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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Was the doctor inappropriate?

77 replies

Mookie81 · 09/02/2019 06:53

I was at the hospital for an ECG due to high blood pressure. I saw the doctor afterwards and he was perfectly pleasant.
I had to lay on the bed while he checked my pulse in different areas- my wrists, my ankles and my groin area. I had to push my waistband down while he felt my pulse in the crevice between the top of my thigh and my vagina.
Can people tell me if this is normal? Confused

OP posts:
TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 09/02/2019 07:30

Well, the answer to your question is yes, it is normal.

Why were you concerned that it wasn't?

SaturdayNext · 09/02/2019 07:31

Dimsum, there's quite a lot wrong with needlessly alarming the OP about a perfectly normal medical procedure.

DevonLulu · 09/02/2019 07:36

Ittakes2. - that was over 50 years ago!

And the initial question in the title was ‘was the doctor inappropriate?’ I think this was not searching for education or reassurance, but pretty inflammatory.

Poor doctor!

BlueJava · 09/02/2019 07:36

Yes, don't worry it's normal if you go for an ECG. Apparently it can be different and that's a sign of problems (I asked why they were checking my pulse in several places when I went for mine).

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 09/02/2019 07:40

BlueJava - imagine. Being curious about a medical procedure being done to you and therefore asking the doctor for further information and being provided with it.

There's a possible approach to take next time, OP.

weebarra · 09/02/2019 07:45

Doctor was not being inappropriate. DS2 has a coarctation of the aorta and one of the main indicators is a difference in the femoral pulses. This can be a very serious condition (DS2 nearly died). Your doc should have explained though.

Smartieshavetheanswer · 09/02/2019 07:49

OP isn't ranting. Idiot.

ArmchairTraveller · 09/02/2019 07:51

It might be worth flagging up in your next meeting with someone, for the doctor’s own protection. He needs to realise that explaining what he’s doing is necessary for both of you, or he could be the subject of serious misunderstanding.

Smartieshavetheanswer · 09/02/2019 07:51

Devonlulu who are you to decide whether or not MN is the forum to ask these questions.

Lots of keyboard warriors around on AIBU. Idiots.

Op hope you're reassured.

Namechangedbecauseiwantto · 09/02/2019 07:52

People are being so nasty on here 😞. The op asked a question because she didn't know! I would have thought that was weird too!
Op, the doc should have explained to you what they were doing, but obv it is normal, so don't worry.

Original poster
Mookie81 · 09/02/2019 07:53

Thanks to all who posted measured, factual replies. I'm fine (was fine at the time, just unsure) and am now reassured there was no problem.
I've been here a while, I'm not fazed by the screeching banshies that like to make snide remarks and pounce on the slightest thing Grin.
I said the doctor was pleasant and I came out of the appointment satisfied with my care. I had not had my pulse checked in that area before, and I was unsure as to whether it was needed. I probably got caught up with the era we are in Blush.
Thanks again.

OP posts:
Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow · 09/02/2019 07:57

This is a horrible thread. Ghastly people MN sometimes.

To be fair OP, he should have explained what he was doing. I also understand you can have a female chaperone so perhaps that should be explained too.

It doesn’t matter how busy the NHS is, you should be treated with respect and asked to consent before your body is touched.

Booboostwo · 09/02/2019 08:01

The medical procedure sounds entirely standard from what people say, but not explaining what he was going to do and why is not, especially as it was close to an intimate area and some patients may have found this upsetting.

Tiggs335 · 09/02/2019 08:04

Reassurance was all you needed OP.

I don't know why some people feel the need to be so scathing. Does it make them feel good? Must do.

AnoukSpirit · 09/02/2019 08:05

Sounds like he was doing his job very well

No, sounds like he failed to comply with GMC guidelines.

It is the doctor's obligation to explain to his patient what he would like to do and WHY. It is not down to the patient to try and extract information that should be provided up front, before any examination takes place.

Legally, both the GMC and Dept of Health make clear that any doctor who examines a patient without fully informed consent does not have legally valid consent and is committing assault.

Good doctors provide their patients with information before they place hands on them. If a good doctor had carried out this examination his patient would have had no reason to wonder whether it was appropriate or not afterwards, because he would have fully explained the need for the examination before it commenced.

Negligent doctors are the ones who expect compliance from patients and don't bother to seek legally valid consent based on having provided adequate information. Abusive doctors seek to be lauded for their negligent practice and bully people into silence for raising concerns.

Luglio · 09/02/2019 08:09

The doctor was flat out wrong not to explain what he was doing, and why, before he laid hands on you. It's like Consent 101. First week of med school stuff.

Original poster
Mookie81 · 09/02/2019 08:11

Thank you all for the additional information. I've actually found it really helpful. Smile

OP posts:
Luglio · 09/02/2019 08:11

X post with Anouk. Very well said.

All this 'How dare you question the poor noble doctor ' bullcrap is very depressing.

HildaOgdensFlyingDucks · 09/02/2019 08:16

Agree with PP that, while it's completely normal and thorough to check a pulse there, the Dr certainly should have explained in advanced and checked your continued consent. I've had a similar experience and it was alarming at the time but if the Dr had explained before he did it, it would have been much better. I was 14 at the time, my dad and several medical students were in the room, so it's something I still think about 20 years on. So, I get where you're coming from, OP Flowers

FrowningFlamingo · 09/02/2019 08:21

@Dimsumlosesum you speak very authoritatively given this is clearly something which you don't have a fucking clue about.

Totally normal to check a femoral pulse and differences between pulses in different areas of the body can be very important.

FrowningFlamingo · 09/02/2019 08:33

@AnoukSpirit while what you say is true enough you can't possibly know what was said the the appointment as I assume you weren't there?

The OP says she had to pull down her waistband so I would guess (but not assume as I wasn't there..) that the doctor said something like 'I need to check the pulse in your groin so could you please pull your waistband down' which is an explaination and also gives implied consent when she did so. Implied consent is an acceptable type of consent and the GMC allows for this. Whether you think it's acceptable in this situation is of course another issue.

The area of how thorough an explanation needs to be is up for debate too of course. Is explaining you're feeling for a pulse enough? Should the doctor name the pulse anatomically, discuss the path of the vessel and the implications of any findings before the asking for consent? And in how much detail - list every single condition or just the more common or important ones? And should they do that for a radial pulse too? Or just where something is considered 'intimate'?
Should a doctor fully explain blood pressure and what it means, how the reading is taken, what different results could mean in advance of checking it, etc.
Not question for you and I'm not trying to be snarky - just to illustrate that 'Informed consent' isn't a black and white issue, as OPs post demonstrates really.

IamTheMeg · 09/02/2019 08:37

I recently had an ECG and nobody put an electrode in my vagina. Sadly

Ethel80 · 09/02/2019 08:44

@DevonLulu You've been awful on this thread. The OP was just asking for reassurance which is exactly what mumsnet is for. I wouldn't have known why he was checking my pulse in several places without him explaining.

The doctor should have explained what they were doing and if they had, the OP wouldn't have had to ask here.

Why be so rude to someone asking a question who is now reassured?

SomethingAboutNothing · 09/02/2019 08:45

What Anouk said 100%.

IamTheMeg · 09/02/2019 08:50

Yes the doctor should definitely have asked if it was ok first.

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