Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Are hospital letters supposed to do this?

114 replies

LanguidLobster · 14/10/2018 21:12

I'd already had a letter from them about next appointment so wasn't expecting another one and opened it thinking it was something else but the first paragraph was describing how exceptionally nice I was.

I nearly kung fu kicked over the hospital bed last time I was in. I squinted suspiciously at this.

Is this Orwellian double speak? Just didn't expect that and wondered if that was standard speak which hospitals do

OP posts:
AamdC · 14/10/2018 22:12

Schuyler ds2 head teacher described as complex i suppose it depends on context but i took it as he has several things going onGrin

Pandsbear · 14/10/2018 22:16

I see (variations ) on these referral letters most days! Intro sentence generally.

Redyoyo · 14/10/2018 22:17

My dds consultant always refers to her as our delightful xxxx, she referred her to another clinic asking if they would have a look at our delightful xxxx, the letter back from that consultant said thank you for referring your delightful xxxx to our clinic.
We have taken to calling dd the delightful xxxx!!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

SneakyGremlins · 14/10/2018 22:18

I had "This unique young man"

Is that good? ConfusedGrin

PolkaDoting · 14/10/2018 22:19

These are great!

LanguidLobster · 14/10/2018 22:20

It's funny how they do this...I'm working my way up to a delightful or complex next time.

I'll try to be mysterious and smile in a seductive way.

OP posts:
TAMS71 · 14/10/2018 22:25

I'm a bit worried I've never been called any of these things!

SneakyGremlins · 14/10/2018 22:26

I just want to know if it's "unique" as in good or "unique" as in code for dickhead Shock

FreezerBird · 14/10/2018 22:26

My kids used to have a fairly old-school paeds consultant. He was great, and described them in various letters as delightful, remarkable, lovely and wonderful.

My finest moment was when we re-located, and I got to see some of the letters they wrote about transferring care - they all had some variation on "Mum is very switched on to the complexities of X and y's various conditions, and is great to work with", which I wore like a gold star.

Also a brilliant one when pregnant with no2, consultant (who'd known me from No1) agreed to give some test results over the phone and actually wrote in a letter 'usually we would want to do this face to face but freezer is not like other people'. Still makes me laugh, he was great.

BlueBell50 · 14/10/2018 22:27

I’ve just had these “delightful” “lovely” etc I never knew it was code, well you live and learn Smile

LanguidLobster · 14/10/2018 22:29

sneaks they just thought you were a one off, sure they loved you :)

Actually we need a guide for all this

OP posts:
Maelstrop · 14/10/2018 22:30

I had this on a letter from my consultant to the orthotics at hospital, this lovely lady etc. Very sweet.

BlackeyedSusan · 14/10/2018 22:30

I pissed off the consultant at dd's last appointemnt as he claimed I was not diagnosed correctly by one of his esteemed colleagues in a different department as I had not had a positive blood test for a condition that does not yet have a blood test to test for it. I pointed out that the condition I have is the only varient without a blood test. I bet we were not described as pleasant. Grin

PiggeryPorcombe · 14/10/2018 22:31

I was referred to as ds’s “sensible mother” once Sad

BlackeyedSusan · 14/10/2018 22:32

I was pissed off as he told me I did not have a condition that I have had for life and is now causing me difficulties and pain.

JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 14/10/2018 22:39

DS was described in his post NICU hospital discharge letter as "this vigorous infant". He was born not breathing but somehow still managed to try to fight the paed putting on an oxygen mask Grin

Needless to say, he is now known as The Vigorous Infant at home..... he bloody is, as well.

Groovee · 14/10/2018 22:40

I had a row with the surgeon on the day of my surgery last year. The nurses were sniggering at my refusal to go on contraceptives and said the agreement with my surgeon if the procedure went wrong was a hysterectomy. I reckon a 4pm surgery on a Friday ending in hysterectomy was the last thing she wanted. So I told her to just wake me up and have an appointment with my consultant ready and I'd sort it out with him.

The follow up letter said "I did a procedure on Groovee and I'm sure she has recovered well!" No pleasant woman in there 🤣.

However it's not normal for me to be so headstrong but I'd gone through a lot to have the procedure that I wasn't letting her put a coil in that I had argued against for 13 months and the mini pill had made me very angry which wasn't me either and I bled every day on it! I knew what was needed and I wasn't getting fobbed off.

JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff · 14/10/2018 22:41

However, I was described as "mum is understandably anxious about" something or other - meaning mum is a pita who asked me too many questions!

LanguidLobster · 14/10/2018 22:44

Oh Johnny I think your bigger cat thread is my favourite ever on here.

Hope you found one!!

OP posts:
Notquiteagandt · 14/10/2018 23:06

I got extremally lovely on my letter from the breast clinic. Found it odd after hed spent afternoon fondling my boobs Confused

HIVpos · 14/10/2018 23:18

I was called self directed in a letter from one consultant to my GP. It might have had something to do with disagreeing over my form of exercise (he said too extreme for my age but something I’ve done for years), the amount I drank (I said it was only temporary to get me through my diagnosis - and it was) and a couple of other things.

I’d quite like to be called unique Smile

mumsastudent · 14/10/2018 23:28

or other consultant speak - this may cause some discomfort (you will be hanging from the ceiling)

AndNoneForGretchenWieners · 14/10/2018 23:38

DH had one letter describing him as "humorous" - I told him it was code for ""bit of a knob". The other letters have variously called him pleasant, hard working, or personable. I think the hard working comment was because he kept trying to persuade the surgeon that he could go back to work within a couple of weeks of having a lung removed... he's still off work now, nearly a year later.

AviatorShades · 15/10/2018 00:24

I've just looked at my last consultant's letter to my GP "it was a great pleasure to see Shades in Surgery today" - translation: it was the time of the Ryder Cup and we talked about the golf for most of itGrin and oh!how did I know he liked golf? Well, the 7 iron in the corner of the room was a massive clueGrinGrin

AviatorShades · 15/10/2018 00:26

redyoyo awww, sweet @ your delightful xxxx Grin