The story of a Spanish family and a doctor with a god complex

The story of a Spanish family and a doctor with a god complex

To bring forward the reality that NOT only expats that do not speak fluent sànish are having problems with healthcare, I will tell you how a lady in a coma went from being discharged to her house on a wednesday in a coma without knowing what she had, without any explanation of her care, to having a place in a nursing home to receive proper care, and no discharge until the home was ready to admit her......on monday.

A 70-something (young by nowadays standards) lady that one week before had been in a regular state of health (she had arritmia, and spine fractures but was awake and lucid) was admitted at the HCS. She was discharged and readmitted at least twice, and in this admission she was, virtually in a coma. The treating physician gave no explanation for this to the family.

as the lady couldn't eat they put in a nasogastric tube for feeding, but nobody SPOKE to the family about medications: she had one page full with medications that she used to take at home (two weeks before, when she was awake and lucid!), and nobody explained:

* how to convert that oral medication for an NG tube, do they crush the pill?, are there drops?, will she continue with the same medication.

* how should they take care of her, should they rotate her?, put in a special mattress? a special bed?

* was there any resources from soc security?

And they wanted to discharge her again, no explanation as to WHY she was in that condition, no help from social services, anything. That could be done perhaps 50-70 years ago, when that woman would have had probably many daughters living near her, that didn’t work and could take care of her. But even that did not explain the why, or how and what medication to give.

As the spanish families are changing and not accepting what is “ordered” that they have to do, a friend contacted me, asking me what their rights were.

I went to the hospital and I find a lady in a coma, with no explanation whatsoever!!!!!, and that drove me really really angry.

This was just plain wrong.

This lady could NOT go home, she could go to a nursing facility, but not home.

But first, we had to know why she was like that, when 2 weeks ago she was lucid! I thought the most reasonable thing would be a stroke, so she needed a CAT scan to confirm that, if that was confirmed, then this was irreversible and we could move forward.

I explained the steps:

1) talk to the doctor in charge and ask for:

* a CAT scan

* explanations about medicines and care

this is  “the being nice plan a”

2) go to the social worker and ask for resources, maybe subsidies for a nursing home? reserve a place ? (nursing homes are not plentiful....)

if speaking to the Dr didnt work, then came the “angry as hell plan B”

1) go to “atención al ciudadano” and lodge a complaint letter against the Dr and the department.

2) go directly to the medical director secretary and explain what’s going on, and that you are getting ready to speak to your lawyer and present a formal complaint at the colegio de medicos against the Dr and the hospital, and the same complaint with the administration (ministry of health)

what happened?

plan “nice” didn't work, the Dr said he was not doing a CAT scan even if a judge came and told him, that he was the boss and nobody was going to tell him what to do (God complex, anyone?????). the social worker did work, went to the bedroom and explained resources and nursing homes. They called and had a reservation for a room for next week (this was a thursday)

And how did plan B work?

After talking to the director’s secretary (which was at 14:30, everybody leaving), the next day, “suddenly” the lady was taken to have a CAT scan. result from the scan? a big stroke.....one question solved.

Suddenly, no more talk of discharge, the dr was all smiles, explained everything about the medication, to be forwarded to the nursing home.....on monday.

So we went from being discharged to her house on wednesday without knowing what she had, without any explanation of her care to: having a place in a nursing home to receive proper care, and to help the family, as they were to the point of breaking down. and no discharge until the home was ready to admit her......

And there were NOT foreigners, they were andalusians, so no problem with the language.

It it almost the same for spaniards, they are having difficult situations also, and they are at a loss also.

conclusion:
* first try talking nicely to the dr (aggressions to drs, even verbal are a felony in spain.....just to let you know...)
* if that doesn't work, WRITE a letter of complaint, they are very important, nobody wants them in the administration. My personal experience has been a 100% success with letters of complaint in the administration (sadly in private medicine, specially insurance companies it has been 5%, no matter what I did, how many letters, and even lawyers letters, they have more lawyers & more money than we have....).
* leave that letter at "atención al usuario/ciudadano" and at the medical director.

The letter of complaint needs to be, of course in spanish, showing that you know your rights AND it should include your demands: what is that you want, in bullet points is preferable. this means that you have clear goals: these are easier to get, if you write " I want the system to acknowledge my condition, and the personnel to treat me accordingly", you are asking for the whole of the drs to change attitude, that is very difficult. But if you write " I want a CAT scan", now, that is doable.

And if you are thinking, very funny this lady, how do I write this?, well, I do!, that is one of the services I offer. A great letter of complaint will get you best results faster.

That's me, a thorn in the system, an angel for my patients