What pisses me off? Doctors of elderly patients…

Today is Sunday and you know what pisses me off? Doctors who think elderly patients are either deaf dumb, stupid or all three.

I have on many occasions accompanied elderly people to visit the Doctor. Almost every time, the Doctor has addressed me, and not the actual patient.

Just because someone is old, does not mean that they cannot understand what a person is saying. Take for example, Mrs A. I accompany her to the Doctor once every six months. Mrs A is 89 years old and more in touch with current affairs than I ever will be. She is a wonderful old lady, one with whom I can have a discussion on any topic. She is smart, she is not deaf, she can speak very clearly, her only problem is that she is old and needs blood pressure medication.

Every single visit is the same. The Doctor looks straight at me and asks “ how are you today, what can I do for you”. I look straight back and tell him I am fine , it is not me who has come to see him , it is Mrs A.
Still looking directly at me, ignoring poor Mrs A, he asks me what he can do for her.

I give him another steely look and tell him to ask Mrs A as she is the patient.

He seems reluctant to look at Mrs A and ask her, maybe he has a phobia about old women, maybe he just does not see her, although he should, as she is larger than I ,and not easy to miss. The Doctor finally looks at Mrs A and asks her what he can do for her. She replies that she would like a new prescription please.

Doctor , again looking at me, “what medication are you on? And how is it , are you having any side effects?”

“Oh, I am not on any medication Doctor. I am not the patient, Mrs A is.” I replied.  By this time I am really annoyed at this , needless to say, so is Mrs A.

I have a thought, maybe if I am not I the room he may address the right person. I excuse myself and leave the room. When I return I see that there still has not been a prescription written out.

“Well Doctor, are you going to write out a prescription for Mrs A or not.” I asked.

Oh he replies “I was just waiting for you to return”.

Spare me please! Am I the only one who can see Mrs A? The poor woman, how degrading it is to be treated like a nobody.

I thought that Doctors were supposed to be learned people. Surely it is not too difficult to address an older person in a normal manner.

Finally it is done, we leave the clinic , we have a bit of a chuckle and decide that next time I will not go in at all, I will just drop Mrs A at the door and wait outside for her. I wonder how long it will take…

Have you witnessed a similar type of treatment of older people? What happened and did you try to rectify it? Tell us in the comments below…