Reverend Ian Miller
ARE WE LOSING THE ABILITY TO SIMPLY LISTEN?
THE pace of life seems to get quicker year on year.
Perhaps it is simply my inability, as I age, to keep up.
Who knows?
Either way, I am concerned that, at a time when so much of the communication we are involved in is electronic, we are losing the ability to simply listen with empathy and understanding.
Allow me to provide an example. It involved an elderly gentleman with learning difficulties and mobility issues who was hospitalised after a fall and a stroke.
During his stay in hospital, there was a problem with water ingress to his council flat.
Apparently, this water was coming from a privately-owned flat above his own.
This led to an understandable debate as to who might be liable for fixing the problem.
You would have thought that it might not take someone with a PhD to be able to access a plumber who would have the required expertise to determine liability quickly.
However, after a week of relative inaction on this, part of the ceiling fell in.
It was only after photographic evidence was produced to indicate the disastrous and unsafe condition of the flat that hospital discharge was delayed.
It had appeared, until that moment, that the state of the flat would not hold up the discharge of a patient whose cognitive ability and mobility are compromised.
We are talking about a patient who would spend the entire day on a chair, with carers attending four times, then being in a hospital bed until the following morning, in one room.
Telephone numbers of the appropriate agencies who might be able to assist were being guarded with masonic secrecy.
Messages were left and a letter went unanswered.
Even dealing with a local pharmacy regarding a change of medication required a degree in diplomacy.
One wonders what happens when a patient does not have proactive support or is not competent in electronic communication.
It seems that no-one cares.
For those who are wondering,
I can say that the local authority involved, thankfully, was not West Dunbartonshire.
Messages were left and a letter went unanswered. Even dealing with a local pharmacy regarding a change of medication required a degree in diplomacy