People walking in during gynae appointment

[Over40Overdating]

I know I’m not BU but my GP surgery beg to differ!

I had a routine gynae exam earlier this week and over the span of 10 minutes, 2 people walked into the room without knocking - one male, one female, both patients.
I was behind the curtain so they didn’t see anything but I was naked from the waist down & in stirrups!

Even after the second interruption the nurse refused to lock the door as it’s ‘not policy’ and when I complained to the front desk they shrugged and said it was an error, out of their control and nothing happened so what’s the problem.

Surely door locks exist for this reason & it’s not unreasonable to expect to have a gynae exam without worrying about who else might walk into the room unannounced?!

So you were behind a curtain the whole time?

Formal complaint to practice manager.

Am sure it also isn't policy that random people are allowed to wander in to clinic rooms.

I had (admittedly a private) gynae appointment yesterday, and the door was locked throughout, even for the abdominal ultrasound part of the appointment.

Yanbu. If it happened twice in 10 minutes they really need a sign on the door!

That's awful. I had a smear test last week, it was in a room off the consulting room and the nurse locked the door as soon as the pre-smear discussion began.
Not policy to lock doors? That's insane.

I had an ECG the other week and the door was locked for my privacy. It definitely expect it to be locked for a gynae examination.

That's really poor.

I've never had an intimate exam with door being locked.

Also never had anyone walk into a clinical room without knocking under any circumstances.

Doesn't matter that you were behind a curtain, you're still in a very vulnerable position, half naked and trussed up in stirrups. Just because it wouldn't bother a PP doesn't mean it's ok for you or good practice. Definitely complain.

How/why would patients come in? Seems very odd! But YANBU at all, my GP surgery will lock doors for this type of appt, curtain or not.

OK, I'll bite. You've completely missed the point.

Definitely complain to the practice manager.

If not a locked door then definitely a sign should be used. They should just have a policy of knocking if the door is closed (surely that’s common sense even outside of a clinical setting!).

And what’s to stop them opening the curtain?

That’s horrendous- complain and keep complaining!

It's a safety concern, and why were patients just wandering in treatment rooms any way?
I've had staff walk in and out during examinations but never patients. Last time I had a smear test it was in a room directly off the reception and the nurse locked the door and told me it was to make sure no one walked in.

Complain and take it to the CQC If they continue to dismiss your concerns.

I had a hospital gynae exam this week and the door was locked, I know this as I had to be told to unlock the door in my haste to leave!

I had a smear last week, the nurse locked the door as soon as I was in the room.

Please complain. The utter lack of respect and care for dignity and personal safety in gynaecology never ceases to amaze me.

Reception were the ones sending people to the wrong room for treatment! The room itself is actually far away from the main reception so you only go there if sent directly and it’s only used as a gynae room so it didn’t even register with them that they were sending a man there!

The nurse always locks the door when I have a smear.

I always end up saying this on these threads:

If men had periods/lady bits/pregnancies/childbirth/gynae issues, there would be none of the shite we have to put up with.

@DinoDaddy yes behind a curtain, naked from the waist down, unable to move or stop whoever was on the other side of the curtain approx 2 feet away from pulling it aside.
Better? Or should I have been fine with total strangers having access to me with no ability to stop them?

That's really poor.

Like others, I had a smear recently and the nurse locked the door.

If for some reason they have a policy of not locking doors, then they need a good clear sign on the door saying to knock and not enter until told to do so!

This.

I'd consider changing GP practice too if possible.

Reminds me of my friend who was left in stirrups with the speculum in when the nurse needed to get something. She was early 20’s and pretty robust after a series of gynaecology issues but after 5 mins she pulled it out herself because and ended up breaking it, so when the nurse came back she had to leave again. She was lighthearted but said it was like a weird experiment for how long she’d wait. Clearly just seen as a piece of meat to the nurse.