Chaperone Policy.

Why we offer chaperones

A chaperone is a trained member of clinic staff present during a clinical examination. Their role is to support you, protect your dignity, and act as a witness to what happens during the consultation. Chaperones protect both the patient and the clinician.

At My Health and Wellbeing Clinic, we follow the General Medical Council’s guidance on Intimate Examinations and Chaperones (2013) and the GMC’s Good Medical Practice standards. Every patient has the right to a chaperone, regardless of the type of examination, the gender of the patient, or the gender of the clinician.

Your right to a chaperone

You can request a chaperone:

• For any examination, not just intimate ones
• At any point during your appointment
• Without giving a reason
• Free of charge, every time

If you would prefer a chaperone of a particular gender, please tell us at booking or when you arrive. We will do our best to accommodate this. If we cannot, we will explain the options and let you choose whether to proceed, rebook, or be seen at another time.

When we automatically offer a chaperone

Even if you have not asked, we will offer you a chaperone before:

• Intimate examinations — including breast, pelvic, genital, and rectal examinations
• Any examination where you may need to undress — including parts of an examination that involve close physical contact
• Any examination where you indicate you would feel more comfortable with someone else present — whether or not the clinician would normally consider it intimate

If you say no, your decision is respected and recorded in your clinical notes. If you say yes, we will arrange a chaperone before the examination begins. We will not start until you are ready.

Who can be your chaperone

A chaperone at MHW Clinic is always a trained member of clinic staff. This may be a nurse, healthcare assistant, or another clinical team member who has completed chaperone training as part of our staff induction and ongoing professional development.

All chaperones at this clinic:

• Have completed formal training in the chaperone role
• Understand patient confidentiality and consent
• Know what to do if they have concerns about the examination
• Have had appropriate background and identity checks (including DBS where required)

Friends, partners, and family members are welcome to be in the consultation room as personal support — we will explain this further below — but they do not act as the formal chaperone.

What a chaperone does

During an examination, your chaperone will:

• Introduce themselves and explain their role
• Stand in a position that respects your privacy while still being able to see what happens
• Stay in the room throughout the examination
• Document their presence in your clinical notes
• Speak up immediately if they have any concerns about the examination or your wellbeing

A chaperone is not there to assist the clinician with the examination itself (although they may help in basic ways such as handing equipment). Their primary role is to safeguard you.

If a chaperone is not available

If a trained chaperone is not available at the time of your appointment and the examination requires one, we will not proceed. Instead, we will offer to:

• Reschedule your appointment to a time when a chaperone is available
• Complete any parts of the consultation that do not require a chaperone (history, discussion, non-physical assessment)
• Arrange a follow-up appointment specifically for the examination

We will not pressure you to proceed without one. We will not be dismissive about the inconvenience. Your safety, and your right to a chaperone, takes priority over keeping to a schedule.

Bringing your own support person

You are welcome to bring a partner, friend, or family member to your appointment for personal support. They can usually be in the consultation room with you for the discussion and history-taking portion of the appointment.

However, for intimate examinations, MHW’s formal chaperone is always a trained member of clinic staff — not a friend or family member. This is for two reasons:

• A trained chaperone has specific safeguarding knowledge and knows what to escalate
• It protects you from the awkwardness of a family member being present during an intimate examination they may not have expected

You can have both: a trained staff chaperone for the examination itself, and a personal support person in the room for the rest of the consultation if you prefer. Please tell us your preference at booking.

Children and young people

For patients under 16, a parent or guardian is generally expected to be present for examinations. We also offer a trained clinic chaperone in addition. For young people aged 16–17 who attend appointments alone (with appropriate consent considerations), the same chaperone rules apply as for adults — they can request one at any time, free of charge.

Documentation

We keep careful records of chaperone arrangements. For every intimate examination, we document:

• That a chaperone was offered
• The patient’s decision (accepted or declined)
• The chaperone’s name and role (where one was present)
• Any specific patient preferences (gender, particular staff member, etc.)

This protects you, protects the clinician, and gives a clear record if any concern is later raised.

If you have concerns

If anything during an examination makes you uncomfortable — whether or not a chaperone is present — you can:

• Ask the clinician to stop at any time
• Speak to your chaperone privately afterwards
• Speak to our Clinic Manager or any other team member
• Make a formal complaint via our Complaints Policy
• Contact the General Medical Council directly at gmc-uk.org if your concern is about a doctor
• Contact the Care Quality Commission at cqc.org.uk if your concern is about the clinic

We take every concern seriously. Raising one will never affect the care you receive at this clinic.

Staff training and oversight

All clinical and chaperone staff at MHW receive training in:

• The GMC’s Intimate Examinations and Chaperones guidance
• Consent and capacity
• Safeguarding adults and children
• Recognising and reporting concerns
• Patient dignity and confidentiality

Training is refreshed annually as part of our ongoing professional development. Concerns raised by chaperones go directly to the Registered Manager and are reviewed as part of our clinical governance process.

This policy

This policy is reviewed annually, or sooner if guidance changes. It applies to all clinical staff and to every patient examination at MHW Clinic.