Dr Leanne Hayward

Written by a private patient at Virtual Consultation

The doctor listened to me and asked appropriate questions to elicit the information she needed to make a diagnosis. Statistically, she could tell me why I didn’t have a relapse with my mental health on my second pregnancy. That was reassuring as I’ve felt I’ve had to explain and defend why I didn’t have a relapse to NHS but all I know is that I didn’t. That not relapsing didn’t mean I didn’t have a mood disorder. She reassured me that I had a mental health condition which was unrelated to my personality. I felt the NHS doctor I had seen had been using an exclusion criteria and fitting me into a personality and anxiety box to exclude me from mental health services. I’m grateful I had help to pay for a private appointment because it also meant I could choose to speak to a female psychiatrist. It felt different. It felt that I wasn’t being squeezed into that personality and anxiety box because I was a woman. There wasn’t the ego and prejudgments I’d experienced with male NHS professionals and sometimes females working under a male doctor. She asked me about the impact of my menstrual cycle, something a male MH professional has definitely not asked me! I could tell her about side effects of breast tenderness, something my NHS male professionals behaved awkwardly about. I hope I can move forward with appropriate treatment now I have an accurate diagnosis.

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Written by a private patient at Virtual Consultation

Dr Hayward immediately put me at ease after my initial consultation where I was very nervous. It was nice to be able to have my husband there for moral support. I was able to ask lots of questions and feel heard and understood. For the virtual consultations it could be useful to have a mechanism to include more than two parties on the call.

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Listening

Written by a private patient at Virtual Consultation

Kind, caring and efficient.

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Written by a private patient at Virtual Consultation

I was under Dr Hayward's care for almost two years. I came to Dr Hayward with OCD, anxiety and depression. The OCD was the main problem for about a year but reduced significantly under Dr Hayward's care. The anxiety and depression reached a particularly serious point about 3 to 4 months ago. Under Dr Hayward's care I decided to be voluntarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital for more focused and intense care. I found Dr Hayward to be very supportive, knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Medication changes were always done carefully and options regarding medication and psychological support were always presented clearly. In terms of constructive suggestions I would personally say that more frequently providing in person consultation rather than video consultation could enhance the patient experience. However, much of my care was during the height of the coronavirus pandemic so in person consultation was often not possible.

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