Letters to Times re Caring for hospital patients

(from the Irish Times >) Mary Butler: “In particular, her attack on psychiatric services “medieval fiefdoms . . . run by doctors” was outrageous.”

Audrey Dillon: “As doctors, our main concern and duty is to our patients, and privacy and confidentiality are paramount. We are required ethically, and under Medical Council guidelines to get express permission from patients to speak to their relatives.”

Hilary Dunne of Irish Society for Quality & Safety in Healthcare: “To my mind this is adequate evidence that the system of the HSE looking after its own complaints is not working – yet despite this the HSE has taken the decision to terminate funding for a number of patient organisations including the ISQSH.”

Revd Dr Stanley Monkhouse: “Dr Shane Considine has understandably locked horns with Ann Marie Hourihane. As a UK medical student, then a medical educator in Ireland and UK from 1976 to 2006, I witnessed patient-centred concerns, such as communication skills and acknowledging the patient’s point of view, increasingly emphasised on undergraduate medical courses…

Many patients seem to want their doctors to be god-like and omnipotent, and yet complain when they act accordingly. The parallels with my present occupation are obvious. “White coat ceremonies” and graduations in medical schools, and the speeches made at them, are mystical ordinations and sermons by other names.Medical professionals are human like the rest of us. We do ourselves no service by expecting otherwise. We do ourselves no service by refusing to accept that death is inevitable.”