Open Letter to A Seceratary

Maybe I should appologise for losing my temper. I dont suppose you can be expected to have any tiny inkling of life in our house.
However maybe if you had just listened and tried to use a weeny bit of imagination you could have thought before you reacted.

Your Consultant boss may be a very important man, he may be even slightly aloof, may not like being "told what to do" However in his role of consultant Neurologist I am sure he does have a tiny little insight into the lives of his patients. Maybe if you had done as I requested and just explained our situation to him he would have realised quicker than you did that I was actually trying to work with him not against him.

My son has been on Coronary Care since Last Friday. He is a young man with many difficulties. He is finding the world of Adult Health care very different to a week on children's ward. As his parents we too are finding it hard to come to terms with our 20 year old who has the understanding and communication skills of a toddler in many respects being in a ward with 5 other elderly men all of whom have significant heart problems.

The staff on the ward immediately recognised that Jonathan would need us to be there when we could, and that when we could meant outsde of normal visitng times. This was something they recognised without us ever having to request it. It was offered wihtin minutes of him being admitted to the ward.

Yesterday when the cardiology Dr spoke to us about referring him to Neurology we asked about when that would happen and were reassured to hear that Mr H was in the hospital on Friday and would see him during Friday. We pointed out that it would be futile him coming if we were not there to explain what has happened. So asked if we could have a narrowish window during which time he may come. I understand that at this point your were contacted by telephone and the situation explained to you. However rather than offering to talk with Mr H you just said it could be after his morning or after his afternoon clinic.

This morning I rang you myself to explain the situation we are in. You refused to listen to me and kept talking over me. When I tried to stop you and explain that it would be a waste of time him seeing Jonatha wihtou us you failed to acknowledge that point. Instead telling me it was more than your job was worth to "tell Mr H what to do". I explained I was not asking you to tell him what to do but was asking you to explain to Mr H our situation briefly and request that he specify whether it would be morning or afternoon. You again refused to acknowledge my reason for requesting. I am sure Mr H has many patients to see. I now understsand he comes from nottingham to see them, and I acknowledge that he is a busy man and may have a time schedule, however I am certain that not all the patients he sees are incapable of explaining their situation to him themse;ves, and I am equally certain that not all of those who may need a member of family there to help in commuinication have the same level of need as our family does.
I am therefore absolutely certain that should you actually give a brief explanation of the situation to him he would most certainly agree to specify which clinic he would come after, and if as you say sometimes he does not have time after the morning then clarifying that whter or not he has time at lunchtime he will put Jonatha for his afternoon visit would not be too much to ask I am sure.
Getting angry with me and telling me to calm down did not make me have any more sympathy with you in your position of having to go outside of your comfort zone to request this. Leaving me sobbing over the situation did not achieve anything for either of us. The very fact that you assured the Hospice manager that you would request he saw Jonathan this afternoon gave me the assurance that I could go ahead and organise Carers to look after the rest of my family whilst I came to be with Jonathan for that appointment howevr it made me even more angry that you could not have offered to do that when I first spoke with you rather than causing us both so much upset.
I appoogise for the way I spoke towards the end of our conversation however I stand by what I said.
Yours an unecesarily distressed Tina!