"fell short of expectations"

My father attended fracture clinic of Craigavon area hospital. He suffered a spiral fracture of right humerus the previous week and was to attend the fracture clinic the following week for an appointment. For part of the back story my father is also a cancer patient, who prior to the fracture had been receiving radiotherapy to prevent a spinal tumour compressing his spinal cord. Obviously this has lead to great discomfort and very reduced mobility as he is unfortunately required to use a wheelchair for any appointments and is on pain management medication.

The appointment was scheduled for 9.25am, upon arriving on time for the appointment the the fracture clinic was busy, assistance was requested of three occasions, the staff were approached and asked how long they would be waiting as my father was in great discomfort due to his ongoing medical diagnosis. It was at approximately 10.25am before my father was seen by a Dr. Unfortunately with having such a positive experience with other practitioners, this Dr fell very short of what is expected of a health care professional. Their abruptness and shortness with my father was unacceptable, as a family we are aware that in hospitals delays can happen due to emergencies etc however a simple apology to a patient in great discomfort would have gone a long way.

During the appointment questions were asked about exercises, repositioning of arm brace by my family and they gave no practical guidance on any of questions, these were questions that had been suggested by the physiotherapist that has been helping my dad with his mobility since his diagnosis. Their response was ‘nature will take its course’. Perhaps this Dr was unaware of my dads underlying terminal diagnosis however upon speaking to my family they would have been made aware and also had opportunity to view medical history before speaking to my father.

At a time of fear and stress bed side manner is extremely important to build a patient’s confidence in the ability of the practitioner to help the individual. Having left the hospital after the appointment, with no real answers, my dad felt upset, extremely uncomfortable and let down, he felt that his injury wasn’t taken seriously in conjunction with his other problems. It left him very deflated as he is now unsure of the time it will take to heal and if he will have the strength again of his arm to help with his overall mobility.

It’s such a shame that having so many others doing such a fantastic job and showing great compassion that there are individuals that unfortunately fall short of the expectations the general public have for health service professionals.