Asked my religion in hospital

recedite

expectationlost wrote: »

theres a picture of him in the Daily Mail along side an article on the subject, surprisingly young, maybe 30s http://www.meathchronicle.ie/news/roundup/articles/2014/10/14/4033136-trim-curate-appointed-pp-of-ballivor/#sthash.dBknYzx7.gbpl

Eh.... why is he searching the hospital for Church of Ireland people?
Maybe somebody should check that he's not carrying a syringe filled with potassium chloride. He definitely has the look of a Gestapo man...

He said he would now have to go around the wards and ask staff, already under pressure, to check the records to see if any patient was from a Church of Ireland background.

expectationlost

looksee wrote: »

I had a minor procedure in a Cork hospital that required me to be admitted just for the day. I was asked at reception what religion I was and replied 'none'. The receptionist poked at her computer for a few seconds and said, it won't accept that. So I asked her what the options were and she listed off a string of denominations and I chose one at random. I couldn't be bothered arguing it, but really, you have to have a religion, any religion!

computer says NO

Fred Swanson

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TheChizler

looksee wrote: »

I had a minor procedure in a Cork hospital that required me to be admitted just for the day. I was asked at reception what religion I was and replied 'none'. The receptionist poked at her computer for a few seconds and said, it won't accept that. So I asked her what the options were and she listed off a string of denominations and I chose one at random. I couldn't be bothered arguing it, but really, you have to have a religion, any religion!

That happened to me the two times I was in hospital for a procedure (the Bons and South Informary - Victoria in Cork in case we overlapped), she just asked what religion I was, I was a bit surprised that it was even a question (what has this to do with my mole/ear?) and said "none, not-applicable, blank", and she said "atheist so", I thought, "well, yes", but I didn't like them putting words in my mouth, who knows what this information is for or who gets to see it, and I've learned this week that it was basically a step below putting everyone's name and religion on the information stand in reception. Not that I'm ashamed or anything but it's not information that they needed to have.

al22

I believe not necessary to be religious.
Some people are belong to several religions at the same time. Total number of religious believers (in Japan, I think) are more than total population of Japan.
They can be practising a few religions at the same time.

Kidchameleon

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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Just say "non religious" or "no religion". Why be rude about it? The person who is asking the question is only doing their job and could well be non religious too.

Fred Swanson

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looksee

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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Well in my case 'no religion' or as I put it 'none' did not suit their computer. So I could choose between holding up my admission, delaying the person who had gone with me and obstructing other people's admissions by insisting on my rights or just going along with their nonsense in a reception hall well bedecked with religious icons and choosing a denomination at random (I don't think there was the option for other religions, just denominations, but I could be wrong about that).

So long as the doctor did not offer up a quick prayer before the procedure, I didn't really care.

Diamond Doll

I don't really mind being asked it. I'd rather they asked, than if they took the default view that all Irish are Catholics, and will of course want the last rites etc done if anything were to go wrong. I've always just said "non-religious" and they seem happy enough with that.

I've also been asked a couple of times whether I'd like to see a priest while in hospital, I've simply said no, and there were no further questions asked. I do remember thinking it was nice for them to have the option available there for patients who might get comfort from talking to the priest.

Hotblack Desiato

So is yer man a right footer or a left footer or what?

My experience:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=89353461&postcount=27

recedite

He's a RC priest looking for a list of all the CoI people in the hospital.

iguana

He said he would now have to go around the wards and ask staff, already under pressure, to check the records to see if any patient was from a Church of Ireland background.

Or how about he buys a cheap mobile and ads a note to each parish newsletter saying that if any parishioners would like him to visit them when they are in hospital they should text him on that number and let him know what ward they are in.

swampgas

I've had surgery in various Dublin hospitals over the past few years and there were various forms that had to be filled out. For religion I always put "none". I received numerous phone calls before surgery from consultants' secretaries about the "information missing on the form" regarding my religious affiliation.

I always answered that I did not have a religion, and that I had specified that previously.

It does look like some hospitals are incapable of recording a patient's lack of religious belief.

I'm reminded of when I was registering as a first year student at UCC back in the 1980s. The registration clerk asked me for my religion - I said I had none, that I was in fact an atheist. "We'll put that down as 'not recorded', so", she said.

Ireland has a long history of avoiding inconvenient truths.

benneca1

Yarra what does it matter

benneca1

What does it matter i just say well whetever they do i wont donate

Hotblack Desiato

recedite wrote: »

He's a RC priest looking for a list of all the CoI people in the hospital.

he can doubly fnck off so.

benneca1

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

he can doubly fnck off so.

I don't get any bodies problem Just say no thanks let em put in what ever they want in form It really is of no consequence. Make sure they get blood group condition and insurer right though 😀

kylith

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

My experience:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=89353461&postcount=27

asked if I wanted a blessing then proceeded to give me one* anyway after I said no

That'd be the time to start frothing at the mouth, thrashing around, and speaking in demonic-sounding gibberish

Kivaro

kylith wrote: »

That'd be the time to start frothing at the mouth, thrashing around, and speaking in demonic-sounding gibberish

That was the reason for the blessing initially .....

Hotblack Desiato

If I'd had my wits about me, rather than being sick and in pain and all, I'd probably have invoked satan on the fecker and given him the wammy

PopePalpatine

I swear the priest from that Irish Examiner article looks like Mika Hakkinen.

robindch

Kidchameleon wrote: »

Just say "non religious" or "no religion". Why be rude about it? The person who is asking the question is only doing their job and could well be non religious too.

Rosa Park's bus driver was doing his job too - wasn't it just terribly rude of her to put James Blake into such a terribly inconvenient position?

James Blake wrote:

I wasn't trying to do anything to that Parks woman except do my job. She was in violation of the city codes, so what was I supposed to do? That damn bus was full and she wouldn't move back. I had my orders.

I was admitted to Mount Carmel for surgery in 2005. On admission, I was asked if I wanted to let them know what religion I was. I stress that: I wasn't asked for my religion; I was told that I could let them know what religion I was if I wanted to. I said "none". The woman on reception ticked some box on her computer screen.

I was admitted to Mount Carmel for surgery again in 2012. The very same thing happened.

My answer didn't cause any confusion on either occasion, which is perhaps unsurprising given Mount Carmel's location. Now that it's owned by the HSE, I've no idea if the same thing would happen again, but I'd like to think that it would.

Sometimes, regrettably, people die in hospital. All of those people have some philosophical frame of reference for perceiving the universe - whether religious or not. For many of them, that frame of reference includes very important and stringent cultural views about how they should be dealt with when dying. For example, Catholics and Muslims have specific rituals associated with dying that are very important to them - and that require the presence of other Catholics or Muslims to be conducted correctly. On the other hand, atheists or their families do not require those rituals and indeed would find them unwelcome.

So for a hospital that wishes to take a completely holistic view of its duty of care to its patients, asking them for information about their belief systems is a very good thing indeed. The important thing is to give patients the opportunity to volunteer the information if they so wish, to handle the information with due respect for the wishes of the patient, particularly as they relate to privacy, and to respect patients of all religions and none.

It's simple stuff really.

MrPudding

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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So catholic then.

MrP

Cabaal

In more recent years when I was in hospital for op they never asked what religion I was (I wasn't in a hospital prior to this since I was a kid!), about a year later when I was in there for something else I spotted my details on the screen at the desk and they had me down as Catholic. I asked them to change it and they weren't too happy about it.

realdanbreen

200motels wrote: »

I was asked the same question a few years back and when I said no religion I'm an Atheist their was complete silence. I was looked on as as if I were a Nazi.

Wow! Bet your mom won't be asking you any more questions anytime soon!

eviltwin

When I was in hospital having my first I put my religion down as Catholic. When I went back for my second I wanted that changed to No Religion but they couldn't do it so I had to write it in pen across my notes. I know it's not a massive thing but my feelings are that hospital notes should be an accurate record of the patient and mine weren't.

lazygal

I put my 'religion' down as N/A when having mine. Is it not a right to not disclose your religious beliefs or not as the case may be? I was equally baffled to be asked what my and my husband's occupations were in an official hospital form. No one could give me a straight answer on why they needed to know this either, apart from vague mumblings about possibly working in a dangerous job. As we both work in office based non life or death workplaces that wasn't relevant to us.

Peregrinus

eviltwin wrote: »

When I was in hospital having my first I put my religion down as Catholic. When I went back for my second I wanted that changed to No Religion but they couldn't do it so I had to write it in pen across my notes. I know it's not a massive thing but my feelings are that hospital notes should be an accurate record of the patient and mine weren't.

Religion is fairly obviously something that can change over the course of people's lives. A records system which doesn't accommodate this is obviously badly designed.

Shortly before we were married my wife was an emergency admission to hospital and I turned up in the admission papers as "boyfriend". Some time later I pointed out that I was now "husband", and the records were duly corrected. No fuss, no drama. It's not rocket science, people.

Peregrinus

lazygal wrote: »

I put my 'religion' down as N/A when having mine. Is it not a right to not disclose your religious beliefs or not as the case may be? I was equally baffled to be asked what my and my husband's occupations were in an official hospital form. No one could give me a straight answer on why they needed to know this either, apart from vague mumblings about possibly working in a dangerous job. As we both work in office based non life or death workplaces that wasn't relevant to us.

They use this for statistical purposes. You can't assess how much more dangerous the job of, say, high-wire artiste is relative to a desk job unless you have accident rates for both high-wire artistes and desk jobs.

It's unlikely to affect the treatment you receive.

The other point, of course, is that it's much easier to ask "what is your occupation?" than to give you a long list of occupations which would or might be relevant to one or more medical conditions, and then ask you if you hold any of those occupations.

And the other other point, of course, is that there are medical conditions for which a sedentary job is a risk factor. And when you're being admitted, the form is not designed on the assumption that the condition or suspected for which you are being admitted is the only condition with which you will ever be diagnosed.