School pupil allowed to observe intimate examination

A hospital trust has been forced to apologise after it emerged that a 15 year old work experience student was present during an intimate examination without the patient's consent. The female patient who has not been named lodged a complaint after noticing the girl during the procedure at North Manchester General Hospital.

The trust refused to go into details, but emphasised that the girl, who was wearing a white coat, had taken no part in the patient's treatment or care. However, the trust confirmed that she had been shadowing Roger Williams, a consultant general surgeon at the hospital, who is thought to have allowed the girl to attend checks in several other cases. Thousands of school pupils undertake work experience placements in hospitals each year as it is now an almost essential prerequisite for applying for a place at medical school. However, the policies dictating what they can and cannot do are normally very restrictive.

A spokesperson for the trust said, “We have already acknowledged that [our] policy for work experience students was not followed in this case. The staff involved have been warned against this in future and all staff have been reminded …