Yay! The next excitement.
Dear Diary,
It would be boring if nothing absurd happened. I'd like to create a new category for it: Patrick's Panopticon.
Panopticon, a cool word. A word rarely used, but one of my favourite terms. Maybe even my favourite, or maybe not, but it is. The Brockhaus says:
Panopticon [Greek optikós "concerning seeing", actually "overall view"] the, -s/...ken, collection of curiosities, waxworks.
Source: https://brockhaus.de/ecs/enzy/article/panoptikum
I find that accurate. Just too accurate. It so wonderfully describes the environment in which I live. A collection of curiosities.
Carers who first started to take my things when they were empty, stealing from my friends, and now eating each other's food from my fridge. Carers whose hypochondriacal claims about all the health problems I supposedly have bounced off me so coldly that they called my GP to my home for an evening emergency. And tried to have a discussion with my doctor about how he was wrong. Nurses who called my doctor in again the very next day because the discussion wasn't over yet. Yes, it was, he was going home now because the family was waiting for dinner. Shame on others to the power of three, is all I can say. Nurses who think a sterile glove is sterile after you've used it to hold a telephone. Putting gloves that have fallen on the floor carelessly back in the box for the next time. And those who treat a freshly made PEG wound without gloves and at the same time complain about how unprofessionally the wound was treated in hospital. It was no wonder that I had caught a germ there, which then suddenly broke out after I had been at home for a long time. If only nurses would at least wash their hands after pissing...
There are exceptions, of course. But it should not be the exception that you wash your hands after going to the toilet. For me, such behaviour would be reason enough for summary dismissal. Nurses who don't wash their hands after peeing, is that normal? Are you sure I'm the one with the wrong idea here? Yeah, that's what my nurse says, I'll get to that in a minute. Gotta build up some tension here.
Oh yes, I could write about it forever and three days. But some incidents are too funny for me to keep to myself. At least in retrospect. Other incidents are pretty intense. Even when you think back on them today.
And others, like today's incident, can be life-threatening. What prompts me to write today can be explained most quickly if I put the cart before the horse. Besides, it reads better that way. Always right in the face.
Hello XY,
thank you for your answer and the explanation.
I did not realise that a patient in my current state of health with 0% spontaneous breathing would be apt to learn the necessary expertise first.
Kind regards
Patrick
My e-mail to the nursing service management
Yes, heaven help us. They're not going to, are they? No, they can't, they can't... Yes, they can. At least they think they can.
Once again, a new employee came to me for induction. At least that's what I was told. And that's what the nurse who was to do the induction was told. That's what the new nurse thought too. And he is on the duty roster for next month as normal. The fact that the company doesn't want to know anything more about it today - it was just a trial period and he wasn't even scheduled to work here - fits all too well into the all too bleak overall picture.
Anyway, we always assumed that we would be trained and my really committed nurse, who was on duty that day, did everything he could to impart as much knowledge as possible in far too little time. The 2.5 hours that were scheduled still seem ridiculous and far too little in my opinion. The management of my care service can also spare itself the attempts to justify that this is enough time. Because I am the paying customer. And the paying client has agreed with the conclusion of the contract that new nurses will do at least one day shift and one night shift in the company of a nurse who is experienced with me. This was agreed for good reasons and I don't understand what the point is of suddenly wanting to have a discussion about principles again.
The new employee makes a very clueless impression, which should be confirmed quickly. He is likeable, friendly, reserved. Which is understandable when you first meet him. To be honest, I prefer that ten times more than the other kind of applicants who claim to have so much experience and then fail when they try to start the coughing machine.
But...
There is, however, a small "but". I will say right away that what I am about to say is not true. It merely describes what I think I heard and saw during the induction. If it hadn't been like that, I wouldn't have reported it to the management straight away. And my nurse also sent the same thing to my team leader immediately after the appointment. In his words - and I quote - "hmmmm... ... ...". A pause follows. A rather long pause. You can literally feel in the air that he is searching for the politically correct wording. At the end of the day, he is an employee of this company. "No, ... just no.". As I said, this is just my view of things. The quintessence of the answer regarding my concerns about 1:1 intensive care for a 24/7 ventilator-dependent ALS patient, after a detailed explanation, is as follows:
...which thus contradicts the zero-experience theory....
E-mail from the nursing service management of my nursing service
This is also how I talk to my clients when they have concerns. In my work, it's "only" about legal issues, but the principle is the same. I also always tell them that I can prove they are wrong. Exactly in that tone of voice:
...and thus proof that if the basic knowledge is there, the employee is motivated to learn, this is also possible.
from the same e-mail from the nursing service management
It's all right. No offence. I just wanted to say that during the induction I heard sentences like "I can't explain to you how ventilation works if you don't have the training. I don't think I'm allowed to".
I struggle to convey what is going on inside me when I have to read such responses to my expressed concerns. Not even a fortnight ago I had my last night-time panic attack because a nurse messed up with my mask and didn't get it. The scientifically measurable result: my pulse is beyond 130 for 24 hours and only calms down by a whopping ten points to 120, even after I've taken Tavor Expedit.
In view of this, I express my concerns. One could also say that it is written between the lines: "Hey, your patient is afraid for his life if you send me a nurse for the night who has never had a patient ventilated at home and has not even taken part in a ventilation course to learn at least the rudimentary basics of ventilation. I mean, he must have his reasons for leaving after the demonstration of the mask change - after only 90 minutes in total with me - and not even picking up the mask. He didn't want to try changing the mask any more than he wanted to try coughing and suctioning.
Of course, I expect the reaction to be a legal opinion that ends with proof that I am wrong. Or maybe I don't expect it. No, I expect a lot, but not that.
The full answer was even longer, but that doesn't make it any better. I can't resist a cynical two-liner this time. Or maybe I can? Yes, I can. But I don't want to. Wink smiley. And because you probably didn't really believe it above, and because it's so nice, here it is again:
Hello XY,
thank you for your answer and the explanation.
I did not realise that a patient in my current state of health with 0% spontaneous breathing would be apt to learn the necessary expertise first.
Kind regards
Patrick
My e-mail to the nursing service management
