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Family centred care

Colin Campbell
by Colin Campbell on 27/10/17 18:00
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I had a request the other day from a husband of one of my patients (he is a patient of my practice too) to speak to him about his wife’s on going care.

He had one or two concerns, his wife’s character is such that she would never raise these concerns herself, he felt it was his duty as her husband to do so and have a conversation with me.

He has been present for much but not all of her consultations and treatment and I chat to him regularly when he is in the practice but now days I am not able to have a conversation with him without first asking his wife’s permission.

This protection of the ‘self’ and ‘individuality’ has led, in many cases, to a reduction in the level of care that I am able to offer to patients.

Once upon a time I was considered to be a professional with the judgment of a professional and to be able to make judgments on a case-by-case basis as to what was appropriate. Now the ‘computer’ says I am not.

If I discussed this ladies case with her husband and he then discussed it with her and she got upset, she could then to refer me to the GDC I would be fully investigated unsanctioned as a result, sighting a breech of confidentiality and no doubt dishonesty and misleading conduct.

Where will this end and when will I be allowed to write in the notes that I had a conversation with her husband because I felt it was in the patient’s best interest and then be judged against that.

The funny thing about this is that my father-in-law was ill last week and I wanted to have a conversation with someone about his care because I am one of his advocates and I understand the care more than he does. I found again that this was difficult because ‘the computer says no’. A simple line in a set of notes to say I took the responsibility to have a discussion with the patients husband because I felt this was in the best interest in the patient and the best method of communication in this case should absolve me from all problems and guilt related to this but of course it doesn’t.

Yet again because of a very small number of difficulties in cases the risk assesses enter and everyone is penalized but mostly the patient.

Go back to the top of the blog and take my case, how am I to deal with difficulties in this ladies case when she will not have that discussion with me herself but when it can be offered to me by one of her family members I am unable to take that opportunity.

I think yet again it’s time for The Campbell Clinic to go our own way on this. I think perhaps for new patients as part of their medical history we may ask them to write the name of anyone who they would be happy for us to discuss their care with and therefore will have some form of consent to say we have considered this process.

Just another small ‘little hill’ against a world that has turned insane.

 

Blog post number: 1442

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Colin Campbell
Written by Colin Campbell
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