I like my doctor, but I worry about him. The trouble is he is already 84. I don't know what I'll do when he
finally hangs up his stethoscope, because I don't believe I'll ever find a doctor who will suit me the way he does.
All the others I've seen in recent years have made me feel apologetic for being there. This strikes me as a failing on their part. Surely you shouldn't feel you're bothering them, one more in the great heaving tide of competing whingers they have to deal with? Surely they should at least pretend they want to help?
In the US I find that they minimize time with one: it is routine to spend an hour or hour and a half at the doctor's office, five minutes of that being with the doctor. But though they leave the impression that there's another patient waiting, they don't make one feel unwelcome.
ReplyDeleteWithin the space of only five minutes, they may not have time to do so. I've posted a link to a post at Commonplace Blog that expresses what I wanted to say much better than I did
DeleteMy NHS surgery always see me within 20 minutes of arrivng and I've never been treated with anything other than sympathy and respect. Also, I've never felt that a stopwatch was ticking.
ReplyDeleteWhen my wife recently had what seemed like a serious illness, she received a phone call every other evening, two hours after the surgery had theoretically closed. I can't praise them highly enough.
I'd love to know whether this surgery is a reflection of the local practioners or the result of government policy. If it's the former, then they should be held up as an example of how healthcare should be provided.
I think you are definitely really, really lucky, unless things have changed dramatically since I left London three years ago.
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