Yesterday, from a tweet by insomniacmedic, I was linked to a blog post by Buckman. He talks at length about the foolishness of some patients who refuse the care they so desperately need and the knock-on costs of the associated palliative care as they die. It’s a post and a subject that stirs deep emotions and I started writing a reply before realising it was turning into an essay. So, Buckman, here’s my response. Go and read Buckman’s post before you read this though – you need the context!
Coming so soon after the recent episode of the EMS Handover on Respect, this post brought the whole topic back to the forefront of my mind again. I know what it’s like to care for people who are responsible for their condition yet refuse to take responsibility for their actions. I know what it’s like to try and help someone who refuses your help. So I’m not unsympathetic to the plight that Buckman describes – it’s an impossible situation at times, made worse, it seems, by the litigious nature of American society. I’ll try my best to not let this descend into a rant on what’s broken about the US healthcare model in my opinion – I’ll just say that I’m glad that I live in the UK and work within the British healthcare system.
The extreme polarisation of the term “patient care” you write about at the start is something that I haven’t seen in the UK – perhaps I haven’t been working with the system long enough. But I find that extreme views are rarely beneficial to anyone, mainly because they seem to define the issue in a very monochrome way and, as Dr Ben Goldacre says so often “It’s not quite that simple…”. I’m not suggesting that the care that you personally offer is deficient in any way, just that any extreme is bad.
I do think that the concept of patient care is somethign we should hold dear to us and is key to providing effective treatment to our patients. There’s a difference between clinical treatment of a medical condition and actually caring for the patient. I think I’m lucky that coming from a first aid background, there were and still are times when there were no interventions that I could make within my skillset that would help that patient, so caring for them was the only skill I had left.
Having said that, I agree that we shouldn’t mollycoddle patients – some people need some tough lovin’ to get the point across and to help them make the jump across the uncomfortable gap of change. If your description of your medical system is accurate, that it’s a system where you can’t be honest without patients for fear of reprisals when that honesty is truly in their best interest, then I fear for that system. The system is failing to provide the best care for the patients and is crippling your ability to do so. Somethign needs to change.
I don’t think that “Do what I say or else” is an appropriate stance for a medic to take. Yes, let’s move them out of that ICU bed into a ward where they can receive palliative care, but don’t make them pay for it. This gives far too much power for a doctor who is of a bullying nature over the patient’s decisions.
I agree, something needs to be done to curb the growing trend of patients who absolve themeslves of any responsibility over their condition – but this is a problem that we see in society as a whole, not specifically in healthcare. Forcing people to take a specific course of action in their healthcare is like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut when you’re trying to fell a tree – it’s both overkill and yet far too little at the same time.
We’re facing a growing problem where the lack of personal responsiblity in society is stressing our healthcare systems to the limit and we need to find new solutions to these new problems without compromising the care that we offer patients.
Just my tup’pence.
Agreed 100% on individuals in society needing to learn to take responsibility for their own actions, choices and the ramifications thereof.
Of course, when it comes to long term consequences … no one ever thinks it will happen to them.
(Also an issue is where ‘long term’ planning is considered to be 6 months. Or maybe three. And expediency is more important than anything.)