"A very rude doctor"

My daughter was admitted to hospital with oxygen issues, after having clusters of seizures at home. She has complex learning difficulties and cannot be left on her own so I always ensure she has someone with her 24/7. She remained in Resuss for over 12 hrs as there was no bed available in the hospital for her to be transferred to.

She was in Acute Receiving for a few hrs before being moved to a bed in Ward 5A.

My daughter has been admitted to hospital on many occasions as she is a patient of the Neurology department but there is never a bed available on the Neurology ward and we are basically sent to wherever there is a bed.

Unfortunately this is not ideal as my daughter is being treated by Medics who are not familiar with her complex history of a very rare form of Epilepsy, one of approximately 350 people in the world.

We therefore depend on a good communication link and clear understanding of why she is in hospital and the treatment required to get her back on track. On this occasion, Neuro were in touch with the ward medics and plans being put in place but very little was being passed on to the family. We had ongoing questions about making changes to my daughters medication, as we knew it was in her best interest, having being dealing with her medication for 22 years, but no one was committing to making these changes. I don’t think it helped matters that this was over a weekend.

On Saturday night my daughter was staying over to care for her sister, something she has done on many occasions.

It was after 11 pm and she had asked to speak to the doctor, as no one had come back to us all day confirming she was on the correct dose.  She felt no one was really listening to our concerns and making any plans to rectify the issues with her medication.  The doctor reacted in a very unprofessional manner, raising their voice and questioning why she had been administering her sisters medications in the first place, that was the nurses job.  Were they aware she was doing this and why had she administered her Epilepsy medication? The dose she had given was in fact approved by my daughters Neurologist the day before, this highlighting the poor communication. 

My daughter suggested he call the On-call Neurologist who could perhaps advice of the  plan. They raised their  voice again and declared that was not something they would bother the On/call Neuro with, especially on a weekend. Had they in fact made that call, the Neuro would have been able to confirm the dose the Consultant had changed her meds to on the Friday.  This was confirmed to me by the Epilepsy nurse.

My daughter, who is only 20, was shocked and angry at the way this doctor had undermined her and did not listen to anything she was saying. They were rude and unprofessional in my mind. My daughter mentioned she did not appreciate the way they spoke to her and asked who she would complain to about his manner and the fact they had stood over a sick patients bed, raising their voice and questioning something that she’s been doing for many years. 

They opened the door with such force that  it hit off the wall of the room and shouted as they left the room that she should speak to a nurse.

My poor daughter was left shaken and upset.

I could not believe what I was hearing the next day, when she told me.

How dare they behave in such a manner?

As if we’re not going through enough, dealing with a family member who is so often unwell, causing untold stress and anxiety.