Are healthcare workers becoming more rude and obnoxious?

Bananaleaf · 17-10-2021 11:36am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031744#Comment_118031744

What's your answer?

corner of hells · 17-10-2021 12:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031252#Comment_118031252

You do know you can make a complaint about those nurses, especially if you believe they contributed to deaths of patients.

Hippodrome Song Owl · 17-10-2021 12:03pm

No, I can't say I've had many issues like this at all. I have a chronic health condition meaning I attend consultants relatively frequently and have had almost all positive experiences. The nurses have always been particularly kind and caring during any of my hospital stays. I had surgery in August and again it was a completely positive experience with all healthcare professionals. My gp is lovely. I got a same day appointment on Monday this week. I had one overall negative experience in a maternity hospital a few years ago where I felt they were dismissive and patronising in dealing with a gynaecological issue not related to pregnancy or wanting to get pregnant. They were polite but there was clearly a prevailing attitude of not caring about issues unrelated to pregnancy or fertility.

My mother has cancer and several other long term conditions so I have frequently attended appointments with her - again almost universally positive. One of her consultants is very abrupt and I do find her rude. She stands out because of this in comparison to everyone else around her. I have no issues with her medical practice though and in fact find her exceptionally thorough, so I wouldn't like to see my mother change. My mother likes her directness anyway.

Any other negative experiences I have had have been 100% caused by overcrowding and inadequate facilities, not staff. I can only imagine though what a strain it would be to try to deal with such issues while dealing with uncaring or unhelpful healthcare staff. It's a very vulnerable place to be without any additional stress or obstacles.

17-10-2021 12:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031862#Comment_118031862

You sure can but it's not like anyone will believe them or do a thing about it. (even if it were true) In fact, you're practically taking your own life in your hands by raising an issue in the first place.

I worked temporarily in a large acute public hospital in the administration side of things and saw first hand some of the most reprehensible treatment of humanity that I could ever have imagined. I really wish I could say more but obviously, I can't.

corner of hells · 17-10-2021 12:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031937#Comment_118031937

"you're practically taking your own life in your hands by raising an issue in the first place" .

I'm assuming that's a bit of poetic license.

17-10-2021 12:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031956#Comment_118031956

nope

corner of hells · 17-10-2021 12:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031959#Comment_118031959

Threads just taken a dramatic turn.

Wibbs · 17-10-2021 12:40pm

I was a carer of a relative for over a decade, the first seven years pretty much on my own so have had quite a bit of experience with healthcare and the people in it in this country, or to be more precise in Dublin. Now off the bat this was all before the woo flu pandemic hit. I have no doubt that has added to the stresses, so your mileage may if not will vary if your experiences were in the last 18 months.

I would say most of my experiences were as positive as they could have been. Yes, there were a couple of WTF moments and WTF people but they were the minority. I found the least WTF moments with emergency services. I would really struggle to fault them to be honest. I was initially surprised as we have all heard the stories of people in distress on trolleys in corridors so expected that. I think two factors came into it with my experiences; 1) I was lucky and 2) they were all life and death emergencies in ambulances so we bypassed the waiting room horrors. I did pass through waiting rooms and could see the serious backlog alright. I'd go home to recharge for a few hours and come back to see many of the same people still sitting there, many in obvious distress. Though there were also the drunks and people who could have been seen by a GP types.

In the wards themselves again muppets were rare and of the different branches I would say the doctors were ahead on the percentage of muppets, though again rare enough. I found more men than women in the muppet mix. With many such people I found they were obviously intellectual, but social skills were underdeveloped or missing. High IQ, low EQ sorta thing. I did find that the further up the levels you went the less this tended to be in play. So more junior doctors like this than consultants. The latter requires a fair bit of politics so social skills would be more required I suppose. They were also older of course so maturity would be in play and stress levels have increased over the years and since many of them first qualified so that may be a factor too.

My respite home experiences were more variable. In one case with serious issues I reported that triggered an official enquiry and the results of that made for sobering reading on a few levels, from basic hygiene stuff to a lack of supervision resulting in injuries and emotional stresses. And they had tried to cover it up, even to the point of suggesting me and other reporters were trying to cover our arses. Pity for them that I had kept a record of everything including recording my interactions with some staff members on my phone. In some places there were clearly unqualified people in the staff. People on social welfare training type positions. In full on HSE centres the standards of care were significantly higher. I never noticed any differences between the different nationalities of folks you find in healthcare. One Middle Eastern doctor whose command of english was shockingly bad and an Asian nurse who would respond to a question with a blank smile and little else was all of it. I pointed out the doctor's failings to others in the ward and promptly got another doctor in his stead, no questions asked.

I would say, and especially if you're dealing with someone with dementia, you need to be a constant advocate. If they need help with eating, then you have to be there to do it. It is what it is. The nurses are generally simply to rushed off their feet to be able to sit with one person and hand feed them for half an hour. You also have to have the medical history bullet points in your head and repeat them more often than you think. Details are easy to miss. I do think some sort of "basic training" for those who end up being carers would be a good plan. Otherwise you learn "on the job" which is not ideal for all concerned. Some sort of support(which is nonexistent) after the carer stuff ends another.

cloudatlas · 17-10-2021 12:45pm

Dementia takes a long time to diagnose. We are all waiting long times and having phone consultations. Unfortunately that is just how it is now and it needs to be this way in order to ensure their safety as well as our own. I can understand your frustrations but cool heads prevail. Can you reach out to any support services for carers as you are clearly under a lot of pressure.

17-10-2021 1:13pm

I feel your frustration OP as a fellow carer.

Ive no issue with the doctors, nurses, HCA’s or catering/cleaning staff but the bed managers, occupational therapists, home care co-ordinaters? They just see the patient (or you as their voice) as a hindrance to an easy life.

Bed managers - yeah we know your parent is now paralysed from a severe stroke and has been returned back to this rehab unit by the nursing home you got him into because severe strokes also affect the patient’s behaviour. But he’s a very naughty boy now so we won’t be accepting him into our nursing home unit and neither will anywhere else. So, hand in your notice at your office job as you’re well equipped to deal with the medical requirements that we are washing our hands of. K, thnx, bye!

Occupational Therapist - 3 years after they’re home and they make their 1st house call - “you’re holding him wrong, you’re not putting both your feet on the floor, you shouldn’t be doing it like that you do it like this” makes you cry and feel totally worthless because you know no different and are doing a job that you insist has to be done by two of your own staff.

Home care co-ordinators - “yeah, we’re removing all the home carers that know what to do and where everything is and sending them to other people and giving you agency staff. Why? Because, that’s why. The agency staff haven’t shown up again? They organise their own staff” - in other words - they are completely up ending everybody in the system just so they can pass the buck and feign a not my problem stance.

Im getting stressed just writing this There’s a lot more to it than above. Nobody ever asks the Carer how they are coping or how they are feeling. Do they need anything. And when you rant (like the OP) you have posters with absolutely no understanding of the mental and physical strain you are under just pushing your buttons that little bit more.

Take care OP, wish there was a magic wand that I could pass you for a week.

listermint · 17-10-2021 1:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031790#Comment_118031790

Evidently you didn't read the opening post where they exclaimed they couldn't tell if the Asian was a man or a woman.

I've no sympathy for edgits but plenty for the carers who have to deal with them.

If more people acted like this then we wouldn't have any carers.

RulesOfNature · 17-10-2021 1:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031180#Comment_118031180

The problem here is that people like OP get free reign to go around and abuse workers for basically any reason. In his post alone he highlights race, gender and foreign nationals and wanting to physically assault workers, possibly because of their race and gender.

it is entirely obvious what kind of entitled loser the OP is. And Im entirely inviting said loser to prove that he can ‘sink his fist’ into someone.

if people like OP got cracked in the head the moment they start having intrusive thoughts about people who arent white or male imagine the discipline he’d be instilled.

no this isnt about the worker telling his relative to sit in the wheelchair properly, which is standArd f*cking procedure, its about some entitled deranged idiot wanting to punch workers because of their race and gender.

RulesOfNature · 17-10-2021 1:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031790#Comment_118031790

People have empathy for the worker, not the entitled moron.

17-10-2021 1:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032172#Comment_118032172

You mean the "entitled moron" whose great crime is to advocate for his ill family member against rude and dismissive people who are supposed to be professionals in health care, and who are only getting a snapshot of what he is dealing with every day?

And you want to crack his head open against a footpath, for expressing his frustration?

You've a strange way of looking at things.

RulesOfNature · 17-10-2021 1:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032199#Comment_118032199

So basically the story boils down to a worker telling their relative to sit in the chair properly to avoid injury and OP’s response was to nearly assault the worker because he doesnt like an uppity foreigner who might be female.

go ahead tell this story on the radio and see how people will digest it.

the fact of the matter is, OP wanted to punch someone for their race and gender.

you get zero sympathy. Go ahead tell everyone how you want to punch women. Tell me in real life.

17-10-2021 2:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032107#Comment_118032107

Obviously you don't know what transgender means.

17-10-2021 2:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032233#Comment_118032233

You need to read the paragraph again. The OP didn’t say they wanted to punch the Asian persons face. And they say their parent was admonished not given polite safety advice.

17-10-2021 2:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032167#Comment_118032167

So, you're engaging with someone who you have no empathy for by luring them into a fight through a process of entrapment while threatening to use violence as part of your plan to discipline them. Which department do you work for.

AndrewJRenko · 17-10-2021 2:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031744#Comment_118031744

If they were the kind of people who responded to incentives, they wouldn't be working in the public healthcare system in the first place.

joe40 · 17-10-2021 2:27pm

In any large organisation/profession you are going to get a wide range of people and personalities. Some good some not so good.

I have had plenty of dealings with health system over the years mostly with elderly parents and while most experiences have been largely positive there were exceptions. I would never though make sweeping suggestions that all or most health care workers are uncaring or obnoxious. That is simply not the case. Some people have their mind made up so will always see the negative.

surrender monkey · 17-10-2021 3:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032233#Comment_118032233

There's little point in telling someone with dementia to do anything at all. They simply do not understand and usually cannot follow instructions at all. It is a very complex disease which requires patience and understanding. You can ask or tell them to do something till you are blue in the face it won't have any effect. They usually cannot wash, dress, feed or toilet themselves. Until you have experienced it in a loved one you won't understand. I would expect a person working in health care to have an understanding of this.

I didn't get the impression from the op that they nearly assaulted the worker I got the impression that they were exasperated by the experience to be honest.

southstar · 17-10-2021 3:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032167#Comment_118032167

Good grief given the gobsmaking level of delusion and entitlement in this post I sincerely hope you don't work in healthcare ....or any customer facing role for that matter....perhaps you are a recipient of services from a certain sector of the health service...if so I'd be asking for my money back

Tom Mann Centuria · 17-10-2021 3:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032331#Comment_118032331

A perfectly reasonable way of looking at things, and I agree, but this kind of post will never catch on in the wonderful world of internet though.

Bananaleaf · 17-10-2021 3:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032167#Comment_118032167

You are assuming that they want to physically assault a worker because of their race and gender. I would say that their comment came more out of frustration because of what their loved one is going through.

By the way ... before we start calling this person a "deranged idiot", let's just sit back and take stock of what we can also assume to be true. The OP didn't actually physically assault anyone. They said that they felt like doing it on an anonymous message board where they were letting off steam. Many people have had a 'moment of madness' thought where they've said to themselves "I'd love to smack that one". Doesn't make them deranged. In fact, I'd argue that it makes them very normal.

Yeah, you are right. There are loads of people who go around abusing people for any reason at all. There are just as many, if not more, internet users who almost make a second career out of digging around for opportunities to throw the word "racist", "transphobic" or "xenophobic" at someone.

The amount of moral high ground that has been found by folk in this country in recent years is almost as astounding as it is ironic.

Mad_maxx · 17-10-2021 4:46pm

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

Well it surely was an opportunity to improve things while the crowds were away but no , it's back to hundreds on trolleys across the country

17-10-2021 4:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118031377#Comment_118031377

Indeed. "They" this, "they" that... about a couple of nurses they've seen in one spot.

BrianD3 · 17-10-2021 5:00pm

Meanwhile

https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/1017/1254229-hse-donegal-abuse/

First of all, this is a HSE facility so blame can't be deflected onto the private sector.

So, from 1997 until at least 2011, if not later, a resident "engaged in a vast number of highly abusive and sexually intrusive behaviours".

This is the sort of thing that an on the ball, "deranged idiot" family member could possibly have stopped at the start by reading someone the riot act. Seeing as staff and management couldn't or wouldn't do their fcuking jobs and it was let go on for years. Never assume that any healthcare worker is competent, well trained, following procedure or has anyone's interests but their own at heart.

This coming on top of the Leas Cross scandal, Upton House in Co. Offaly and other relatively recent incidents such as:

https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0730/1156453-courts-rape/

But but but but RACISM.

Having visited several rape, sorry, nursing homes over the years, I witnessed plenty of incompetence, apathy and borderline neglect in both public and private facilities. I'd wonder what went on during Covid when there were no relatives allowed in to check that the residents weren't being neglected, disrespected and abused. It'll probably all come out in the wash along with information on infection control deficiencies.

southstar · 17-10-2021 5:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032760#Comment_118032760

That's kinda like saying that service improves when you've few or no customers...or maybe you want to keep it that way

southstar · 17-10-2021 6:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118032793#Comment_118032793

....and you were happy to go home every evening from these rape homes..what a disgusting little person you are....perhaps you could have taken a position there. ..always plenty of work available..and experiences the particular difficulties for both staff and residents during the initial stages of Covid...but no that's real work... btw all those folk you visited over the years...relatives perhaps...well maybe you could have cared for them at home given your deep concerns....only saying like

BrianD3 · 17-10-2021 6:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118033017#Comment_118033017

Obnoxious, barely coherent and in fact disgusting post. You think I'm going to explain myself to somebody like you? FYI - and this is the only piece of info you'll get, I advocated for several relatives in NHs and am currently an UNPAID home carer having given up my career to do so. Luckily for me (and my care recipient) I have enough money that I don't have to work for money ever again. I sincerely hope that that winds you up. Anyhow, keep up the disgusting little person rubbish. Are you going to request a fight next like the other gobsh*te?

And no comment at all about the, to quote Paul Reid, "stomach churning" goings on in Donegal. Suppose I should have fixed that problem too from over 100 miles away.

Cop yourself on.

Are healthcare workers becoming more rude and obnoxious?

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