She was great! I feel like I was in good hands! She was very nice

Submitted Feb. 4, 2015

I only met this doctor while in labour at BC Women's. My midwife asked for an OB to come in and check the position of my baby's head. All exams to that point had been tolerable, but Dr Purcell put her whole hand up inside me to check. It was the roughest, most brutal exam I have ever endured. After she left I asked if that was normal and necessary. The staff in the room said no.

As I was going for a VBAC, after that exam, she told me she would only "let" me push for another half hour, then she was cutting. I told her no. I was fine, as was the baby. I wanted more time. She sarcastically asked if I could push in the squatting position for 2 more hours I said, "H.E.L.L. YES." It was hard, but I did it.

Then she came in again after those two hours. Saying cesarean or forceps. I said neither, every one could see my baby's head. Then she said vacuum or episiotomy. The latter word gave me pause.... Who does those anymore? Then she said, "Either you risk hurting your baby with the vacuum, or you accept dealing with a little pain yourself."

I was defeated by that point. I spoke with my midwife who said with the episiotomy the baby would be out in the next contraction or two. So I went that route. It was fine, I guess... but the threats and harsh treatment from this doctor will not be forgotten.

I am sure she is an adequate surgeon, but her bedside manner was horrendous. AVOID HER.

Submitted Nov. 26, 2014

I saw Dr Purcell in 2012. I explained all my symptoms to her gave her all my family history. Even with a very strong family history of cancer she never took a biopsy. She examined me and kept poking me and saying interesting every time I poke your cervix it bleeds. She made me feel like a freak. Well she decided to send me to a different Gyno to burn my cervix to make it stop bleeding. Had the procedure done it stopped bleeding temporarily. Went back to 2nd Gyno biopsy taken. Cancer diagnoses. Thank God she sent me to someone else or I'd hate to think what would of happened to me. My belief when she was poking me she was poking my tumour not my cervix!!! My tumour was in my lower uterine segment.

Submitted Nov. 9, 2014

When you can actually make it in to see Dr. Purcell, she's an acceptable OBGYN. However, every time I've tried to make an appointment with her it was either been a 3-month wait and/or I get a call the week before from her assistant, Mimi, to say that the "day has unfortunately been cancelled" or that Dr. Purcell was unable to see me (for some mystery reason). Really unimpressed when I needed my IUD out and it took over six months.

Submitted Sept. 30, 2014

I saw Dr. Purcell for my second pregnancy. With my first pregnancy, I had some issues, so I came to her in hopes that those issues could be prevented, which it was. I think she is a very knowledgeable doctor, and is really good at making you feel secure about you being in her care. My biggest complaint was her receptionist Nimi. She needs to be replaced. I had countless issues with my bladder, and kept complaining about a possible UTI. This receptionist of hers said my urine was clear when she checked it, but when I went into the washroom, my urine sample was still in there. I confronted her, and told her to check it right away. UTI is not something you play around with, with a pregnant woman. Shame on her. I never mentioned this to the doctor but that lady made mistakes on my weight too. She would take it, and then forget and ask me what it was. The wait times are ridiculous, which means you need to be able to afford the parking if you see this doctor. It is not reasonable to make a pregnant woman wait over an hour every time, for a 5 minute appt. Overall, she is an experienced doctor, but she needs a younger, more sharper receptionist. Not a old senile one who overlaps appointments. Also, she is away a lot, so you end up seeing replacement doctors often, which can be annoying when you have to explain your history to a new doctor every month. She didn't deliver my baby though, but she did drop in to say hi, which was nice.

Submitted Aug. 20, 2014

I met Dr Purcell while at Women's Hospital during my daughters birth. I was shocked at her poor bedside manner - she literally used scare tactics to tell me I needed to have an emergency cesarean. She was rude and would only consider cesarean, not other methods to move the baby during the labour. She refused to work with my midwife and post-surgery kept me in the hospital for no reason for 4 days but could not adequately explain why she was keeping me there - despite efforts to convince her to to send me home by my midwives. Albeit, the surgery went well, I healed quickly and my daughter was healthy. I was just shocked to see that doctors can STILL in this day and age have such poor bedside manners.

Submitted July 18, 2013

I have to wait over an hour and a half each visit just to see her for 5-10 minutes. And the staff said this is normal. NO this is not normal if you don't overbook patients and try to maximize revenue. There's no respect for the patients at all and her time is more valuable than ours. My family doctor is 100% punctual.

Submitted July 24, 2012

She is an excellent doctor. She took the time to get to know me, discuss things, and encourage me. She did my laproscopy-it went very well, with minimal scarring. Her bedside manner is great- she seemed genuinely concerned about me.

Submitted June 7, 2012

I think Dr Purcell is a great OB.I had her in my previous pregnancy and this one as well.waiting times vary but mostly she is on time.I think she is very knowledgable and caring for her patients.she talks and listens to any concerns I have. never had any issues with and would recommend her to anyone.

Submitted April 30, 2012

I would definitely recommend her to anyone! Very knowledgeable, and I felt totally confident in her recommendations.

Submitted April 27, 2012