How I work with you

Have you been apprehensive about visiting a gynaecologist because of fear or anxiety?

Have you experienced rushed appointments in the NHS?

Have you felt that you were not listened to?

I would like to address all these issues that often come in the way of good patient care, that most doctors want to provide. There are significant pressures in the established healthcare systems, that prevent doctors from caring for their patients. This needs to change.

I aim to turn the model by going back to the basics – Listening to the patient.

As a patient who is suffering, you know your problems best, and you are the best judge of what will work best for you. My starting point is simple: you are the person who decides what happens to your body. My job is to give you what you need to make that decision well, and then to support you in whatever you choose.

You are the decision maker

It is your right to be involved in decisions about your treatment and care, and to make an informed decision if you are able to. That is not a courtesy — it is the professional standard all doctors in the UK are held to, and I believe in it wholeheartedly.

My consultations are focused on your problems, in the context of your life, your individual circumstances, your plans and what you hope to achieve. I would lend my expertise to the problem, discuss all available options, and share the limitations these approaches might have. You will get an honest, transparent and clear assessment and recommendation, with evidence based reasoning behind it, and liberty to decide what you thinks works for you.

What good care should look like

The General Medical Council sets out what patients are entitled to expect from every doctor. Its guidance describes doctors who recognise that patients are individuals with diverse needs, who do not make assumptions about what a patient will prefer, and who listen and work in partnership with them.

It also asks doctors to find out what matters to each patient, so that the information shared covers the benefits and harms of the options available — including the option to take no action at all. This is the standard I hold myself to.

What that means in practice

In a consultation with me, you can expect:

• Enough time to explain your problem in your own words, without being hurried
• A clear explanation of what I think is going on, including where there is genuine uncertainty
• All reasonable options set out, including doing nothing, with the benefits and risks of each
• Honest answers about what is and is not known
• Information given in a way you can actually use, not in jargon
• No pressure to decide on the spot, and no judgement about what you decide
• A welcome to bring your partner, a relative or a friend if you would like someone with you

Doing nothing is a real option

A great deal of gynaecology involves symptoms that are troublesome rather than dangerous. Where that is the case, deciding to live with something, or to wait and see, is a perfectly legitimate choice — and one I will describe as seriously as any other.

Equally, if a symptom does need investigating, I will say so plainly. Being supportive does not mean being vague.

Changing your mind

You can change your mind at any point, including after you have agreed to something. You can ask for a second opinion, and I will help arrange it rather than take it personally.

If a treatment does not work, or you decide the trade-offs are not worth it, that is information — not failure. We adjust and carry on.