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In praise of Health Care Professionals.

  • Thread starter Thread starter catherinecherub
  • Start Date Start Date
My GPs seem switched on, local diabetes nurse really switched on, just a pity the practice manager isnt. :?
Not a lot to complain about from my point of view as most of the time most of the staff listen instead of lecturing, so thats good.
 
wpaisley said:
Stevie

The question I always ask "How do you know they are good?" A good bedside manner is not sufficient
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I really don't care if they are arrogant and brusque.......if they know what they are talking about, treat me properly, look after my health........that's what matters. Mind you it DOES help and it is a bonus if they are pleasant !

I treat people as I find them, so, guess what sort of response the arrogant person gets ? :twisted:

I'm usually a very nice person........ :wink: So I'm told. :D
 
Hi Ally, my grandson is doing really well and is extremely fortunate that he hasnt suffered from the worst of the complications which normally come with the condition. He is an intelligent boy, but his physical obstacles are already affecting his development. The local authority has agreed to fund early interventional education due to the crucial need to fast track his development, at a neighbouring authority's multi sensory impairment unit, then in the next breath stated they will not provide specialist transport as they are not legally obliged to do so for under 4's :roll:

All the best - Steve
 
Since my first near fatal attack of acute pancreatitis some 6 years ago I have seen a wide range of competance and care in the NHS ranging from gross negligence with life changing results (including diabetes), through to absolute life saving excellence.

I am pleased to be able to say that I have found excellent care to be more the norm, and poor care the exception.

I have great faith in the HCP who is big enough to accept the limits of his/her knowledge and will answer a question with "I don't know, but I will find out" or " I'll pass you up to a man who knows more than me"

GPs necessarily have to be a 'jack of al trades' but far too many GPs, I fear , fail the essential 'test' of humility.

The treatment of my Pancreatic Diabetes has been second to none, despite the fact that my Chronic disease demands a diet that is over 80% carbohydrate.
The diabetes consultant dietician and the specialist nurses are learning about brittle diabetes with me ... and I could not ask for more than that!! :D

Dave
 
Dave

that was a great post and I think that is really how many HCP learn after qualifying - I have spent alot of time with pts and looking at their results!

I alos think one of the problems in alot of surgeries and out patient depts is that you end up seeing staff who either have no expertise and no interest in diabetes - so they do not learn!

Allyx
 
I went into my GP for my first review and they called in a nurse who herself was diabetic, to show what "could be done if you put your mind to it"!

Steve
 
Bluenosesol said:
I went into my GP for my first review and they called in a nurse who herself was diabetic, to show what "could be done if you put your mind to it"!

Steve
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Not often you meet a hcp with diabetes Steve, was she type 1 or 2?

Nigel
 
I am resurrecting this thread as the rants about HCP's are really getting to me. If you do not work on the coalface then you really have no idea.

I am a Staff Nurse on a High Dependancy Psychiatric Ward where the work ethic is to treat other people as you would like to be treated. We also have to turn the other cheek to the abuse and threats we get from patients and visitors. It is not an easy job but I give it 110% as do my colleagues.

How many people here are constantly being asked to cover for staff shortages and sickness? We work unsocial hours as it is and imagine expecting to finish a shift at 8.30pm and asked if you can stay until 11.00pm as the Nurse who is taking over from you has a sick child and her husband does not finish work until 10.00pm. How about doing a night shift, being at home in bed for 4 hours when the phone rings. It is the Ward Manager asking if you can come in for a few hours the same afternoon. This is an everyday occurrence for most Nurses..

It is the same with the Nurse at the Surgery. She is expected to do things above and beyond her training. She is probably not A Diabetes Specialist Nurse and has to follow guidelines given to her. Unless the Educators are gong to update her guidelines then she cannot be expected to change things to suit some patients who want more from her. If you are not satisfied with her role in your care then let your G.P. know how you think you are being failed as he is not a mind reader.

All the bitching in the world is not going to change things and it is best to address problems when they occur rather than coming here and moaning as the right people are not listening and are not privy to your rants. HCP's are demoralised enough and yet this is getting beyond a joke and permeating threads that do not require it.

There are all sorts of professionals and artisans that do a good job and yet very few people like to acknowledge them, the bad ones are singled out and it makes it appear that we all leave a lot to be desired in our chosen profession.

I find that I am posting less and less as all this negativity is getting to me. :(
 
catherinecherub said:
I am resurrecting this thread as the rants about HCP's are really getting to me. If you do not work on the coalface then you really have no idea.

I am a Staff Nurse on a High Dependancy Psychiatric Ward where the work ethic is to treat other people as you would like to be treated. We also have to turn the other cheek to the abuse and threats we get from patients and visitors. It is not an easy job but I give it 110% as do my colleagues.

How many people here are constantly being asked to cover for staff shortages and sickness? We work unsocial hours as it is and imagine expecting to finish a shift at 8.30pm and asked if you can stay until 11.00pm as the Nurse who is taking over from you has a sick child and her husband does not finish work until 10.00pm. How about doing a night shift, being at home in bed for 4 hours when the phone rings. It is the Ward Manager asking if you can come in for a few hours the same afternoon. This is an everyday occurrence for most Nurses..

It is the same with the Nurse at the Surgery. She is expected to do things above and beyond her training. She is probably not A Diabetes Specialist Nurse and has to follow guidelines given to her. Unless the Educators are gong to update her guidelines then she cannot be expected to change things to suit some patients who want more from her. If you are not satisfied with her role in your care then let your G.P. know how you think you are being failed as he is not a mind reader.

All the bitching in the world is not going to change things and it is best to address problems when they occur rather than coming here and moaning as the right people are not listening and are not privy to your rants. HCP's are demoralised enough and yet this is getting beyond a joke and permeating threads that do not require it.

There are all sorts of professionals and artisans that do a good job and yet very few people like to acknowledge them, the bad ones are singled out and it makes it appear that we all leave a lot to be desired in our chosen profession.

I find that I am posting less and less as all this negativity is getting to me. :(
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Catherine, remember the pm's you sent me? I haven't forgotten your words and I hope you remember our exchanges, so please don't let negativity from other posters get to you, its their problem, not yours :thumbdown. Recently my new diabetes doctor said to me on my first appointment that he doesn't believe in a diabetic being sensitive to insulin ( I am) and on the second appointment ( whilst I was having a hypo with the dietician) the said doctor came in and said to the dietician about being careful with me because RRB is sensitive to insulin :? and even though I was having a hypo, I understood everything that was going on and I was speaking and thinking clearly, so that comment does not fill me with positive thoughts about this HCP and I really dont want to see him again as there is another issue. Unfortunately its the bad that hits the headlines, or forums, and not so much the good :thumbdown:
Take care with my very best wishes RRB
 
Im glad this thread has been resurrected as there are MANY excellent HCPs out there, my diabetes specialist being one of them. The good ones deserve their greatness to be shouted from the rooftops. They are all too often ignored; only the bad ones are discussed.

The thing is, this is a message board for people who are trying to cope with a condition that has a massive impact on their lives. They are dealing with it day in day out and they come into contact with a wide variety of HCPs, more than the average person. Statistically that means they're more likely to encounter more of the not-so-good HCPs than the average person does and perhaps that means their opinions often get a little skewed by this. But where else do they go to talk to people in the same boat as them if not an online message board?

Diabetes is a difficult condition to get to grips with. The very nature of each of us being different means the way our diabetes affects us can differ greatly too. But how do we know if that little quirk we have is 'normal' or something to worry about? How do we know that the way our diabetes is dealt with by so-and-so is the norm or is severely lacking like we may feel it is? We come on here and talk about our experiences..... including the times we've received poor treatment, conflicting advice, been treated like an idiot who doesn't know a thing about our own condition, received treatment we consider appalling in hospital, etc etc.


Yes the good HCPs should be praised no end for the amazing work they do. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't moan about all the bad stuff. This is a life-threatening condition. We put our trust in our HCPs because we have to. I think that 'moaning' about the bad ones is perfectly justified.


For myself, as I said, my specialist is excellent and has helped me beyond words. Only today I was asked to fill in a "how did I do?" review form of my biannual appointment with him and I sung his praises loud and proud. But I've had very poor treatment too.... including when I first became diabetic at 11- I was told by the GP that I was simply over-excited about having visited my father during the holidays and that all I needed was some rest. In actual fact I had a blood sugar of 34, ketoacidosis and I slipped into a coma later that day. Luckily the second GP my mother called that afternoon as I was losing consciousness immediately phoned 999 and I was rushed to the intensive care unit.

And then there was the one (another GP) who refused to believe me when I said I was having difficult breathing if I walked more than a few steps. Yes I was a little overweight and only 19 but he dismissed everything I told him. He prescribed an asthma inhaler >without doing a peak flow meter test< and left me to get on with it for a month until I saw another GP. She then ummed and aahed for a few days until she noticed I had a second page to my list of medications on the computer system that she hadn't seen before and realised I was on the pill and could I please come to the surgery urgently for an ECG..... I had a pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs - a potential risk factor for the pill). When I finally reached hospital I was immediately told to move as little as possible as any activity could risk the clots moving to the heart or brain and causing a heart attack or stroke.... And I'd been marching (slowly) up and down the very hilly campus at uni for the last month.


When serious medical issues affect you and you don't get treated well it can really affect your everyday quality of life. It can also literally threaten your life... And that does get me angry enough to moan about it on an internet forum.


>>BUT YAY FOR ALL THE GOOD ONES!!<< :)
 
Hi Catherinecherub. I'm one of those who has experienced mixed HCPs at my local surgery. the diabetes GP specialists have not been very impressive with the nurses, however, being very good but they seem to have disappeared. I compare the NHS system here with the private health system in the USA. The latter has many deficiencies but at least if you think you may have diabetes you visit a diabetes expert just as I visted a urologist when I had a kidney stone. With the (free) NHS you have to rely so often on a GP who cannot possibly keep up with the ever expanding knowledge across all fronts. Even the specialist GPs don't have time to keep up in their field with their day filled with endless 10 minute appointments. The system is badly broken and the impending changes will make it worse as the assumption will be that these over-worked GPs will have the knowledge and skill to do the right referrals or now implement the best treatment.

BTW I do have great respect for the staff in psychiactric wards. I do IT charity support work and often meet staff in the local mental health wards and they do amazing work in difficult circumstances.
 
Actually I have to agree on psychiatric HCPs.... I've had a fair bit of experience with them over the years and they are some of the best professionals I've ever seen in the NHS. They work in extremely difficult circumstances with often very difficult patients and they have to provide their care under mounting pressure and financial constraints (as do others in the NHS) on top of an already very stressful job..... one that's almost entirely thankless!

It's easy to make generalisations and we should try not to.... There are good and bad examples to be found in all aspects of health care.
 
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