Parents complain about ‘sexist’ letter from surgeon

Hospital apologises after doctor said that a father stepped in ‘manfully’ to look after his daughter

A FAMILY who complained about a “sexist” surgeon who praised the father for “manfully” taking his daughter for a check-up have received an official apology from an NHS trust that said it was sorry for “offence” caused by the letter sent by Colin Baillie, a paediatric surgeon.

Mother-of-three Jo Martin and her husband Billy had complained that the term “manfully” was discriminatory. They added that, had the roles been reversed, Dr Baillie would not have used the word “womanfully”.

The controversy followed a routine hospital appointment for their threeyear-old daughter. Mr Martin took the girl to the Royal Preston hospital when his wife fell ill, and the letter, sent two weeks later on behalf of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals trust, stated that: “Unfortunately, her mum could not be at the clinic today as she has not been well and father stepped in manfully”.

But rather than being seen as a compliment, the Martins said they found letter insulting because it implied that fathers were not expected to take “equal responsibility”.

“My husband went instead but the consultant did not know that I was the one who was supposed to be taking her,” Mrs Martin added. “As far as he should be concerned fathers and mothers should have equal responsibility for taking their children to hospital appointments.

“I couldn’t take her because I was ill and was already distressed about not being there. It’s like when people say ‘dad is babysitting’. No, he’s not babysitting if they are his children.

“It’s assuming that women are there to do the childcare and men will step in when the woman is not available which is really sexist in my opinion.

“Stepping in ‘manfully’. What does that mean? Would I have done it ‘womanfully’? I could not believe it when I read it. There is no chance he would have used that phrase or said that ‘mum stepped in’. That would just not be said.”

Mr Martin, a web designer, added that the choice of language had been “archaic”, adding that while he felt the insinuation had been unintentional, it could be seen as a “gender stereotypical thought process”.

“It was just a case of being a parent… We are both responsible for caring for the children, that’s how we do it here. We both do as much as we can. There is no ‘this is your job’, it’s what needs doing gets done.”

Issuing an apology to the family, Karen Partington, chief executive at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We apologise if any offence was taken, that was not the intention.

“Our priority is to provide excellent care with compassion for our patients and make them, and their families, feel as comfortable as possible while they are being treated with us.”