I recently had a first experience in understanding how socioeconomic factors could affect our health. In my case, my husband's.
He was first hospitalised at my local hospital and then transferred to a specialised hospital.
We were trying to get information about his cardiac health, test readings, or when we could see a doctor. Staff members there totally ignored patients and their family in the ward. I was told that it was my husband's responsibility to update his conditions with me, not staff's. Dates for the angiogram which was a crucial diagnostic examination for him was apparently unknown to them, forcing us to just sit and wait. When they said that he could have an angiogram, it did not happen. If cardiologists at the CCU did not interfere, our waiting would have continued.
He had his triple bypass surgery at the specialised hospital, yet the wall to have access to necessary information was challenging one. Apparently nothing is known or certain. We were expected to follow the order: get up, walk around, eat and sleep. We were not told what we needed to expect or watch for. Not many ward staff members introduced themselves to us; they just do the job without telling us what are all about. My husband had a very hard time to receive proper pain management until the specialists came to see him - one week after the operation.
However, there was a completely different scenery when we were at the CCU in our local hospital. Over there, every single staff member who cared for my husband introduced themselves and clearly explained what we were exactly facing. They explained monitor readings, test results and the treatment plan (i.e angiogram and transfer). Communications among staff members appeared to be ongoing and they gave me the answer when I rang them up at the ward. We were felt at ease over there.
I am not here to complain about patient care across hospitals. I would like to simply point out mobilising resources are huge tasks unless we know to whom to ask and how accessible they are. For example, finding a right nurse is difficult if family members cannot tell the name of the nurses because they do not introduce themselves to their patients. If communication within the system is not open and fluid, everything stagnates. Under this circumstance, only those who have authoritative attitudes or in-depth knowledge of the system (often comes with higher education) can sail through the obstacles in front of them.
It is just my one-off observation, but I am quite convinced that education (degrees and places) is the key to placing us into the right places to get what we want when we need it.
He was first hospitalised at my local hospital and then transferred to a specialised hospital.
We were trying to get information about his cardiac health, test readings, or when we could see a doctor. Staff members there totally ignored patients and their family in the ward. I was told that it was my husband's responsibility to update his conditions with me, not staff's. Dates for the angiogram which was a crucial diagnostic examination for him was apparently unknown to them, forcing us to just sit and wait. When they said that he could have an angiogram, it did not happen. If cardiologists at the CCU did not interfere, our waiting would have continued.
He had his triple bypass surgery at the specialised hospital, yet the wall to have access to necessary information was challenging one. Apparently nothing is known or certain. We were expected to follow the order: get up, walk around, eat and sleep. We were not told what we needed to expect or watch for. Not many ward staff members introduced themselves to us; they just do the job without telling us what are all about. My husband had a very hard time to receive proper pain management until the specialists came to see him - one week after the operation.
However, there was a completely different scenery when we were at the CCU in our local hospital. Over there, every single staff member who cared for my husband introduced themselves and clearly explained what we were exactly facing. They explained monitor readings, test results and the treatment plan (i.e angiogram and transfer). Communications among staff members appeared to be ongoing and they gave me the answer when I rang them up at the ward. We were felt at ease over there.
I am not here to complain about patient care across hospitals. I would like to simply point out mobilising resources are huge tasks unless we know to whom to ask and how accessible they are. For example, finding a right nurse is difficult if family members cannot tell the name of the nurses because they do not introduce themselves to their patients. If communication within the system is not open and fluid, everything stagnates. Under this circumstance, only those who have authoritative attitudes or in-depth knowledge of the system (often comes with higher education) can sail through the obstacles in front of them.
It is just my one-off observation, but I am quite convinced that education (degrees and places) is the key to placing us into the right places to get what we want when we need it.
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