This text in Danish (published 4 February 2016): Bedre information og et ensartet tilbud til piger og unge kvinder med uforklarede symptomer
Today (4 February 2016), the Danish Health Authority (DHA) publishes recommendations on the professional organisation of the regional centres that have been given special responsibility for patients with unresolved symptoms – the key message is that girls and young women should be met by only one specialist who will take care of their course and that they should be informed better before their first examination.
The key aim of the recommendations is that the centres are to make sure the girls and young women receive a comprehensive evaluation. This is to be ensured by involving relevant specialists. It is furthermore recommended that efforts aimed at young girls under 18 years be organised by a paediatrician.
The essence of the recommendations
"What's most important to us is that girls and young women who present with unclear symptoms that they suspect to be caused by HPV vaccination now have one access point and only one doctor who will coordinate their course. This doctor will be gathering up all threads and will plan the next steps," says Ane Bonnerup Vind, Senior Consultant at the DHA.
The aim
The aim of the recommendations is to harmonise the offer to girls and young women who are referred to the centres, which combined make up the One Access offer. Moreover, the enhanced interdisciplinary environment is to make those patients who live with unresolved symptoms feel safer.
Why is the information important?
It is important to point out that there is no knowledge of a clear, research-based treatment option for all patients received through One Access.
It may therefore be relevant to offer the patients initiatives that give them possibilities to cope better and enhance their everyday quality of life.
This could be help to understand the disease or advice about handling daily symptoms or physical rehabilitation, exercise instructions and guidance on physical functional impairment.
The recommendations also highlight the importance of informing patients thoroughly about what they can be offered through One Access prior to their first visit at the centres.
It is crucial that the girls and young women receive information before their visit at One Access. "It is important that they know what to expect when they are received and examined by the doctor, and equally important that they know from the start that they cannot expect the doctor to be able to tell them if their symptoms are caused by the HPV vaccine," says Senior Consultant Ane Bonnerup Vind, DHA.
Background to the recommendations
One Access was established in response to the past years' increased focus on a group of girls and young women who approached the health services with unresolved symptoms, suspecting their symptoms were related to HPV vaccination.
One Access was to ensure that the patients received a harmonised offer of comprehensive evaluation. However, in the autumn it became clear that there were differences between the regional offers, and the regions therefore asked the DHA for expert advice to plan efforts targeting the patients who are referred to One Access.
It is the responsibility of the regions to follow up on the DHA’s recommendations. It is also their responsibility to take action on experience and knowledge gained about patients with unresolved symptoms to ensure the continued development of an appropriate offer to patients.