Disclaimer: I do not generalize. There probably are a lot of good doctors out there (just how to find them?). These are my personal experiences and opinions that come from said experiences.
I'm not calm at the moment and can't proofread my text or anything right now.
This blog entry actually started some time ago with profile messages.
This one got the exact reply I expected. Shortly afterwards I was told this true story – the child survived and she is fine now.
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If you are a medical expert, a doctor and reading this: It is your job to help. It is one of the, if not THE most responsible jobs a person can have. Care for your patients and examine them instead of ignoring them. In short: DO YOUR F…ING, RESPONSIBLE JOB!!!
My grandma is dying right now. There is nothing that can be done about this as she is dying of high age, of infirmity, dotage, senility (some translations leo offered me for "Altersschwäche") and not of a particular, treatable disease. It can take days or weeks. Who knows? She is crying and shouting at night without a break – maybe because of pain, maybe because of fear, maybe both.
Emergency physician came at night (weekend) and she said: "Can't heal her." and gave my grandma morphine and lorazepame to treat the symptoms. That is all that can be done. Emergency doctor may not prescribe regular packages of drugs, only do what she could at the moment. She wrote everything down and said to tell the general practitioner to prescribe the drugs against the symptoms.
What did this guy say today: "No. I don't prescribe anything." and "No. I won't visit her." and "I won't do anything."
This heartless man, with a lot of power given to him by law, does not care. He does not treat the symptoms, he does not visit his dying patient, he does not call somebody else for help. No interest. Failure to render assistance on purpose. In a just world he would lose his medical license this instant… and never be a doctor in his life again.
I've informed the "Kassenärztliche Vereinigung" (Association of doctors who are allowed to treat patients from statutory health insurance). This institution is responsible for dealing with complaints of that kind. The sad thing is: It is an association for the doctors, not the patients… and they will rather not do anything against one of their members and more likely reject all complaints. I've not the right to decide here: If I could I would go to the police in this case.
I'm disappointed, I'm angry, I'm depressed.
That is the reality I faced so often (one of the more extreme cases). And if somebody tells me, to just visit a doctor (and another one, and another one, and another one…) with a medical problem → Nope! I won't! Maybe I'll die prematurely because of untreated […]. I don't care. That is my decision. I'm an adult, I am sound of mind and disposing memory.
Edit/Update:
My grandmother now has intravenous drip -- morphine. After phoning everybody the "nurse" got some help from palliative medics. It was about time. That doesn't change the fact that the doctor in the text above greatly failed and the complaint about him is the correct thing to do.
Kassenärztliche Vereinigung already tried to stop me from filing a complaint in the first place... with the reason: "It won't help your grandma. Instead try contacting the following institutions." Although this is technically correct, I cannot let him get away with that attitude towards his responsibilities. So I told the woman on the phone that all institutions in question will be contacted, but that this doesn't stop me from filing the complaint.
She kept humming and hawing for a while desperately trying to find a remotely plausible explanation/excuse for the impudence of not caring for a dying patient. All she could come up with was: "He isn't a palliative expert and maybe thought he wasn't able to cope." Pretty weak considering he could just have said that and called for help himself. All the palliative organizations normally want the doctor to call them in -- not the relatives or a "nurse".
I'm not calm at the moment and can't proofread my text or anything right now.
This blog entry actually started some time ago with profile messages.
This one got the exact reply I expected. Shortly afterwards I was told this true story – the child survived and she is fine now.
==========
If you are a medical expert, a doctor and reading this: It is your job to help. It is one of the, if not THE most responsible jobs a person can have. Care for your patients and examine them instead of ignoring them. In short: DO YOUR F…ING, RESPONSIBLE JOB!!!
My grandma is dying right now. There is nothing that can be done about this as she is dying of high age, of infirmity, dotage, senility (some translations leo offered me for "Altersschwäche") and not of a particular, treatable disease. It can take days or weeks. Who knows? She is crying and shouting at night without a break – maybe because of pain, maybe because of fear, maybe both.
Emergency physician came at night (weekend) and she said: "Can't heal her." and gave my grandma morphine and lorazepame to treat the symptoms. That is all that can be done. Emergency doctor may not prescribe regular packages of drugs, only do what she could at the moment. She wrote everything down and said to tell the general practitioner to prescribe the drugs against the symptoms.
What did this guy say today: "No. I don't prescribe anything." and "No. I won't visit her." and "I won't do anything."
This heartless man, with a lot of power given to him by law, does not care. He does not treat the symptoms, he does not visit his dying patient, he does not call somebody else for help. No interest. Failure to render assistance on purpose. In a just world he would lose his medical license this instant… and never be a doctor in his life again.
I've informed the "Kassenärztliche Vereinigung" (Association of doctors who are allowed to treat patients from statutory health insurance). This institution is responsible for dealing with complaints of that kind. The sad thing is: It is an association for the doctors, not the patients… and they will rather not do anything against one of their members and more likely reject all complaints. I've not the right to decide here: If I could I would go to the police in this case.
I'm disappointed, I'm angry, I'm depressed.
That is the reality I faced so often (one of the more extreme cases). And if somebody tells me, to just visit a doctor (and another one, and another one, and another one…) with a medical problem → Nope! I won't! Maybe I'll die prematurely because of untreated […]. I don't care. That is my decision. I'm an adult, I am sound of mind and disposing memory.
Edit/Update:
My grandmother now has intravenous drip -- morphine. After phoning everybody the "nurse" got some help from palliative medics. It was about time. That doesn't change the fact that the doctor in the text above greatly failed and the complaint about him is the correct thing to do.
Kassenärztliche Vereinigung already tried to stop me from filing a complaint in the first place... with the reason: "It won't help your grandma. Instead try contacting the following institutions." Although this is technically correct, I cannot let him get away with that attitude towards his responsibilities. So I told the woman on the phone that all institutions in question will be contacted, but that this doesn't stop me from filing the complaint.
She kept humming and hawing for a while desperately trying to find a remotely plausible explanation/excuse for the impudence of not caring for a dying patient. All she could come up with was: "He isn't a palliative expert and maybe thought he wasn't able to cope." Pretty weak considering he could just have said that and called for help himself. All the palliative organizations normally want the doctor to call them in -- not the relatives or a "nurse".
