Dear Patient we have never met, #Radiologists sometimes cry for you and your family, some pray for you, and all of us fight for you. You have more support than you may know. Sincerely, One of your other doctors (Tweeted: 2pm 4th June 2022)
My response:
When my grandmother was seriously ill with thyroid cancer in the 1950s, one of the nurses had the time to develop a therapeutic relationship with her, my grandfather and my mother (who was in her early teens)…
She explained the medical process that my grandmother was going through, she supported my mother as she found her role in the family changed, she listened to my grandfather as he struggled to make sense of the ways in which his world was falling apart…
She wasn’t just a clinician, she was a therapist, mentor, teacher, and in a way a translator. When granny returned home some weeks/months later, Aunt Gladys saw her at outpatients every few days and weeks, and her influence continued…
When my grandmother was eventually declared free from cancer, Gladys (by now a matron) would still visit the family for a ‘social’ visit – again, helping them to adjust to the new dynamic. She inspired my grandparents to look at their lifestyle and spend more quality time together…
As my mother became a adult, Aunt Gladys (now a senior matron) was one of her sources of inspiration and wisdom. Her half-yearly visits were something looked forward to with love, pride, and they continued well beyond Gladys’ retirement…
When I was born, Aunt Gladys was in the background supporting my mother and reassuring my grandparents. My father was disabled and, I am sure, that Gladys continued to educate the family about genetics as she would have when my mother announced their plans to marry earlier…
When I took ill as a 4yr old, there she was translating, guiding, and supporting the whole family, as she continued to do well into my late teens…
Of course, the NHS has had to become more efficient, and thankfully it has always invested heavily in research and an evidence-base for treatments, so that prolonged stays in hospital are far less common…
Of course, with specialisation, patients have had less time to build the relationship with the myriad of experts that they encounter during their treatment, and nobody begrudges the importance of the career and future for these knowledgeable and skilled practitioners…
Today, evidence points to the significance of the therapeutic relationship in the recovery path of individuals (and their families) as they cope with their vulnerability and the [medical] challenges life throws at them…
And yet, the @NHS has been fragmented, the parts have been starved individually, and their reserves bled dry. Performance pressures have placed an emphasis on ‘management’ rather than a holistic, society-focused, solution…
While Aunt Gladys was of her generation, the integrated approach – looking at the whole family, education, social care, community service, and support for end-of-life needs – have all become fragmented. We hear of tragic consequences of high-profile cases as ‘failures’…
Yet they aren’t ‘failures’, they are consequences of political choices – choices that, through our supposedly democratic system, we foist on ourselves. At every election, we have the chance to reset the balance. We can change the model. We can say enough is enough…
The individuals who are drawn to devote themselves to work in the @NHS, and all the other services that used to be a part of our welfare system, are just as caring, just as loving, just as committed, just as motivated, just as inspiring, as my Aunt Gladys…
It’s time we gave them the respect they deserve, and show how much we appreciate them – not simply by clapping our hands, but by supporting the voices within the @NHS and those outside who call for cohesive, well-resourced, apolitical, evidence-based, whole system change.
