"More information and monitoring after procedure"

Hi SauKar28,

My name is April Brooks, and as the lead nurse for the Barnstaple Sexual health service I would like to respond to the concerns you raised about your coil fit experience in October 2022. Firstly, and most importantly, I hope that since the coil fit you have been OK?

In sounds like your fit process was difficult and I'm sorry you felt so unwell afterwards. We normally spend quite a lot of time describing potential post-fit complications (which may include the symptoms of shock that you describe), and this should be a usual part of the pre-fit discussion and consent process. I'm sorry that you were already in your car and driving before your symptoms started - this must have been unpleasant and frightening. Usually this type of reaction does occur within about 5-10 minutes of the fit taking place, and we would never allow anyone to leave the clinic if there were any signs that they were not well post fit. We do have space for patients to lie down and recover if required (normally accompanied by a drink and a biscuit!), so I am sorry if this wasn't made clear at the time, or you felt hurried at the appointment.

If there are any concerns about the coil, we encourage patients to attend for a routine check 6-weeks after the fit appointment which provides the opportunity to ensure everything has been OK since the insertion. Hopefully you were able to attend for a follow-up appointment, either with our service or via your GP. I would encourage you to contact the clinic as soon as possible should you have any on-going problems with your device.

Finally, we always want to improve the service we provide, so please know that your feedback will enable us to look at what didn't go well, and hopefully make it a better experience for patients in the future, I hope despite all of the above, you are happy with you coil now. If you do require any follow-up, do not hesitate to contact the clinic to arrange an appointment: 0300 303 3989.

As this feedback system is anonymous, I am not able to check any further details about your appointment, however if you would like to talk in more detail about your experience, please email me at rduh.shexeteradmin@nhs.net and provide your name and contact details, and I will be in touch with you ASAP.

Best wishes,

April Brooks

Lead Nurse

Dear SauKar 28

In addition to my message above, I wanted to let you know that your feedback has been shared with our coil fitting team across all of our clinics in Barnstaple, Exeter and Torbay. We have reminded everyone to ensure they discuss this type of reaction with the patients attending for coil fittings. This learning will also be shared with coil fitters in general practice when we hold our next coil fitters forum.

We also plan to update our website with more detailed information about fainting as a result of a coil fitting and advice about getting home after an appointment.

Thank you again for taking the time to provide feedback and help us make positive changes to improve patient experiences. Please do get in touch by email if you would like to discuss your experience in more detail, we would be happy to hear from you.

Best wishes,

April Brooks, Lead Nurse

Dr. Lottie Cossey, Sexual & Reproductive Health Consultant