I decided to take a different tact today and share an experience I had recently. I have a relative who was seriously ill and we went to a large local teaching hospital. I was not impressed to say the least.
The hospital, despite the multi millions of dollars spent and the many years of construction, is lacking in facility and staff in my opinion. After 11 hours in the ER, we got to a room and settled in. The nursing staff was small, swamper and hard to find. Lucky for me that I knew what a charge nurse is. She is the boss and the one to see. The master sargent so to speak.
Being a Saturday, most of the doctors were off so care was minimal and everything on hold. On Monday a doctor was assigned to the case. Things were not going well and I finally reached our doctor by phone. When I got around to ask about his training, I found he basically had none. He had graduated from med school only months before and not a top medical school at that. I am not happy.
His supervisor had just completed his residency and had no experience beyond that but seemed to be a nice man heading towards a research career. I was now really unhappy. The case was complex and we needed experienced doctors. So I became out of neccessity our own patient advocate.
Well my friends I probably better stay away from that part of town now because I was not bashfull. Mild mannered me on the phone yelling. As they say , the squeeky wheel gets the grease. I Got Grease. Things got better and we had a good ending to the horrific 3 week hospitalization.
My point here is, finally, if you are not happy with the care, Speak Up and that includes me and my office. I think it is terribly sad that we have come to this point in health care. Please be assertive and even aggressive when neccesary.
My wish is that you remember my experience and don’t be afraid to stand up and complain when you need to. Your life or the life of a loved one may depend on it someday. Sad but true.
Best regards, AM
