They're scared.
I'm possibly outing myself with this, but what the heck.
About 3 yrs ago, I went to the Vic to have unexplained bleeding checked out. The woman gynae I was supposed to see was off. I was greeted by a man who told me that he was a consultant. Fair enough.
He'd give me a scan and - if he saw a polyp - would remove it. Okay...
I stressed that I was in my 60s and had never given birth. (3 very early miscarriages.)
To my shock, he started cutting without pain relief. During it, I asked him if he'd stick a scalpel up a penis with no pain relief.The staff in the corridor heard my screams. He finally stopped: "I can't get the one on the cervix."
He left. The female nurse gave me paper towels to clean myself up. My thighs were covered in blood. Blood on the couch. A puddle of blood on the floor.
I was own my own (recently widowed) and in shock. Cleaned myself, the couch and the floor.
Heard another nurse in the corridor speaking to my nurse: "Is she all right?"
My nurse came back in. "I've been discussing this with my colleagues. We don't think it's right..." but there was no intervention during it all. Obviously scared for their jobs.
Afterwards the doctor got me to sign some kind of consent form for a D&C. No idea whether it covered what he'd already done.
Drove home. Accidentally went through a red light. Made it home. Went to bed. Hallucinated that my husband came into the bedroom to check on me.
At the my next appointment, the female consultant gave me a D&C and polypectomy (several, including uterine) under GA at the QM.
Last year, the problem returned. Saw the female gynae - she was brilliant. Was passed to minor ops for a hysteroscopy and polypectomy. Was in terror...a male name was on the letter...but (thank God) it was a different male, an older chap - and he was brilliant. This time, it was a full operating theatre where all the other team members were women.
Local anaesthetic. No polyps found. Mirena coil inserted to prevent uterine cancer. It hurt a bit when the speculum went in, but otherwise pain free.
At QM, all the nurses seemed much happier and more relaxed. At the first procedure in the Vic the atmosphere was completely different.