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Hospital complaint book - how does it work?

Started by coppergardener · · 👁 4 views · 6 replies

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Participants coppergardenerSam Hall15Alexander Lewisbluebadger24
coppergardener coppergardener Active MemberOP
137 messages
joined Jun 2006
#1 ·
So... I am not entirely sure if I should even be posting this here, but my nerves are absolutely frayed—I honestly don't know how I'll react if this ever happens again—so I find myself wondering: is there such a thing as a formal grievance book or some sort of complaint procedure kept in hospitals and specialist clinics?

I finally made it into an endocrinology clinic—after years of being somewhat dysfunctional and months of waiting, mind you—only to find three women inside. Before I could even open my mouth, before they had even glanced at a single one of my medical records, one of them starts prattling on about Barbies, beauty standards, and how she gets a constant stream of young girls coming in to compare themselves to others... well... let's just say the woman basically categorized me, by default, as some self-conscious airhead who waited two hours in a claustrophobic room packed with a hundred people just because of her own... insecurities?!!! I feel completely discriminated against based on my gender and age (since, frankly, 99% of their patients seem to be semi-literate old men who look like they're 150 years old)—but without even looking at me properly, she totally trivialized my condition. I mean... I don't *want* to be sick, I didn't come to see her just to seek attention or anything, and while I realize she’s seen it all before, it feels like if you aren't exhausted, then your problems simply don't matter.

Furthermore, during the eternity I spent sitting in that clinic, those three women spent half their time giggling and chatting about headaches, dreams, you name it. And there I was, patiently listening to their private conversations while waiting for my paperwork to be processed. Meanwhile, outside, the waiting room is overflowing with people who are likely going to get screwed over that day and told, "just come back tomorrow."

And then (the absolute peak of it all) after they had finished writing everything down—completely distracted and clearly more interested in fooling around than working—and doing so with a mountain of errors and oversights, they realized the printout looked catastrophic. So, they decided to toss it and print another one. However, this one woman (who apparently knows someone with the same last name as mine, and judging by her comments, he’s quite the idiot... excuse my politically incorrect phrasing, by the way) takes that paper and, with a grin from ear to ear, stuffs it right into her pocket. It was... well, out of pure mockery, she compromised my privacy. And she did it right in front of me! If you are going to be such an incompetent doctor that you laugh at patient data, surely you wait until the patient has actually left the room, right?

I had so much on my plate that day, and on top of that, I was feeling nauseous, so I just didn't have the energy to say anything to them; however, now I really regret staying silent. And...

Please, tell me, how on earth am I supposed to go back to that absolute pandemonium of a clinic? How? I have encountered doctors who were incredibly strict and arrogant, but at least they were professional at their jobs. This... this is a cocktail of arrogance and sheer stupidity.

Ugh!
Sam Hall15 Sam Hall15 Active Member
225 messages
joined May 2006
#2 ·
cccc....so much frustration 😁
I can certainly understand where you're coming from
Honestly, I think your best bet is just to switch providers entirely. If they give you any more trouble next time (and excuse my phrasing, but as a moderator, I have to say it 😁), it's probably time to go. Our system is set up in such a way that you can't really force much change through sheer willpower alone...
coppergardener coppergardener Active MemberOP
137 messages
joined Jun 2006
#3 ·
Frustration is practically my middle name😍 ...but honestly, I feel a little lighter now that I’ve finally gotten all this off my chest... my capillaries were practically bursting from crying so much by the time I got home from the hospital... I mean, how on earth can such absolute morons manage to push my buttons like that?

Now, don't get me wrong—I'm not being serious, I'm just wondering if there's some kind of legal recourse out there where I could give them a little bit of a warning😁... you know... purely verbal, of course.

By the way, "to mess with someone"—that's a pretty good verb, isn't it?
Alexander Lewis Alexander Lewis Member
49 messages
joined May 2014
#4 ·
Look, you have a few options here, but honestly? Every single one of them is going to leave you frustrated. Generally speaking, every department at a hospital like Mayo Clinic has its own director and head nurse you can complain to regarding staff behavior. If you go that route, be prepared to waste a massive amount of time just trying to get an audience with someone high enough up the food chain—and even then, the results are questionable. Most likely, they’ll just use your complaint as leverage to smooth things over with the people you're actually reporting.

If you’re feeling particularly relentless, you could try escalating through the entire hierarchy: report the rude staff to the department head, report that head to the hospital CEO for failing to act, and then take the CEO to Medicare and the Department of Health and Human Services for total negligence... You'd spend days hunting down hospital IDs, digging up names and addresses, and mailing certified letters with return receipts. You'd make copies of everything, and there's a good chance they’ll just see you as a nuisance and dig their heels in out of pure spite.

There is also the option of filing a lawsuit for defamation or perhaps medical malpractice. Proving it is incredibly difficult, though certainly not impossible. Either way, it's going to cost you a fortune in legal fees and peace of mind, though it might eventually hit their bottom line too. If every dissatisfied patient actually spoke up, filed reports, and sued, these places would be bankrupt from legal bills sooner or later. But because we all tend to assume the American justice system is broken, most of us just sit there and do nothing. 😢
bluebadger24 bluebadger24 Member
13 messages
joined Jan 2006
#5 ·
¤ feel free to dump your thoughts here:
http://www.webmd.com/
¤
coppergardener coppergardener Active MemberOP
137 messages
joined Jun 2006
#6 ·
Alright, thanks! 😁 Heh, I might actually put pen to paper once my mood swings kick back in—I’m just waiting for that inevitable wave of irritation to hit so I can find some real inspiration.

(Honestly, though... have you seen the vocabulary people use on those medical forums? It's absolutely unhinged... 🤣 )
bluebadger24 bluebadger24 Member
13 messages
joined Jan 2006
#7 ·
What are you even going to do... I'm starting to lose my train of thought here...
But look, I make sure not to let that happen too often...
Best, without the mood swings... ¤

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