STAFF PERSPECTIVE
Examples included doctors and nurses calling patients inappropriate names, and being rude.
Some were accused of being confrontational, insensitive and threatening. A number of patients also claimed they had been subjected to verbal abuse, rough handling, had been rushed or shown a lack of support. Many said they had simply not received an apology when they felt they had been treated badly.
It is the first time national figures have been compiled about staff behaviour since a report last year concluded that “basic compassion” had been lost from hospital wards.
The research – carried out by the Academy of
Medical Royal Colleges in Scotland – warned that some NHS bosses were prioritising treatment time targets over patients. Senior doctors in Scotland have called on the Scottish Government to move away from a target-driven culture to focus on quality of care.
Indeed, leading medics claim there has been too much of a focus on inappropriate targets over patient care in recent years.
One prominent doctor was so frustrated by the attitude of staff at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary that he took to social media to highlight his experience.
Dr James Logan, an internationallyrenowned research leader at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, criticised the care provided to his grandmother in 2013 after she had a stroke.
James, 35, from North Berwick, said he was “disgusted” by the attitude of staff and the way his family had been spoken to and treated. The presenter of TV’s Embarrassing Bodies wrote on Twitter: “Extremely rude staff...make you feel like you are a massive interruption to their day.” He added that two members of staff had been “great” but claimed a number of others should be “ashamed” of themselves.
Three years ago NHS inspectors warned that hospital staff in Scotland were not always treating older patients with compassion.
A separate study, carried out in England in 2011, revealed doctors and nurses with a good manner could play a part in shortening the length of patient hospital stays and improve patients’ health.
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it had undertaken work to “give frontline staff the tools required to help diffuse a situation.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said the complaints related to a small proportion of NHS activity, adding boards should be “completely open and learn the right lessons”. My wife has been in hospital for a week and I’ve no complaints.
The attention she’s had has been first class. My brother had a stroke last year and was in hospital. The staff could not have been nicer. They were helpful and kept us up to date.” Normally NHS staff are quite polite but in my case they were rude to me. Nurses made me feel like I was wasting their time. A doctor was patronising in their treatment of me. Some people keep quiet but I couldn’t. I told them I’d had a stroke, not a frontal lobotomy. UNIONS have said NHS staff are under increasing pressure at work, leading to stressful situations.
Matt McLaughlin of Unison said staff were expected to deliver “gold standard” care while putting up with “sawdust” wages and resources.
He said: “Patient expectations are rising but budgets and staffing are cut to the bone. We keep saying to employers that bullying and stress at work and even violence against staff are increasing.”
Theresa Fyffe, director of the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, said it was important patients raised concerns.
Dr Peter Bennie, chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, said patients and families should always be treated with compassion and respect.