www.HysteroscopyAction.org.uk - Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy

Welcome to HYSTEROSCOPY ACTION – the website of the Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy

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The campaign submitted an oral presentation to the British Society for Gynae Endoscopy’s Annual Scientific Meeting 2021. To watch our video, please click HERE

Doctors use pandemic as excuse not to offer effective pain relief claim campaigners

An article in HSJ By Matt Discombe 21 December 2020

  • Women suffered “distressing” procedures after choice of pain relief denied during covid, survey finds
  • Campaign finds women left traumatised
  • RCOG expresses concerns women feel covid is being used as “excuse”

Women are undergoing “painful and distressing” diagnostic tests as doctors use the covid-19 pandemic as an excuse not to offer them their choice of pain relief, HSJ has been told.

At least 70 women who have had hysteroscopies this year in English NHS hospitals said they were left in extreme pain following the procedures, with many suffering trauma for several days, according to a survey by the Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopies group.

Please click HERE to view the whole HSJ article

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Please click HERE to view an open letter to the Department of Health & Social Care, 20th October 2020

To read the responses to our Patient Dissatisfaction Survey of painful hysteroscopy (up till March 2020 ‘lockdown’) please click HERE

Please click HERE to view a joint statement from RCOG, BGSC and BGCS: Guidance about abnormal uterine bleeding during the Coronavirus pandemic

Had a painful hysteroscopy?  Want better choice of pain-control for future patients?  Please complete our anonymous survey which goes to the Department of Health.  Thank you.   SURVEY

On 7th October 2019 The Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy launched an ANONYMOUS PATIENT SURVEY aimed at quantifying circumstances, risk factors and consequences of painful hysteroscopy. The survey is deliberately aimed at people who had a painful hysteroscopy/biopsy, not at the ~75% majority who had a very good or alright experience. The survey was prompted by NICE and BSGE committee member Dr Jonathan Lord helpfully suggesting that we need to find out if the bad stories we hear are just ‘rare occurrences’ or the absence of ‘best practice’.

What is the campaign about?

We are a group of UK patients who have had hysteroscopies and/or womb biopsies. We are concerned that a sizeable minority (5%-25%) of UK hysteroscopy patients have reported severe pain during these outpatient procedures.

We are campaigning for all hysteroscopy/uterine biopsy patients to have

  • Full written information about the hysteroscopy/biopsy procedure including the risk of severe pain
  • Safe and effective pain relief
  • A genuine CHOICE of no anaesthesia; local anaesthesia; safe monitored conscious sedation; epidural; general anaesthesia

NHS Hospital Trusts are currently financially incentivised to perform at least 70% of hysteroscopies in outpatients rather than under general anaesthetic. This means that patients are not always given a CHOICE between an outpatient hysteroscopy and a GA. We don’t advocate a return to GA for all hysteroscopies but we do want patients to retain the right to choose the mode in which an invasive, intimate and potentially painful procedure is carried out.

To see the latest article in the Sunday Post (11th October 2020) please click HERE.

To see the latest article in the HSJ (3rd March 2020) please click HERE.

To see the latest article in the Daily Mail (3rd March 2020) please click HERE.

To hear the latest discussion on Radio 4 Woman’s Hour on 17th June 2019:

To hear a follow-up discussion on Radio Shropshire on 27th June 2019:

Hear RCOG’s reply broadcast on Radio 4 Woman’s Hour on 1st July 2019:

 

Follow us on facebook https://www.facebook.com/Campaign-Against-Painful-Hysteroscopy-193342597530214/

This website is administered by Elaine Falkner and Katharine Tylko.