PCOS: How the condition is diagnosed
Our Consultant Gynaecologist, Miss Meg Wilson spoke to i News online to share how PCOS is diagnosed by clinicians.
Our Consultant Gynaecologist, Miss Meg Wilson spoke to i News online to share how PCOS is diagnosed by clinicians.
Women’s health is at the heart of London Gynaecology, and in addition to helping women every day in our practice, we are passionate about giving back and supporting charitable causes, especially those that support women and women’s health. Every year we focus on fundraising for charities close to our heart and those that aid women and gynaecological health.
We are delighted to share that our Consultant Gynaecologist, Mr Narendra Pisal, will be taking part in the London Marathon on Sunday 3rd October 2021 and the Manchester Marathon on Sunday 10th October to raise funds that will be shared between women’s health services at The Whittington Hospital and also The MND Association. For every pound raised, London Gynaecology is proud to match the first £5,000 of donations raised.
The charities that have been chosen this year are close to the heart of London Gynaecology and Mr Pisal; the women’s health services at The Whittington Hospital where Mr Pisal has worked for the last 17 years in the department of gynaecological oncology and The MND Association, whose work improves care and support to those affected by motor neurone disease. Mr Pisal first became aware of The MND association charity through his friend Nilesh, Mr Pisal reveals, “Nilesh was diagnosed with MND, he is staying strong but we know it is important to raise awareness of the condition as he would like to raise funds to support much needed new research.”
Mr Pisal continues: “This fundraiser is incredibly important as the money raised will be split between both The Whittington Hospital to improve women’s health at the trust and to the dedicated charity The MND Association; both will benefit hugely from donations at this incredibly challenging time.”
Not content with running one marathon, shortly after completing the London Marathon, Mr Pisal will be heading north a few days later to take part in the Manchester Marathon, on a route that will cover the City Centre for the first time. Mr Pisal said: “Although the crowds may be smaller in numbers than traditional times, I look forward to soaking up the iconic atmosphere that the two Marathons bring and can’t wait to join the thousands of runners from across the UK and world together in London and Manchester for the events, while remembering my friend Nilesh’s smile and sense of humour throughout the tough moments, spurring me on. I will be giving the two medals to him on 17th October.”
Five facts you may not know about motor neurone disease (MND):
To learn more about MND, click here.
Although bleeding in the second and third trimester in pregnancy is rare, Ms Michelle Swer, our consultant gyneacologist, discusses 3 reasons why some women may experience bleeding late on in their pregnancy.
Low lying placenta
This is when the placenta lies low in the womb close or lying over the cervix. This will be identified on scan usually at 20 weeks and women will have a repeat scan to identify where the placenta is closer to delivery. Any bleeding in a woman diagnosed with a low-lying placenta should be seen by a doctor to ensure there is no risk of delivery which would not be suitable naturally.
Placenta Accreta Spectrum
This occurs when the placenta attaches deep through the muscle wall and does not easily detach. This is also identified on a scan and urgent review is needed if there is bleeding in women diagnosed with this presentation.
Abruption of the placenta
This is when the placenta comes away from the womb and is a serious and acute condition. There is often pain and bleeding and women should seek urgent medical advice.
Make an appointment
If you would like to learn more about Ms Swer or any member of the team, visit our team page. For appointments and enquiries, call our team on 0207 101 1700 or email, [email protected].
Ms Michelle Swer, consultant gynaecologist spoke to The Mum Club online to reveal, although uncommon, some of the three causes of bleeding in late pregnancy (24 weeks onwards) to be aware of.
We are delighted to announce that Mr Hemant Vakharia, consultant gynaecologist and advanced laparoscopic surgeon has joined the London Gynaecology team and will be seeing patients at our location in the City of London.
Mr Vakharia brings a wealth of experience to the team and is the Clinical Director for women’s services at Barnet Hospital, part of the Royal Free NHS Trust. He has vast expertise in treating patients for many gynaecological conditions which include: minimally invasive surgery, endometriosis, fibroids, heavy periods, ovarian cysts, painful periods, difficulties conceiving, PCOS and management of late miscarriage.
If you would like to learn more about Mr Vakharia and his specialities, visit our team page. For appointments and enquires, call our team on 0207 101 1700 or email, [email protected].
We are a busy Gynaecology Practice, based at two locations: The Portland Hospital, one of London’s leading private hospitals, and our new clinic in the heart of the City of London.
Whilst we have a full time administrative team, we are in need of some additional administrative support. We are looking for an Administrative Assistant to provide support to both the secretarial team and to the Consultant Gynaecologists in the clinic.
Duties include: taking payments, photocopying and scanning, answering the telephone, booking appointments and providing general support to the secretarial team as and when required.
This role would suit an organised, proactive and detail orientated individual. Candidates should have demonstrable admin experience, preferably in a medical setting.
Hours: Part time – minimum of 12 hours per week, including some weekdays during office hours, weekday evenings & Saturday mornings.
Full training will be provided. Applicants will need to commit to a 12-month contract as a minimum.
The role is patient-facing and the practice employs social distancing and cleanliness measures in relation to Covid-19.
Applicants should apply by sending their cv and covering letter, highlighting their relevant experience, to Snehal Babar, at London Gynaecology at [email protected]
Email Subject line: Admin Assistant FAO Snehal
Due to the high number of applications, we will be unable to respond in every instance.
We are delighted to share the results of our Care Quality Commision (CQC) inspection at our newest facility in The City, located at 15 Austin Friars. The CQC monitor, inspect, and regulate services provided within healthcare organisations to ensure that good standards of quality and safety are being achieved for their patients.
Having opened our doors in February this year, within a few short months the London Gynaecology team and the clinic facility at Austin Friars were assessed by the CQC. During this very detailed inspection, the CQC also interviewed staff members and heard from 70 patients who shared their feedback and personal experience of the care they had received from our consultants and the wider team.
Mr Narendra Pisal, Director of London Gynaecology said: “Following our clinic opening earlier this year, we are incredibly pleased and proud to be awarded ‘Good’ rating across all inspection areas by the CQC. We have been recognised as a practice that provides not only safe and effective healthcare to patients, but one that is caring and continuously moulding to meet the needs of our patients across the entire patient pathway.”
We are actively seeking a Front of House Receptionist for an instrumental role at our new location in the City.
The is a critical role as it is the first face-to-face contact point a patient will have with London Gynaecology and therefore aid the smooth running of the clinic. This is a great opportunity for someone with excellent reception skills who is looking to add to their responsibilities.
Situated at both The Portland Hospital and in a historic area of the City of London, London Gynaecology is a friendly and growing gynaecology practice, dedicated to providing exemplary standards of care, and first-class patient experience.
Our ethos is to provide expert advice and care, and to be always accessible while ensuring that our service matches the needs of today’s busy patient.
The role will sit in the administration team and will report to the Practice Manager.
Please read the full job description before applying. Interested applicants should send their cv and covering email to [email protected] Subject line: Front of House – Receptionist role.
This week marks Cervical Screening Awareness Week (15-21st June) and it is extremely important to attend your regular cervical screening when due. By not missing your appointment, it helps to save approximately 5,000 lives a year. Pre pandemic, out of the 5 million invitations sent every year, 25% of people do not attend. It is estimated that 1 in 8 of those who would have attended their smear, delayed their appointment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and during the lockdowns.
Here we have outlined some tips to make your smear test more comfortable:
Make an appointment
If your smear test is overdue, please don’t delay, book it today with your GP or gynaecologist. At London Gynaecology, we are seeing patients for routine cervical screening along with colposcopy procedures. Please do not hesitate to contact us for appointments and enquiries on 020 7101 1700. or by emailing [email protected]
At London Gynaecology, we are committed to offering excellent healthcare to all our patients regardless of how they identify or their sexual orientation. We are aware of significant health inequalities and specific barriers to services and support experienced by lesbian/gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning and the LGBTQ+ community. This can occur directly through lack of knowledge and understanding and indirectly through marginalisation and social isolation.
It is well known that people within the LGBTQ+ community may have concerns that they aren’t immediately comfortable talking about or are not aware of and this can lead to poorer health outcomes. We also acknowledge that this diverse population also includes people from different ethnicities, faith groups and with disabilities.
A safe and reassuring environment from two practice locations
We offer a safe and reassuring environment; you will be treated with the dignity and respect you deserve at every stage of the patient pathway. We will consider individual patients’ needs when making any decisions about investigations and treatment. We offer urgent and on the day appointments and have access to experienced and expert health care professionals; patients have the option to see either a male or female gynaecologist.
Confidentiality
At London Gynaecology, we treat all information with utmost confidence. We acknowledge people from the LGBTQ+ community may wish to be able to disclose and openly discuss their sexual orientation and not have it recorded in their notes, which is acceptable. Please discuss this at the beginning of your consultation.
Inclusive language
We aim to use inclusive language with all patients – e.g. using correct pronouns and salutations, and not assuming the gender of partner(s). Our staff will endeavour to avoid making assumptions or asking questions that may be deemed inappropriate.
Discrimination
London Gynaecology provides equality of services and care to everyone, regardless of people’s age, disability, gender, gender identity, race, religion or belief or sexual orientation.
We will seek and prevent discrimination of LGBTQ+ patients at our clinics and we have zero tolerance for racist or homophobic language. We will encourage patients to report it if they encounter poor treatment so we that we can make any necessary improvements in our practices. Should you wish to provide feedback, please raise it immediately at the point of service or contact us directly at [email protected], detailing your experience. We are committed to listening carefully and responding to complaints and feedback, acknowledging and rectify any mistakes, and so that we can make our service excellent for all.
What are some of the common health care issues experienced by LGBTQ+ people?
Sexually transmitted infections:
Sexual relationship between two women is not without some risks and some women who now identify as lesbian or bisexual may have had sex with a man at some point in their life. This puts them at the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). STI’s can be transmitted via blood or vaginal fluids transferred during sex or even contact alone (such as herpes). The only way is to ensure that both partners have been fully tested and have had no other sexual contact (with women or men) since.
For more information about safe sex, please click here:
Bacterial vaginosis and thrush:
These infections can be transmitted between women through touching and sharing sex toys (without using condoms).
HPV, genital warts and cervical cancer:
Lower participation in regular screening may increase risk of genital warts and cervical cancer. These conditions are caused by persistence of HPV infection which can be sexually acquired via skin contact such as rubbing vulvas together. Smear (HPV) testing is essential for all people with a cervix. Some queer people may be unaware they still need smears even if they don’t sleep with someone with a penis. Smears are important to transmen with cervices.
Other health risks that have been reported to be increased in people from LGBTQ+ groups:
We have listed links to further information that you may found useful:
Stonewall: Stonewall is the UK’s largest campaigning and lobbying group on LGB issues. Website: www.stonewall.org.uk Telephone: 0800 502 020
The Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF) provide a wide range of support services to lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Website: lgbt.foundation/how-we-can-help-you Telephone: 0845 3 30 30 30
MindOut: LGBTQ Mental health Service
https://mindout.org.uk/resources/ Telephone: 01273 234839
The Gender Trust: It is the UK’s largest charity for people with gender identity issues.
Website: www.gendertrust.org.uk Telephone: 0845 231 0505
FFLAG Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (FFLAG) is a national voluntary organisation supporting the parents and families of LGB people.
Website: www.fflag.org.uk Telephone: 0845 652 0311
NHS England: Menu of evidence-based interventions and approaches for addressing and reducing health inequalities