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No consent given for stretch & sweep

Posted By #consent

"No consent given for stretch & sweep"

About: St George Hospital / Birthing Centre / Delivery Suite

(as the patient),

I had been admitted into St George Public Hospital recently as I was giving birth to my second born. Upon entering the birthing suite my midwife introduced themselves. Shortly thereafter, I recall they recommended that they perform a vaginal examination to see how dilated I was and I consented. During this vaginal examination I felt extreme pain. When they were done, I asked them "Why was that so painful? I don't remember it being painful every other time I had a vaginal examination performed." It was only then that the midwife told me they had also performed a stretch and sweep to hurry things along. At no time did the midwife ask my permission to do a stretch and sweep nor did they ask my consent to perform a stretch and sweep. I was so upset and am still suffering the effects of this violation of my body. I hope they never do this to anyone else. 

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Responses

Response from Angela Karooz, General Manager, St George Hospital 2 months ago
Angela Karooz
General Manager,
St George Hospital

Submitted on 2/02/2024 at 3:48 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 3:48 PM

Dear #consent,

I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns regarding your recent experience at St George Public Hospital. Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we take your concerns seriously. I apologise for any distress you may have experienced, and I want to assure you that we are committed to addressing and improving upon the issues you've raised.

First and foremost, I am truly sorry that you felt violated during your birthing experience. Patient comfort, well-being, and informed consent are of utmost importance to us, and it is regrettable that we fell short of your expectations in this instance.

Upon receiving your complaint, our team have reviewed the circumstances surrounding vaginal examination and stretch and sweep procedures. I would like to sincerely apologise for the lack of communication and consent during this procedure. It is our policy to ensure that all patients are fully informed about any medical procedures and have the opportunity to provide explicit consent. I understand that the absence of this discussion has caused you significant distress, and for that, I am truly sorry.

We are taking immediate steps to address this matter with our team and to reinforce our commitment to communication and consent protocols with our entire staff. We are also reviewing our training procedures to ensure that our team members are consistently adhering to our standards of care.

Please feel free to contact our Patient Experience Manager on (02) 9113-2687 or email SESLHD-STG-ConsumerFeedback@health.nsw.gov.au to schedule a meeting or share any additional details you believe may be relevant.

Your perspective is invaluable to us, and we are committed to making the necessary changes to ensure a more positive experience for our patients.

Once again, I apologise for any distress you've experienced, and I appreciate your willingness to bring this matter to our attention.

Sincerely,

Ange Karooz

General Manager

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