What can be done to highlight the arrogance and patronising attitude of?

Question

some of the surgeons and consultants working in the nhs. My daughter recently underwent an exploratory examination under anesthetic and was so upset by the rudeness displayed by her constultant when he came to see her after her procedure. She was devastated by his attitude and has difficulty in understanding why he was so very rude to her.

I hasten to add not all are like this but very many are.

Answer 1

I kind of agree with kuta. Most surgeons and doctors are very good at their job. But they can't read every situation perfectly and are human.. what was a 3 min consultation with a patient might have gone very well for the surgeon and perhaps he/she felt that was the best way forward, but obviously something upset the patient, docs cannot guess what it is it needs to be stated. PALS should be able to clarify the situatiuon and get an explaination of the treatment/conversation as they have a reasonable amount of clout to get these answers, they become answerable to the chief exec.

Be very careful of a formal complaint when things are at this stage.. often the doc will explain himself and apologise if give the opportunity. you and your daughter should not be embaressed by this it is your right, The conversation WILL go a different way when the issues are out in the open.

Answer 2

I'm sorry about your daughter. Apart from anything else, it can't have helped her health to be so upset.

I think the problem is that they have to focus on the physical health problems of their patients and because they are specialists, this takes them away from maintaining interpersonal skills, so like other health workers, they aren't able to keep their hand in with this. Also, it may be a coping mechanism. If you have to cut into living people every day and constantly live with the risk of killing them if you make a mistake, it wouldn't be surprising if you develop that to handle the situation. There may also be an element of the general culture of the profession being like that.

Being able to get on with people doesn't necessarily go with the kind of speciality they have. For a car mechanic or a plumber, it probably isn't so striking, but they aren't actually dealing with people in the same way.

I'm not making excuses, and i've had the same experience with them too. On the other hand, i've seen a lot of sympathetic consultants and surgeons too.

What can be done? Well, i suppose it comes down to education, like many other things. It would probably help for there to be less of a division between nursing and physicians, and i've also thought that it might help if it was an entry requirement actually to have experienced the conditions they deal with first hand, if possible. Clearly, this often can't happen, so maybe if it was something that ran in the family or had affected someone close to them, that might help. If one has an interest in medicine, it's very tempting to become so engrossed in what actually amounts to someone's suffering that it is intellectually interesting, and lose sight of the actual patients. Having a personal connection would help.

Answer 3

I think surgeons can come across as rude because they are often very abrupt and quick in their manner, they tend to be quite arrogant and decisive because surgeons have to be very confident in their decisions, they can't afford not to be.
Surgeons often think of their patients more in terms of their surgery rather than by name for similar reasons, they have to be able to seperate the two mentally otherwise they probably couldn't perform surgery. Much easier to remove A gallbladder rather than Jimmy's gallbladder.

That said, it shouldn't mean they are actively rude and if your daughter feels that her consultant was being actively rude/aggressive in manner toward her then she has the right to make an official complaint. Most hospitals now have Patient Advocate Liaison services (PALS), or similar, and they would be a very good place to start, even if you decide not to make it fully official they would still be able to raise the issue on your behalf.

Answer 4

Some good suggestions. You can also complain to the hospital administration. Many community hospitals refer such complaints back to the medical staff. The staff has the option to reprimand or order corrective action, such as having the offending doctor undergo sensitivity counseling.

While I agree that it is mostly an arrogant doctor who is at fault, there are occasional patients who make unreasonable demands and are not put off by a gentle reply.

Answer 5

It's the NHS. When doctors are treated like government employees, how can you expect them to act like anything else?

My in-laws and many friends live in the UK, and I hear horror stories about the NHS all the time.

Americans think they want socialized medicine, but they're going to be appalled if they actually get it.

Sorry to hear that your experience was so bad. You can try complaining up the hierarchy, but from what I hear, not much will be done.

Answer 6

Invite a patient advocate (available upon request due to malpractice laws) and speak HONESTLY, both you and a caregiver (Partner, Parent, Friend) in front and directly to the specialist. My husband is a doctor and when my obGYN almost caused me to have a ruptured uterus out of desensitivity and his upcoming vacation, we did this. Doctors can be HUGE a-holes, my dear husband INCLUDED. MAKE THEM ACCOUNTABLE. DON'T hold your peace. Make them EARN every DOLLAR insurance companies and hard working Americans put on that paycheck!!!