn't a sign of intentional racism on his part, it shows a lack of consideration for all people that is worrying.

Any doctor who thinks he is above reproach (i.e. considers himself a god and never to be corrected) is an accident waiting to happen. This kind of slack "I always know best" attitude goes hand in hand with things like not bothering to check notes prior to procedures and giving poorer care/treatment to anyone who dares challenge the status quo.

Thanks laurierf

britney although that comment from tb was unacceptable hasn't there been enough troll hunting on the thread already?