‘More than half of London GPs have treated an FGM victim’

More than half of GPs in the capital have treated victims of female genital mutilation in the past year, shocking new figures suggest.

In a snapshot survey, 57 per cent of doctors who responded said they had seen at least one woman in the past 12 months who had been mutilated.

Experts called for doctors to be given more training amid fears there is a serious lack of knowledge about FGM among GPs, who are often the first people survivors of the brutal practice turn to for help.

Dr Comfort Momoh MBE, who runs the FGM clinic at St Thomas’ Hospital, carried out the research. She said: “Most of the women I see at the clinic say when they spoke to their GP they didn’t know where to refer them to. Because of their workload they hardly come [for training]. I want to go to their surgeries to do lunchtime sessions in awareness raising.”

Dr Momoh surveyed 67 GPs, picked at random from across London. Although it is a small sample she said the results can be extrapolated to cover the whole of the capital.

Of those questioned, 35 doctors said they had treated up to 15 FGM survivors and three said they had treated more than 15. Most of the patients were pregnant, and 35 per cent were suffering psychological or emotional distress. Many doctors underestimated the number of victims in the UK. It is estimated that 66,000 women and girls in Britain have undergone FGM. But just five of the GPs who took part in the survey got the question right — which Dr Momoh said was “worrying”.

She added: “GPs need to know about the signs and complications of FGM. Some of my clients have been to the GP with repeated infections and the doctor has not made the link with FGM. If they are not aware of FGM they will not ask the woman the question.”

Dr Momoh also said it is the duty of GPs to inform women that FGM is illegal in this country, adding: “Safeguarding is everybody’s business.”

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