The Tales of Two Treatments…

by Phil Hadridge

The same hospital
One of the very best in the NHS
They say
Within 3 days
Two people
Two treatments
One involved stitching a gashed chin
A running accident
The other a rapid assessment with an invasive and non-invasive test

What was striking?
The quality of the fabric – clean, tidy
The sense of competence – it felt effective and safe
The speed  – from arrival to outcome within 1 hour for the minor injury and 2 for the ?Ca

But the thing that made left us frustrated?
Frustrated beyond complaining?
The total lack of warmth
None of our attempts to engage the senior sister and senior registrar in chat worked
They ignored every move we made
They didn’t give eye contact
They didn’t smile
They didn’t engage in the talk we tried to initiate
Our interest in them
Our attempts to relate

As a test I watched every – EVERY – interaction I had with  distracted and sullen service staff in the following month…
At the coffee concession, in shops,  at airports, at the market stall, the taxi driver
EVERYONE followed my moves to banter, chat, connect, lighten the moment, brighten our days  – EVERY TIME
The only place it didn’t work?
A train ticket office
Though the staff only served for 30 seconds
And were behind glass
And were looking at their computer screen

Back in time…
3 weeks earlier
A private experience
For a third person
The same sort of Haematuria clinic
It actually took 30 minutes longer
Why?
Partly it was less well organised [!]
AND the chat, the warmth, the conversation…

I don’t believe that is was busyness or slickness that made the NHS
So….abrupt
And in some ways so uncaring
Dour
Lacking in rapport

In the past I have seen compassion as the linchpin
Motivating not just performance on patient experience
But safety and effectiveness too
Now I am not so sure

I felt those staff were doing the right thing – fast and safely
Focused
They probably went home and felt they had ‘cared’
And in some dimension, they had

But they left us bewildered
Their complacency on human decency
Left me
Beyond anger
Deeply sad
And worried
For next time
For others
For health care improvement
For them
For friends in health care jobs
For students in the NHS I have met recently