Patient says gynecological operation among ‘masses of people’ violated consent

By RNZ

An Auckland woman is furious that her gynecological operation was carried out in a theater full of people that she had not given permission to be there.

The woman, whom RNZ agreed not to identify, says North Shore Hospital violated her right to give her informed consent.

This occurs when the Medical Board is consulting on changing the guidelines to make it clear that patients should be asked about trainees found in any surgery, although the Health and Disability Commissioner maintains that the law and the Code Rights are very clear as they are.

The woman had an operation last year.

“As I was being pushed into the theater, all I could see were masses of people, many people.

“Because this is an environment that I’ve been in before, I was a bit surprised by how many people were in this theater.”

Counted at least 10.

“I didn’t know who they were, I didn’t know why it was necessary for them to be there. I knew that some of them might meet me in another context of my life.

“I felt invaded.”

The Patient Rights Code says that patients have the right to refuse to have more people there.

Did the woman have a chance to object?

“Not once was I anesthetized and that happened very fast.

“The anesthetist is talking to you. The mask is on, they are prepared and ready to use, you are out.

“I never had a chance to speak.

“You are in a vulnerable position … there is a bustle around you.

“Unless you were a very assertive person and you said, ‘Wait, stop. I want to know who all these people are.’

He would also have to be sure that speaking out would not detract from the care he received, he said.

His questions later about who was in the room were ignored, he claimed.

“I felt like my privacy was totally and completely invaded.

“When you go to a theater and you’re a woman, you don’t expect to think, ‘Well my legs will be up and all these people are going to watch.’

The health board of the hospital, Waitematā, at that time had a policy that if the trainees were supervised, they did not need explicit consent.

That policy could mean that the entire class was watched, the woman said.

His faith in the previously shaky healthcare system was now shattered.

“Completely broken. He would like to think that the system is not limited to talking about a mouthpiece.”

The training of the students was necessary, but had to be fully consented, he said.

The Waitematā DHB said that it had not received a complaint from patients of this nature.

“RNZ has not provided us with any details and therefore we have not been given an opportunity to discuss the details of their care to address the concerns.”

If it did, it would take it extremely seriously and work with the patient to investigate it, the DHB said, adding that it had made considerable effort to strengthen its informed consent processes over the past two years.