GP to be investigated by the GMC

I think we are in danger of losing perspective here. As has already been said we don't know all the facts but we do seem to have forgotten that the only thing the doctor did was to ask her to remove her veil. He didn't insist and she didn't complain. If she had been uncomfortable about it surely she would have said something? We have no idea how he asked, whether she felt pressured or not, we don't know whether she struggled with the language or whether her English was fluent. I think it is wrong to judge him, her or her husband as we know very little.

Without having been present at the consultation, I'm not sure that anyone is in possession of all the facts.

However, I don't understand why the doctor felt it necessary to ask the woman to remove her veil. We have only hearsay that the woman's husband sat "glowering" in the waiting room - and it would be naive to imagine there is no possibility that the "witness" to this alleged glowering had his or her own agenda in reporting this. We do, though, have a photograph of the doctor adopting a very defiant stance in the photograph - hands on hips, staring into the camera.

Doctors are in quite a powerful position in relation to their patients - anyone who has had a less than satisfactory consultation with a rude or dismissive doctor will understand that. Patients sometimes feel intimidated by doctors, but good doctors do their best to put patients at their ease, rather than making them feel more vulnerable and uncomfortable.

I doubt very much that the GP would be struck off for this if he was found to have acted improperly. I imagine he would be asked to attend further training.

She wasn’t asked to disrobe. she walked to remove her veil!

‘Sheer ignorance and arrogance shown by this GP.......’

No, not ignorance and arrogance, he asked her to remove her veil because he couldn’t understand what she was saying. If his diagnosis was impeded because he couldn’t hear what she was saying, he’d have been in trouble for failure to diagnose correctly or misdiagnosis. His job is to treat his patient, his patient was the child. My daughter is a GP, and I have heard her speak about the need to diagnose correctly, the pressures GPS are under, the need to be correct and professional at all times etc. The numbers of people who make complaints about doctors are unbelievable, she was warned when she was in medical school ‘You will all have complaints made against you, this is the society we live in.’
The child was the patient, the doctor was treating the child. He was putting the needs of the child first, the need to diagnose and treat correctly. He may have been a bit less than PC but for goodness sake, was the child treated properly? That’s the question.

And for all the comments on here, very few have even mentioned the child. Who was most important in that room? The mother? The doctor? No, it was the child.

She wasnt the patient Moggie she cant possibly have expected that she would be asked to disrobe

maybe the muslim lady should find a female doctor ?

It shouldnt. Empathy doesnt require one to have the same background..

Or doesn’t that make any difference ?

Are there no Drs or not enough Drs of the same faith available for different religions & cultures .

He should be investigated. The ignorance and arrogance shown by this GP is astonishing. I don’t believe for a moment that he couldn’t hear her, I have lived and worked with in the Middle East with Muslim women and the veil does not impede conversation to any degree. He was very ignorant and disrespectful and at the very least needs some retraining.

I'm not judging because I don't know the details but I do have some observations:

The GP apparently asked her to remove her veil and she didn't decline or make any comment so presumably he didn't think she minded.

Perhaps she didn't speak clearly and, like me, found it easier to understand as he could see her lips. Doesn't sound to me as if she had a problem about it.

I wonder why she didn't take someone in with her if she knew she didn't speak clearly but perhaps she didn't. Why did her husband stay outside?

We don't know why the GP spoke to the press, they may have had a version of events and he felt it necessary to defend himself or he may have done it deliberately to get attention.

I agree that the hospital was in a difficult situation and may simply have passed the buck. I have experience of someone being ultra cautious in a similar situation.

It is quite possible this is racist against a Muslim but also possible that the husband just had a hissy-fit when he heard his wife took off her veil.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016/03/04/muslim-women-multi-faith-dignity-gowns-hospital_n_9385452.html

“For Muslim women, to have any flesh exposed, other than their face and hands, is like having very private parts of the anatomy, such as the breasts, displayed."
^that would apply to the face of a veiled woman

Most of the major religions allow exceptions for emergency treatment etc

But that was NOT applicable to the woman in this case. There was no medical reason for her to remove her veil

People can be operated on whilst staying veiled in all non medically justified access/assessment areas. The NHS have "dignity gown" which have approval of religous heads and can be used for proceedures and operations where non female staff are present.

A full body assessment doesnt have to be done by a lead clinician. A female doctor or nurse can do that part of a critical assessment and report findings to lead clinicians, who can then access specific areas of concern while keeping the rest of the body covered.

To be honest Starlady, I’m not a Muslim but I feel acute embarrassment if I have to expose my body to any medical personnel ie mammogram, cervical spear test, but I grit my teeth and get on with it. However normally those conducting such exams are female. I will only agree to an intimate exam if the doctor is female, my GP is female, but I would still be embarrassed. If I’m ever unfortunate enough to need a hospital consultation where I would need to expose intimate parts of my body I would request a female consultant, if one was available, but even then I could find myself being seen by one of their team, and that person could be male. I’d just have to grit my teeth and get on with it. I think that’s what we all have to do where medical things are concerned.

Points taken, maddyone, about emergency situations. I just hope that, in that case, the patient and their family would be willing to put their beliefs on the back burner for the sake of saving the patient's life. I hope, but I'm not sure.

"Can I ask what the reaction would be if the patient was a Christian woman asked to remove her blouse by a Muslim doctor, say to check her heartbeat (which can be done without removing clothing) - would the condemnation of the doctor be the same?"

I hope that the condemnation of the doctor in this case ^ would be the same no matter what religion he was from. Asking any religious woman to remove her blouse if it isn't necessary is also very insensitive and could be seen, I imagine, as harassment and/or an infringement on her religious beliefs.

I'm not doctor or nurse, but, IMO, in most cases, medical procedures can be performed while still showing respect for the patient's religous or cultural beliefs and practices. IMO, it's part of showing respect for the patient as a whole person and not just a medical patient.

Having said that, I have wondered before about emergency, life saving treatment. How do Muslim women get along then, it is acceptable for a doctor (male) to rip the clothes off a lady who is quite literally going to die without immediate life saving interventions. For example, a lady who needs life saving resuscitation and the paramedics who turn up are all male. The clothes are normally cut off then to expose the body.

I expect that a female doctor is requested Bridgeit. All women are entitled to ask for a female doctor or/and a chaperone for intimate exams. Mind you, when I was delivering my three children I felt much more comfortable with female staff, but it didn’t occur to me to ask for a female doctor to be stitched. I don’t think the right to a female doctor was automatic 40 years ago. Thankfully times have changed, although I would always have put my child’s safety above my discomfiture, and seemingly so did this lady, but I don’t understand why the father didn’t go into the consultation along with his wife.

So what happens when an internal examination maybe required ?

Good point, notanan!

I think it's interesting that the woman complied w/ the doctor's request, but her DH complained

Why? Have you never felt bamboozled at a medical appointment?

Surely if you want your sick child seen you do what youre told and brush off your discomfort.. then after maybe think "hang on, that was wrong/doesnt make sense"..

I agree w/ those who say that the doctor could have simply asked the woman to speak louder or move her veil away from her mouth. Or he could have let her know the problem and let her decide how to resolve it. At worst, the doctor thinks the Muslim veil is "silly" or "unnecessary" (my words); at best, he simply didn't think of these other solutions.

Recently, I read something online about a concept called "cultural sensitivity." It refers to the ability to be sensitive to the needs and beliefs of cultures other than one's own. While it's possible that the doctor is a bigot, I think it's more likely that he is just "culturally insensitive." He probably didn't realize how much the veil means to the Muslim community or that he should even look for any other solutions than the first one that popped into his head.

The article I read said that cultural sensitivity should become part of all forms of training for people who work w/ the public, including healthcare professionals. I agree. But those who already are practicing their profession need to learn on their own, I suppose.

I think it's interesting that the woman complied w/ the doctor's request, but her DH complained. That suggests to me that, in this case, the veil does not really reflect her wishes, but rather, her DH's. However, that's a whole other discussion, I guess, and has nothing to do w/ the GP's behavior.

Oh, you know this man? Amazing and you know his priorities. A small world indeed.

Spot on not

Why would the two things be mutually exclusive sodapop ?

It would seem the child's father was more concerned about his wife's veil than his child's illness. As has been said though we don't know the details.