Long waits patients’ commonest grumble

Press, 18 December 1989, Page 40

Long waits patients’ commonest grumble

By DEBORAH mcpherson Long waits to see a doctor is the most common grumble from patients at medical centres, says a new Christchurch patient advocate. Mrs Wyn Williams has been an advocate at the Papanui Medical Centre for three months. The job is an extension of her other role as nurse educator in channelling new health information to doctors, nurses and patients. Mrs Williams said she had not been in the job long enough to hear any significant grievances, but the most frequent complaints generally about medical centres related to long waits. People who got time off work to see a doctor did

not like to be kept waiting. Doctors at the Papanui centre were aware of the problem and had been working towards reducing waiting times. Patient advocacy was a new concept for medical centres, said Mrs Williams. The Papanui practice had the equivalent of five full-time doctors, each helped by a practice nurse. “My role is to smooth out the wrinkles between patients and their doctors,” Mrs Williams said. “Most patients tend not to speak out about their dissatisfaction, but instead they tend to go off to another doctor.” As well as acting as a “go-between” in misunderstandings, Mrs Williams expected she

might be called on to accompany patients during their appointments. “People are often in awe of doctors and sometimes they find it hard to marshal their thoughts because of that.” She could also answer queries on how to take medication if the patient later forgot. “Often a doctor will explain what the medication is and how to take it, but people may forget all that when they get out the door.” While Mrs Williams officially worked for the Papanui practice, she had also attracted an “unofficial clientele” outside. Most of that clientele had expressed a general dissatisfaction with medical care, including hospital treatment, she said.