Oldham GP - don't leave women's health on the shelf

The youngest prolapse patient a women’s health expert has ever treated is proof positive that women in Britain desperately need good gynaecology services.

So says Dr Anita Sharma, who is the only GP in the borough of Oldham to fit pessaries to prevent women from enduring pelvic pain, bleeding, and the embarrassment of having to visit the toilet more often.

Whilst most of her patients are older women, having to insert a device to strengthen the vaginal wall of a 33-year-old mum of three, has reminded Dr Sharma that with increased obesity, the birth of bigger babies and a failure to do pelvic floor exercises, cases of prolapse have multiplied.

“Women’s health has been left on the shelf in Britain and that’s why I believe that our clinic is so cherished by our patients,” said Dr Sharma.

“Some of them have been coming here for years and taking taxis to get across Oldham because the pessary service is not available through their own GP.”

Those patients include Beryl Stuttard (81), whose son brings her to her four monthly appointments.

She says: “The staff here are so lovely, and you know they are doing their best for you.”

Former nurse Jane (not her real name) added: “The service is so good, its confidential, not unpleasant, stress-free and I feel much better afterwards.

"As a nurse I knew about pessaries but many others – including women – don’t.

"I know it costs the NHS money, but the treatment is good, the doctors are kind, and I am never embarrassed.”

A study by NHS Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group showed high levels of satisfaction with Dr Sharma’s pessary clinic with comments such as “the procedure was explained to me fully” and “I knew what to do if anything went wrong”, prevalent.

A pessary is a plastic or silicone device which is inserted into the vagina to support a prolapsed womb or vaginal walls.

Without it, some patients actually have parts of their womb sticking out.

As Dr Sharma’s young patient admitted, going about daily life, and even holding her children can be painful.

“I would like to see a GP or nurse in every practice in the UK trained to fit a pessary,” continued Dr Sharma.

"The price of purchasing one is around £30 – small change when it comes to someone’s health.

"COVID-19 has meant that we have struggled to fit them as regularly as we would like, and this has resulted in patients’ pain persisting and them even needing surgery to remove old pessaries from their bodies.

"Our surgery is about to begin a concerted effort to bridge the inequalities between men and women’s health and ensure that everyone has the kind of quality treatment that leads to a better quality of life.”

Dr Anita Sharma is a GP at the South Chadderton Medical Practice and an expert in women’s health.

Follow her on Twitter @DrAnita and join with her Facebook campaign to help endometriosis sufferers: @EndoAwarenessNorth

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