Jerry: Person and Patient
"For years I’ve been talking about the patient experience. Now that I'm a patient the question I keep asking myself is, 'Is ok really good enough?'
I managed to get a same day appointment and on examination the GP found an enlarged prostate, this was followed by a referral to Walsgrave, UHCW. At my first urology appointment the language was blunt…there was no sense of how long I would have to wait for answers. It’s the waiting that’s the worst part, there’s no time frame, there’s no support.
Lots of tests followed
I kept asking myself: 'Where is the kindness, where is the compassion? Does the patient voice matter at all?'
I was introduced to my Macmillan nurse, who will support both my wife and me through the whole of this process as we do this journey.
Nothing was offered locally unless I pushed.
In the Maple Unit at St Cross Hospital, Rugby, I was shown kindness, patience and humanity. The right words can hold you together, the wrong ones can break you."
"The patient voice is not a ‘nice to have’… it’s the difference between fear and understanding, between trauma and dignity."
