Complaining about hosp/midwife. Am being OTT?

[BummyMummy77]

Ok so someone tell me if I'm being a hormonal twit and I should 'stand down'.

I started off going to a midwife in the hospital. I left their care after 20 weeks for a few reasons, money (hadn't gotten around to getting insurance and I'm in the US), lack of care and interest (testing me for things without asking or explaining) and a general feeling of being unsupported and the pushiness from the get-go to have a caesarian and their high rates of c section and intervention. (I"m from the UK so this was all alien to me.)

So I'm having a lovely, natural (ARGH NO PAINKILLERS) birth at home. I get my hospital records released yesterday and my midwife calls to ask about my pap smear. It turns out they botched the cell collection and just marked it down as "inconclusive" on my records.

When I'd called months ago to get my results for various things I was told TWICE that my pap had come back normal. I'm pissed for a couple of reasons, being British we get pap smears only once every 3 years so I would have quite happily not had one for another three thinking all was fine (which hopefully it is). I haven't had one for three so that would have been 6 years without one. Ok this isn't their fault and it's on me to make sure I get these things done but the false sense of security is not cool.

Also, they should have called me back for another one as it's too late now and it is a kind of important thing to check.

Lastly, I paid over £400 for it!

On it's own I'd be annoyed but probably let it slide but off the back of all the late then rushed 5 minute appointments (not funny when you're paying £500-£1200 per time), wrong advice and general lack of giving a toss I'm inclined to make a complaint but am I just making a big hormonal fuss and should wind my neck in lol?

Wow, that's awful when they're charging you so much.
I have no experience or advice on this, but you'd think going private would at least mean lots of time and talking things through. I'd complain too - telling you your smear was normal when they didn't have a proper result for it is indeed completely not cool.

In the US, it's part of the OB/Gyn pre-natal care package to offer/insist on a pap and an internal at the first visit. In the UK, paps are NOT recommended during pregnancy as there is a high risk of an abnormal result, mostly due to hormonal changes. IIRC, a pap is not offered to a woman in the UK until at least 12 weeks after the birth.

I would make a complaint because they sound incompetent. If they can tell you twice that the pap is ok and then tell you it's inconclusive, what else have they got wrong?

Yes I would complain in these circumstances. Stick to the facts and try and keep the complaint unemotional.

Thank you. I'm amazed at the shoddy standard of healthcare here when you are paying for it! The NHS has it's faults but now I appreciate it SO much.

As you say, it wasn't really advised, I was told I HAD to have it. I told her it wasn't common practice in the UK and I didn't feel comfortable having it done at 9 weeks pregnant. It just felt wrong, along with the extended internal exam and pelvic exam. I'd been trying so long to get pregnant and all that messing around felt really wrong.

Keeping the complaint unemotional may have to wait a while lol!