Can i refuse to be seen by a certain doctor??

[lisad123]

My DD is now 4 years old but my pregnancy and her birth still strong in my mind for wrong reasons. I was in and out of hospital for weeks. One doctor sent me home after 2 days saying i should see my midwife at normal appointment in 2 weeks. However, when I got home, i wasnt happy so rang midwife team and they told me I have to go back to be checked that day and ended up staying in again
The night DD was born her heart rate was 200 and wasnt coming down, took me downstairs to labour ward and stuck me on monitor. They kept checking but couldnt decide what to do. After 5hours!!! the doc told me they were going to do C section, i was in tears and pain by this point. I asked about blood use, (im a JW) and was promotly told that i needed to sign form, I asked what would happen if I signed the form but needed blood. His reply was "if you need blood but you have signed this form, and you start to die, I will let you die". He was sooo horrible
Lucky for me he rang my consultant and told him he wasnt feeling good and my consultant came back to hospital and did my section.
Im now 22weeks and my consultant is the same as before and he is great but can i refuse to been seen by other doc? do i have to let them know in advance? Help, really dont want to see him again
Thanks, and sorry for looonnng story.

Lisa

sorry should add the doc that sent me home to see midwife in 2 weeks is same as one that was horrible night dd was born.

no one?

yes you can refuse

i would contact the PALS people at your hospital, and explain, they will no doubt be able to advise you

if he is not your consultant, then you are unlikely to see him anyway

i should certainly make enquiries (of nice doc / of midwife / of hospital itself? to see if you can ensure this. poor you. your experience sounds horrid. good luck this time round!

Yes, if you are unhappy write to your consultant put it in you notes, that was awful the way he spoke to you I am so and for you

I think his part of my consultants team though, because i had same team last time and have seen him around still.
Thanks

are you having an elective c.s this time ?

I am having a few complications this time too, so is likely to end in c section, but hopefully will be planned

Yes, you can insist that you do not want to see this surgeon and make sure your c-section is scheduled when the consultant or another surgeon is operating.

I sympathise - nothing to do with pregnancy but there is one doctor who treated me very badly who was on my consultant's team (ref. another issue). I would almost rather die than be seen by nightmare doc.

then as edam says, you can request a different doc or team entirely

I'm so sorry to hear that you've had such a horrible experience. In my experience many, many medics are wonderful people who love to do a fantastic job. A few lack the requisite interpersonal skills to do an A+ job and sadly you were lumbered with one of those. The communication element of their work is just as crucial as the medical decisions which they make - not only because they need to instil confidence in their patients, but also because as they all know, psychology has a HUGE impact on the outcome of all medical situations.

You have every right to refuse to see him, and I think you ought to - at least for your own peace of mind. I would definitely explain your history to someone official, and perhaps even write a letter to that consultant if you feel up to it - that way he'll know that when he treats patients that way there are consequences. If he has any feeling for people and any care for his professional standing he'll be ashamed to know that he's had such a negative impact on someone, and embarassed to think that colleagues know that a patient has refused to see him. He'll think twice about treating other women that way in future. Good luck and I wish you a peaceful pregnancy and a wonderful birth!

Mention it in your notes/birthplan and everyone who reads it at least will be prepared for a lady who doesn't want to see him. They will have imagined the worst case scenario and maybe come up with some idea how to deal with it.
Do have a look \link(www.birthttraumaassociation.org.uk\here}, I know how how you feel to some extent. With my 2nd child I went to a different hospital and had my GP do all my antenatals as I needed to aviod a nasty midwife from the first time around.
Just on the guy's side, he may have been unwell to a degree the whole time you encountered him. Consultants tend to be quite arrogant about their abilities so for one to admit he's not up to performing a Caesarean is quite impressive!

here
Doh, wrong kind of bracket.

oh, by the way there's a chance the bad doctor feels embarassed anyway - having bailed out on you after such a horrible outburst he may well remember you this time around (at least from your notes if not your face)...if this is the case I hope it gives you strength to know that you're not the only one who feels uncomfortable in this particular doctor-patient relationship.

xx

I truely dont think he was un well as it said in my notes (my hospital ask if you wish to read your notes before you leave) as he went on to perform 2 more sections that night. The thing is i cant remember his name!! maybe should ask my consulatant to look up, he is very good but not sure how he would react to someone saying unkind things about his team. hmmm
Will try and build up coruage to ask at next appointmnt.
L

thanks for link am looking now

Of course you have the right to refuse to see a particular doctor, just as you have the right to refuse a blood transfusion as a Jehovah's Witness. From personal experience, it is horrendous to withold blood from a patient who desperately needs it but has refused due to their beliefs, as it goes against all of the instincts of the health professional. And, this wasn't a young mother - it would be horrific to watch a young woman die unnecessarily of a PPH or intraoperative blood loss. I think that is probably why the doctor said what he did, although I agree that it was a harsh choice of words. As a competent adult, you have the right to consent to, and refuse, anything you like.

Its not somehting I take lightly and understand completely thats its hard for anyone to understand especially a health proffessional. There are plently of other methods (the JWs here have raised enough money to buy 2 cell savers for the hospital).
Thanks

Good fundraising - those things must cost a bomb!

we dont do funraising as we dont feel its suitable to ask people for money, so all of it was from donations. They are wonderful machines, that use the sucked blood and cleans it and puts it back into your body, so only get your own clean blood back We are very lucky and all people can use it not kept for JWs only and if already in use when JW turns up, we dont have prortises over it Hugs

Bumping here because I'm in a similar situ. I was sore and bruised for much longer than seems normal after my C-section 4 years ago. A midwife told me in confidence that this particular surgeon was known for being quite rough so I was probably pulled about a lot more than normal. I'm scheduled for another C-section this September and was also wanting to say that I don't want this particular surgeon to operate but (a) wouldn't want to get the midwives into trouble even if I didn't mention any names (b) I got the impression that you got what you got with the NHS and you couldn't make demands like that. I am definitely going to bring it up, but agree with you Lisa that it's very awkward.