I can see them telling you not to come in so you don't get other people sick when you have a cold but if you are already in the office being examined, no it's not a valid reason to not do a pap smear. The cells on your cervix don't know you have a cold.
This is genuinely insane. Are you in the UK (guessing because in the US we go to the gyno automatically for a checkup once per year)? Can she switch doctors? I never heard of not being able to handle more than one issue in an appointment. Or that she can’t get treatment bc of a cold. I’d be outraged and reporting that doctor.
I'm in Canada, a lot of people in my area don't have family Drs at all, but lots of Drs will run pap clinics weekly, and they'll see patients who are not on their roster. Maybe there's an open pap clinic near you?
Can she ask her oncologist for a referral? Idk how it works there, but I’m pretty sure her oncologist would be concerned that she’s bleeding profusely and in pain in her vagina considering she has breast cancer.
I can’t believe there’s not one other doctor she can go to. Even the most rural of places have two within 50 miles. And yes, I’d consider it extremely necessary for her to drive as far as needed in this situation.
I’m not sure if this will work in Canada, but in the US, often you can ask them to write in your chart that the doctor refused to do a test that you asked for, and they just do what you asked to avoid liability (within reason; a Pap smear is a simple ask and I’ve never heard of someone being denied it).
There’s doctors here the problem is that everyone is full and won’t take new patients. We currently have 16% of our population without a family doctor at all.
She also doesn’t have an oncologist yet because her family doctor wouldn’t put in the referral for surgical/oncology for over a week after her diagnosis, and now she’s finally being seen by surgical on Wednesday but they can’t perform her surgery because her hemoglobin is so low from the bleeding so she needs transfusions before she can get her surgery.
Getting sick in my province is an immediate death sentence.
The hope is that oncology will get this sorted out for her when she finally gets in with them but that’s not until Wednesday. I was just wondering if being refused a pap because of a head cold was standard as I’ve never heard of this before and couldn’t fathom that it would make a difference.
That's not how it works in Canada, you cannot just see another GP if you are registered with one already. Everyone has maximum patient loads.
We do have walk-in clinics, women's health clinics etc. so hopefully she can get care through one of those.
This sounds dumb maybe, but if you’re sneezing or coughing, you can accidentally push or partially push the speculum out. I’ve talked through with patients and we have mutually decided to reschedule before. I would never refuse mind you.
That’s valid. I don’t believe she was coughing and sneezing, just a little snotty. And they told her that it was because she has a cold her “immune system is down and it will mess with the results”.
is it possible that they were lying because they didn't want to treat your sister who was sick and didn't want to start a fight about masks etc? I noticed that even when masks were mandatory in healthcare settings, the healthcare workers are so overworked and abused that they didn't bother requesting patients follow mandates - in fact, the hospital I had to go to had a policy that they were not allowed to mention masks at all. not saying your sister would have started a fight, but wondering if maybe they were avoiding the potential for one, or genuinely didn't feel comfortable being close to someone who was ill and potentially contagious.
No she would have worn one no questions asked. I’m not sure if she did or not. But the crazy thing is they brought her into the office and she spoke with the doctor and argued with him for her entire appointment time? He would have had less of an exposure to her face if he would have just done the pap.
I’m a retired RN of 45 years and this makes no sense at all to me…
I can see them telling you not to come in so you don't get other people sick when you have a cold but if you are already in the office being examined, no it's not a valid reason to not do a pap smear. The cells on your cervix don't know you have a cold.
This is genuinely insane. Are you in the UK (guessing because in the US we go to the gyno automatically for a checkup once per year)? Can she switch doctors? I never heard of not being able to handle more than one issue in an appointment. Or that she can’t get treatment bc of a cold. I’d be outraged and reporting that doctor.
Canada. :( unfortunately there aren’t enough doctors for her to be able to switch.
I'm in Canada, a lot of people in my area don't have family Drs at all, but lots of Drs will run pap clinics weekly, and they'll see patients who are not on their roster. Maybe there's an open pap clinic near you?
Do you guys have something like planned parenthood she can go to?
Yes PP is up here too
Can she ask her oncologist for a referral? Idk how it works there, but I’m pretty sure her oncologist would be concerned that she’s bleeding profusely and in pain in her vagina considering she has breast cancer. I can’t believe there’s not one other doctor she can go to. Even the most rural of places have two within 50 miles. And yes, I’d consider it extremely necessary for her to drive as far as needed in this situation. I’m not sure if this will work in Canada, but in the US, often you can ask them to write in your chart that the doctor refused to do a test that you asked for, and they just do what you asked to avoid liability (within reason; a Pap smear is a simple ask and I’ve never heard of someone being denied it).
There’s doctors here the problem is that everyone is full and won’t take new patients. We currently have 16% of our population without a family doctor at all. She also doesn’t have an oncologist yet because her family doctor wouldn’t put in the referral for surgical/oncology for over a week after her diagnosis, and now she’s finally being seen by surgical on Wednesday but they can’t perform her surgery because her hemoglobin is so low from the bleeding so she needs transfusions before she can get her surgery. Getting sick in my province is an immediate death sentence.
...you're in Alberta too, aren't you? I'm so sorry. It was awful when my dad got cancer...
The hope is that oncology will get this sorted out for her when she finally gets in with them but that’s not until Wednesday. I was just wondering if being refused a pap because of a head cold was standard as I’ve never heard of this before and couldn’t fathom that it would make a difference.
That's not how it works in Canada, you cannot just see another GP if you are registered with one already. Everyone has maximum patient loads. We do have walk-in clinics, women's health clinics etc. so hopefully she can get care through one of those.
Can she try a women's health clinic? Or ask her oncologist for a referral/resources? What about a walk-in clinic? What you described is not normal.
This sounds dumb maybe, but if you’re sneezing or coughing, you can accidentally push or partially push the speculum out. I’ve talked through with patients and we have mutually decided to reschedule before. I would never refuse mind you.
That’s valid. I don’t believe she was coughing and sneezing, just a little snotty. And they told her that it was because she has a cold her “immune system is down and it will mess with the results”.
Totally bizarre. Your poor sister.
is it possible that they were lying because they didn't want to treat your sister who was sick and didn't want to start a fight about masks etc? I noticed that even when masks were mandatory in healthcare settings, the healthcare workers are so overworked and abused that they didn't bother requesting patients follow mandates - in fact, the hospital I had to go to had a policy that they were not allowed to mention masks at all. not saying your sister would have started a fight, but wondering if maybe they were avoiding the potential for one, or genuinely didn't feel comfortable being close to someone who was ill and potentially contagious.
No she would have worn one no questions asked. I’m not sure if she did or not. But the crazy thing is they brought her into the office and she spoke with the doctor and argued with him for her entire appointment time? He would have had less of an exposure to her face if he would have just done the pap.