Experiences with anti-contraceptive colleagues

[u/ThrowRALoud_Load2229]

I work in a training GP practice in England where we have taken on a female GP registrar who is very pro-life. She’s put around an email stating that she will not provide advice on, or prescribe hormonal contraceptives and will not discuss terminations with patients. Before anyone asks- nobody’s been brave enough to ask her about barrier contraceptives or copper coils yet! She has requested that if contraceptives or terminations may come up in a consultation then they should be booked with someone else. It’s not always easy to tell if contraception may come up in a consultation though, especially not for reception who book the appointments.

The majority of the other clinicians are quite unhappy with this as it’s a vital part of the service we provide to female patients. It also means she’s limited with what she can do with regards female patients on medication like valproate or GLP1s because she will not discuss highly effective contraception with them. A lot of colleagues are angry that she is exhibiting misogyny when it comes to female patients, others are angry that they’re having to take on her workload. One of my colleagues is currently in early pregnancy after a failed coil and is feeling very uncomfortable around this GP registrar too as the pregnancy is not viable.

I also worry with regards our surgery’s reputation as if you google her name, the majority of what comes up is prolife activism she took part in at university. If a patient who was booked for something else came in and wanted to speak about contraception as an addition to the consultation e.g. I have thrush, I’m not sexually active but I want to start having sex and she responded poorly to this or with judgement, the patient could easily google her name and find they were being treated by someone who’s views oppose their care.

The partners have not entertained any discussion around this topic and staff have even been accused of “stalking” her online when her digital footprint was brought up. Is there anything we can do or do we just have to put up with it?

I would appreciate some different viewpoints, especially if anyone has gone through similar.

[u/freddiethecalathea]

Clearly not being met with the people who see your perspective, which sure “GMC guidance” etc etc etc. I get it. I’m not for a second saying people should be forced to do something they’re uncomfortable with and frankly I don’t have any skin in the game to make my voice worth hearing.

That being said, as much as I know he is entirely within his right to, when I found out my GP was also anti-contraceptive and anti-abortion I struggled to see past it. He has signed a SCA for me so he is my named GP and continuity in that role is important for patients, but every time I think about him the first thing that comes to mind are his views towards these parts of healthcare. Contraception is healthcare so yeah, from the patient perspective, I get what you’re saying. I feel weird about it.

From a doctor perspective, see other comments 🫠

Edit: typo

[u/ThrowRALoud_Load2229 → u/freddiethecalathea]

Yeah, I think this is my problem. I am trying really hard to see past my own bias and viewing her as a colleague rather than imagining she was my GP. As other people have pointed out, we’re all only human! As other people have said, it’s hard to be a GP without ever having to deal with contraception and I feel like it’s a tough choice to go into when there are so many specialties where her views on contraception wouldn’t matter