I was very impressed by this very down-to earth woman who is keen to make sure that women get treated fairly by the NHS. She's head of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body.
It strikes me that a big proportion of the posts on Thyroid UK are concerned with feeling unsafe in terms of medical care, for a variety of reasons. Has the TUK team had any contact with them? Could we make a case as an organisation?
I was watching this morning BBC I think - I was in the middle of doing something else. Anyway it was a discussion about women developing PTSD during/after birthing children. I just think that the way women are being treated in every echelon of the NHS is abhorrent.
I am so sick of hearing all this stuff. I will try to make the time to write to this person and my MP.
Old fashioned hustings might be appropriate for our MPs now. They are just getting off too lightly. The NHS is their responsibility to run properly and they just can’t do it.
When I had my first child 27 years ago I had to demand a c section after spending 52 hours in hospital AFTER my waters had broken !
The doctors tried everything to initiate and later advance my labour .
I was given pessaries despite the fact they should not be used when the waters had broken ( I was far more trusting in those days ) and eventually when that did nothing I was put on a drip. I went from not being in labour to having contractions every other minute in the space of an hour. the drip was turned down and I had many hours of labour, when I had been fully dilated and pushing for 2 hours with absolutely no progress , ( my son was still kicking me in the ribs! )I asked to see the doctor because I was absolutely exhausted , the first doctor told me she wasn't senior enough to authorise a c- section, so I asked to see someone who was, that consultant proceeded to lecture me about the risks , dangers and inconvenience of a c-section. I don't think she was too happy that she had to get out of bed at 4am to see me.
I got my c-section and as I said before my son was born 52 hours after my waters broke .
I had a pelvimetry before leaving the hospital and I was told that my pelvic outlet was too small to allow a baby beyond 28 weeks to be born naturally , make of that what you will. It seems like nothing has changed , women are treated abysmally by the medical profession ( in many cases not all , I'll admit some people are lucky !).
I now have the battle of being treated for my hypothyroidism sub optimally by the NHS, if I hadn't found this forum I'd still be under-treated of possibly not treated at all as my symptoms would have been put down to a list of other illnesses !
When I read “The Empire at Home” it seemed to me that the NHS, at least partly/mainly was brought about to provide maternity services which would allow women to be safer whilst pregnant and birthing and post birth care. However, even then, it was kind of not particularly for our own sake (taking a particularly pugilistic view perhaps) it was for the very much needed new generation to replace the losses of the Second World War. Great, no actual problem with the wider thinking. But it seems we have never quite got our rightful place in society. I was around during that surge of feminism in the 1960s (although where I lived it did not start happening until the 1970s) but certainly as far as healthcare goes it would appear little has changed in that time. It seems like all those strides forward are on the brink of being lost. Too many stories about women being short changed. Gynae problems. Birth tragedies. Menopausal difficulties. Heart stuff. Lack of proper treatment (or acknowledgement) of thyroid issues.
I was just talking to someone recently who helped point out to me that I have been let down by healthcare on three major occasions and I know plenty other women who have suffered similar. I am exasperated at our treatment. You might ask too, what are women in the medical profession doing to push forward women’s health issues and we will find ……….
It’s a well worn statement but “It’s just not good enough!”
I have a friend who is a retired GP, she says that the only way to actually get through training is to keep quiet and not challenge anyone higher up the pay scale.
I suppose it gets drummed into them all along the way and then they are threatened with litigation if they stay from the accepted protcols.
I recently encountered a female consultant ( Endocrinologist ) and she knew diddly squat about my thyroid condition and she totally freaked out when I told her how much vitamin D I took daily, ( I take 4000iu) she wanted me to drop it to 800iu daily , I explained that I would become deficient if I did , she went on and on about becoming overdosed, despite me telling her that my vitamin D readings were nowhere near the top of the range. We agreed to differ, and she wasn't remotely interested in the fact that I don't convert T4 to T3 and have to buy my own T3 off the internet.
I recently read a book called "Unwell Women" I can't remember the author's name, it sets out the historical treatment of women through the ages, and how we have been diabolically let down for centuries. Very little seems to have changed unfortunately. 
I will have a look for "The Empire at Home " . 
It’s not easy reading but it covers that kind of military base of the NHS. In the services you can’t question your senior officers - no matter if they are idiots. The NHS still appears to be run along similar lines. Not only has ‘women’s rights’ not reached there but even basic human rights are not exactly given priority. I could go on and on.
I too will look for the book you mention.
Two books with similar names. Unwell Women author Elinor Cleghorn OR The Unwell Women author Michaela Robinson. Either of these?
Its the Elinor Cleghorn. Avery good read.
WildDeer, ' Has the TUK team had any contact with them? Could we make a case as an organisation?'
We (forum admin team) can't answer your question because we're not directly connected to the Thyroid UK charity. You could contact Thyroid UK with your question via their website here thyroiduk.org/contact-us/
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