Are healthcare workers becoming more rude and obnoxious?

anndub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118027564#Comment_118027564

Of course he's stressed, being a carer for someone with a chronic condition is stressful. Surely some empathy would be more appropriate than offering "solutions".

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118027600#Comment_118027600

No. The whole point of me ranting on this site is because I don't do that in real life. As a former public servant myself who worked in shambolic conditions in a controversial field, I'm well used to dealing with frustrated members of the public and can see it from both sides. I also have a good idea what is and isn't acceptable from both sides. There is far more onus on the staff member to be empathetic to the customer than the other way around.

I have made formal complaints to the HSE on various issues so it's not just that I'm posting about it here and doing nothing

Some of the healthcare staff that I am referring to in the OP were horrid from the minute I saw them. Barely a greeting (unless a grunt counts) followed by computer says no. Then I got admonished for something that was their fcukup. Then no apology. And as I said in the OP, my relative got admonished for leaving their elbow sticking out the side of the wheelchair (that they don't normally use but then there we are again with the assumptions - this patient MUST know that they should keep their elbow inside the chair) Other stuff too - and that was all just in one of our many appointments.

Another key point is that I am talking about elective/scheduled appointments here. not A&E at 3am on a Saturday night. Wait months for an appointment on a weekday then when you attend, staff are rotten. As I looked around me in one outpatient waiting area recently I saw mostly elderly people, some with carers all sitting quietly like me. Saw one elderly man who was there on his own (may have had hearing impairment) being spoken to like a bold toddler in front of everyone.

Public, private, GPs, nursing homes - problems everywhere.

The health service is somewhat tolerable if you are young and in the full of your health. The irony.

The posters defending this rubbish and focusing in on my transgression about the Asian in the OP rather than the substantive point may change their tune when they themselves become sick and old and can't hear what the foreign national worker with poor diction and an obnoxious attitude is saying to them.

cnocbui

It seems to be very common among Irish professionals, including those in medical fields, to think that the practice of their profession in Ireland is the best in the world and that there isn't the slightest possibility you might also have a science based tertiary education like them so you need to be talked down to as if you left school at 16.

I'll never forget having an Irish dentist telling me Australian dentistry wasn't up to Irish standards and being amused later when two different ones seemed surprised at the quality of an existing crown in one instance and the quality of an RCT as revealed on an x-ray they were studying, in the other, both having been done decades earlier in Oz.

Just for the record; neither Irish health care in general or dentistry are close to being as good as they are in Australia.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118027915#Comment_118027915

And the responses have shown the attitude of health care workers is not exactly good, either.

Also the OP is not personally responsible for what people are paid - that's a below the belt dig.

Someone mentioned empathy.

It should go both ways.

maestroamado

Empathy... nearly every person i know that uses this word have no what i call "nature" in them... full of sith...

Shao Kahn

Healthcare is really a luxury isn't it, lets be honest.

We're the only animal on this planet, that can fix ourselves if we get sick.

But then people act all arrogant and complacent about this, like the universe owes them perfect flawless healthcare or something.

jo187

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118027983#Comment_118027983

I don't know how it not empathy trying to help someone out when they need it?

MrMusician18

I wouldn't say healthcare workers are any more obnoxious or becoming moreso than anyone else. That said they are not any more saintly either. Healthcare for some may be a vocation, but for most it's a job, and in any job you'll have the good, bad and indifferent.

In time we will look back on covid as the best thing to have happened to the health system in this country.

corner of hells

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029047#Comment_118029047

Go on , elaborate.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029064#Comment_118029064

My post was heavily redacted, I had to edit myself so as not to ruffle any feathers but I suppose the best analogy would be to liken it to a forest fire.

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029098#Comment_118029098

You are assuming Ireland is capable of change and fixing obvious problems when they are beyond ignoring. This is not true, in my experience. As a perfect example: After the first lockdown last year, there was no increase in the number of critical care beds.

The requirement for a national childrens hospital was identified and expressed in the mid 1990's.

Limerick Regional has had a significant bed shortage and people stacked on trolleys for about 20 years and never a whisper about the obvious need for a new, modern, far larger hospital offering better services so patients from Galway, Cork and Limerick regions don't have to go to hospitals in Dublin for various critical treatments; aleviating the need for them and their relatives travelling large distances from where they live.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029445#Comment_118029445

My thought process was a little more blunt, I just assumed that nature would do a bit of pruning all by herself. No need for human interference at all.

Strumms

My experience....

Front line staff have been other worldly brilliant....

consultants on the other hand in my experience have been some of the most rude, obnoxious, uncaring arrogant and downright incompetent gangsters...two of them I know literally stealing a living..

jay1988

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118028000#Comment_118028000

Sounds like you're the problem tbh and a dick too.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118027324#Comment_118027324

What's wrong with how the pandemic was handled?

Anyway, the stress of the job. But they shouldn't be getting narky with members of the public because of this. However I can see how it happens - just imagine the maniacs they have to deal with.

I remember at the start of the pandemic, my local pharmacist was a bit snarky towards me. I knew it was because of the pressure she was under so I acted really nice and with empathy, and she's just been super nice to me since.

mrslancaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118027308#Comment_118027308

The OP obviously had a bad experience, it's very common in the health service. I dont think Irish people complain enough about bad public services but they should or nothing will change.

People attending hospitals are sick, the only reason they're there is for medical help. Healthcare employees, at every level, are there to provide that help whatever form that might take. Anyone who has been in an ED or waiting for months to see a consultant knows how stressful it is without having any additional stress from unprofessional standards.

We all know there were extra demands on HSE staff since covid but all jobs have some level of stress, and sick or elderly patients deserve professional standards of care and attention. I dont know about others, but it annoys the hell out of me if someone tells me to relax..and telling the OP to put their family member into a nursing home is not very helpful.

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118030099#Comment_118030099

The "just put them in a nursing home" mentality is common both within and outside of the health service. Sadly, it seems to be a first resort for some families when dealing with aged parents.

Once in a nursing home, interventions almost stop IME. e.g. earwax is allowed to build up and become impacted because "shur they don't need to use their hearing". Yet it has been acknowledged in civilised countries for many years that wax microsuction and wearing hearing aids can help the elderly a lot in terms of quality of life and even improve dementia symptoms.

Also important for elderly people living at home. So off to the hospital ENT Dept and encounter unprofessional staff with no patience who only seemingly want to deal with young people who can hear what the staff member is saying. 🙄

Also to show the mentality, I remember a good few years ago I had an issue with travellers calling to my relative's house and trying to rip them off for house repairs. At the time, the cognitive impairment was mild and my relative was very independent. I was chatting to a nurse (wife of a friend) and mentioned what was happening and her unbelievable suggestion was....how about a nursing home. 🙄

StupidLikeAFox

Only experience I had with the health service was when my wife gave birth last year. The midwives were absolutely lovely, really friendly and happy to help. The doctors were to the point, firm but professional. The ward staff were absolute wagons - nasty and unhelpful. That's all I have to say, thanks for reading

Pawwed Rig

My Dad had dementia many years ago and I found health care professionals to be rude and dismissive. One doctor started to berate him about something and I had to intervene as my Dad was just getting scared and not understanding what the issues were.

Nurses too were poor. I am talking about A&E here more than the sector in general.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058213374/are-healthcare-workers-becoming-more-rude-and-obnoxious

That's what happens when hospitals pay low salary, get short for staff and as result hiring less qualified people without giving proper training.

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118030459#Comment_118030459

Disgraceful. They were in the wrong jobs. Then again, you'd question whether they'd last long in any work environment where customer service is key (e.g. McDonalds)

Even if it was years ago, it is still going on. Carers get unacceptable treatment from these individuals too. In my own experience, contrary to some other people's experiences, it is the NCHDs, nurses, receptionists and various technicians that are the worst. Then again, the consultants can't treat people badly if they are nowhere to be seen.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029445#Comment_118029445

I had to come back and reframe that, I realized after the fact it came across like an aryan death wish on the populace. That's not what I meant. Yes the system is broken, no the Irish are not capable of ever doing the right thing, as long as the climate continues to encourage that kind of growth. (much like how it allowed the church to dominate and control it's populace uninterrupted for generations) I did work there briefly so I'm reluctant to get too involved in any in-depth discussion but my thinking was that like a forest fire there is always regeneration but given certain conditions, the type of environment can change the culture drastically from one which supports only one or two species, to a landscape of an entirely different genus. Lets hope there's new seedlings of a different kind blowing in once the inferno has passed by. (and lets hope also it has managed to completely raze all the dead wood)

Piollaire

Nearly always had a good experience except in the maternity ward. As a partner I wasn't allowed to stay to help with the new baby - even though my wife had a C-section. She was left to her own devices and had to wait for a nurse to come to help her while me along with all the other partners were exiled. And this was before covid.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118028698#Comment_118028698

It’s not a luxury... it is or should be a human right that we the taxpayers have access to appropriate healthcare.

WE fund the system therefore we should benefit from it.... nobody ever said the universe owes them perfect health but the country owes its citizens good healthcare on the occasion our health fails...

Richard Hillman

Toward the end of Lockdown 1 (June) I went to a friend's house and had a few beers in the backgarden. Walked home at night and was battered by a group of young lads for no reason. Ended up in hospital and the nurses were intent on quizzing me about my activities before incident. Were you drinking? (that's ok), were you drinking with people? how far from your home were you drinking? getting the tut-tut treatment. "but you are not supposed to be doing that....". F**k off, love.

Between that and the Tik-Tok videos, I tend to give a roll eyes whenever I hear about them getting superhuman like praise.

surrender monkey

I think people are being unfair on the op. Maybe the way they expressed themselves came across as angry and agressive but that's because caring for a relative with dementia in the Irish healthcare system is an eye opener. It certainly was for our family. My mother had altzheimers and was being cared for at home by my father. One day she took a 'turn' and my father brought her to the GP who advised a trip to a and e. She was brought to saint James and they sat in a and e all day with nothing to eat on those hard plastic chairs. They left a and e and went home around 10 o'clock because a dementia patient simply cannot be put through that.

They tried again the next day and I brought them down at 8am. By 4pm they got through to the back and when she was assessed they admitted her because she had had a mild stroke. They placed her on a ward and that's where our problems started. My father's health insurance was paying full private price for that bed. The hospital was not set up to care for a dementia patient. They were putting food in front of her and taking it away when she didn't eat it. She couldn't feed herself and they made very little effort to feed her. At that time my mother was a handful and to combat this they started to heavily medicate her to make her easier to handle. I'm sorry but that is just not acceptable. One time we were feeding her and the food was falling from her mouth she was so drugged up. Another time my father walked in and a care assistant who was supposed to be feeding her was standing staring out a window with a spoon ful of food just stuck Infront of her. Disgraceful. The hospital suggested that my father attend the hospital at mealtimes and feed her himself, 4 times a day. He attended for two meals to try and make sure she was getting some food. She was in that hospital for two months and they wouldn't release her. Over that time an already frail woman lost two stone in their care.

Finally we got her a place in a wonderful nursing home and she came on in leaps and bounds in a matter of days.

Our health care system is just not good with dealing with dementia which puts undue stress on the patient and their family.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118030806#Comment_118030806

I once spent 39 hours in A&E with my mother with dementia. She was admitted with pneumonia after a 12 hour wait. We then spent 27 hours waiting for a bed. When she fell asleep I would try to go to the toilet, (or to grab something from a vending machine) but one time she woke up and wandered looking for me, and i came back to a very irate staff member biting my head off for leaving her alone. I actually can't talk about it. I haven't thought about that in a long time.

Most healthcare staff are decent but there is no doubt some should never have entered the profession. I had a bad experience with a very petty and vindictive nurse in hospital a while back. I tried to get on with things as best I could because I was unwell and didn’t need additional drama. But it’s something I won’t forget.

But then you can meet some brilliant staff that leave a great impression and really help your recovery.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118029098#Comment_118029098

Nothing will change... the same management, same consultants...same problems...

• colossal waiting lists..
• Fûck all access to rehabilitative medicine / beds
• overcrowded A&E’s, with junkies and other addicts who are given preferential status to actually genuinely ill and seriously ill people just because staff want them in and out ASAP.
• under funded and inadequate inpatient services and facilities. When I was in Cappagh the gym had two exercise bikes...no treadmill...should have had two or three alter-G machines..

you didn’t need a pandemic to identify the issues with health in this country and the pandemic won’t be some magic catalyst to putting things right...