Medical Chaparone

[renegadespirit]

I suspect that this will get put into Medical at some point, but it is news if not rumour.

My Medical soon due, I called my ME and he simply said "I'm not doing it any more". He then explained that some guy from Brighton had told him that he had to offer us pilots a male chaperone and put a warm blanket on the couch to stop us feeling the cold.

"What" I said. "I don't don't want some bloke staring at my tackle while you examine me, I'd much rather have your wife watching".

"BALDERDASH" AAAAaaahh.

So we lose a top notch ME because of yet more rediculous political correctness.

Dear CAA, can I ask the chaperone if he/she bats for my team?

I don't have a problem with multi/bi or hetrosexual crew in the air or on the ground, but why the sudden concern from the CAA? You either like your ME or you simply find another one. By my calculation each ME should have at least six different chaperones for the various combinations possible. Next we will have to declare a gender preference before we can make an appointment to see the ME. I wonder how many chaperones of the various posibilities they have at Gatwick on standbye.

Madness!!

[DX Wombat]

Mine has a nifty little form I can sign to say that I am waiving my right to have a chaperone present. Perhaps yours could do the same.

[Hawk]

It is actually nothing to do with "political correctness" and little to do with the regulatory authority. It is part of medical professional indemnity. Guess you have to ask the insurance companies why it is a requirement. As DX says you can always sign a waiver.

[JohnRayner]

I always thought you had the right to request one, and the examining quack had the responsibility to offer one, and you can even bring your own, but I'm pretty sure that a chaperone is in no way mandatory. Unless you're a boy examining a girl, then you'd be bloody stupid not to have one in the room, pardon my french.

[Bob the Doc]

Agree with most of the above. Would always make one available if requested but would not require one unless I was intimately examining a female (listening to the chest, even through clothing, counts as intimate in my book).

Bear in mind that your AME is within their rights to refuse your chaperone. I have heard of at least one mother/daughter combination who made the rounds of various hospitals with random ailments and offered to chaperone for each other and then agreed that the examining doctor had inappropriately touched them!

Bastards.

[JohnRayner]

Quite.

There aren't many of them, but they can be a right pain in the arse.

Bastards indeed.

JR

[muppetbum]

While I understand completely from a male doctors point of view as to why he would want a chaperone present, as a female i can tell you that when I'm lying there legs akimbo with my bits on show the last thing I want is a bloody audience !!!

[mad_jock]

Its the two female nurses at my AME that you need a chaperon with.

I don't know if its just the hairy chested broad shouldered lads that get molested but they get way to much job satisfaction out of shaving chests.

[obgraham]

As an ob-gyn of many years duration, I can tell you all that it is a sad fact of reality today, that the doc needs to have a chaperone in virtually every "intimate" exam. That goes for a doc of either gender, and likewise the patient. No refusals allowed.

I can also assure you that said chaperone is not in the slightest interested in your squiggly bits, whether they are "innies" or "outies".

[gingernut]

The provision of a chaperone is to mitigate against two (rare) circumstances:

1) The patient making a false allegation.
2) The doctor (or nurse) abusing the patient.

Both are very, very rare, but do go on.

So, yep we've gotta (at least) offer a chaperone.

[renegadespirit]

Hi All

Thanks for the replies, and I guess I get it. Just seems a shame that we lose a good AME because he disagreed. Clearly we all have our own opinions. I for one would sign a waiver, he did not get the chance to offer one to me.

I don't care who is in the room, as long as they act professionaly, and there is the rub of it, or not as the case may be.

and can I have the adress of the AME with the two nurses please

kind regards to all

[Jetlegs]

When the population of a country shows a growing tendency to sue or to scam doctors out of their money by crying foul when it is not warranted, is when these farcical measures become a sad necessity for the medical profession.

Apparently the UK has reached that tipping point, so look to your countrymen´s behaviour renegadespirit.

[gingernut]

Well I'm not sure the population is trying to scam doctors. (Yet)

Having a chaperone seems good practice at little cost.

I'm not sure if signing waivers is a way forward me'self.

[Flyin'Dutch']

Chaperone offered for aviation medicals as best practice dictates that but pilots can opt on or out as they desire.

For intimate examinations of the opposite gender I use them routinely.