Any doctors here? Secret code? Flattery?

[AyDeeAitchDee]

Hi all.

So I've had various medical appointments lately.

And get copied in to the letters from various doctors back to my GP.

And they all LOVE me the letters all start like:

"I saw this delightful woman today"

"I had the pleasure of meeting with this lovely lady today"

Etc etc.

Now I'm polite and all. But don't warrant this sort of flattery.

So I'm guessing it's some sort of code?

Would love to be filled in please. Or just hear theories.

I mean I don't want to brag but I have been called a "charming right handed woman". Which I soon learned is code for patient who isn't a difficult twat (who is right handed.)

I'm a retired medical secretary, and these kinds of remarks were common long before copies were sent to patients. They are useful as a quick reminder to the consultant in a follow-up appointment - it's easier and quicker to refer back to typed letters than try and decipher handwritten notes.

That's why sometimes letters written to the GP after an initial consultation go into quite a lot of detail of the patient's symptoms and past medical history, even though the GP already knows all that. And of course your GP will already know if you're nursing/medical.

So, lovely/delightful means exactly that. And probably also means the consultant wishes all their patients were like you.

If you or anyone gets a copy letter that doesn't praise your qualities, that doesn't mean you're not lovely; I gather some/many hospitals are trying to phase those descriptions out.

I don't use these phrases - I think they are condescending and overused by oafish orthopaedic surgeons. Just how delightful can you be when you are having your creaky hip checked out.

If there is something specific it's fair enough but just as a general opener it comes across as a bit smarmy.

@user1471542018

We do this too in the vet world, if we see a patient for a second opinion and we write a letter back to the referring vet, or if we refer a patient, “thank you for seeing this lovely dog / beautiful cat / good natured rabbit”. Seems to be mainly older vets that still do this, but it was the standard way to write a report at university. We see it a lot less these days sadly, I always quite liked it.

We have a lovely Vet , who on learning on the death of a Patient, writes a hand written card..About how {Name of pet} was obviously loved and well looked after. It was lovely to receive. She came to our house to Euthanise a beloved "Soulmate" animal {Osteosarcoma} I know she writes to other clients, too, as they say ''I had a lovely card from {Vet}.

It is a lovely thing to receive, and does genuinely seem to help the grieving Owner.

I had that about once lol. You're obviously endearing.

charming right handed woman

@policeandthieves

I don't use these phrases - I think they are condescending and overused by oafish orthopaedic surgeons. Just how delightful can you be when you are having your creaky hip checked out.

If there is something specific it's fair enough but just as a general opener it comes across as a bit smarmy.

I opened a referral letter from a new GP out of nosiness, and it said :

''This young lady has hot-footed it from London''

Which made me sound like an escaped Convict {We'd moved cities two weeks before DS was due }.

@policeandthieves

I don't use these phrases - I think they are condescending and overused by oafish orthopaedic surgeons. Just how delightful can you be when you are having your creaky hip checked out.

If there is something specific it's fair enough but just as a general opener it comes across as a bit smarmy.

The only time I can remember seeing this wording was in letters from my orthopaedic surgeon. And there I thought we were friends

My dh was recently pleased to get one of these describing him as "this pleasant gentleman" - told him he must have been an arse at the appt to not have been "delightful"!

@oakleaffy that’s hilarious, I hope you didn’t find it offensive. So much more memorable than “relocated from London”, or “new to the area” 😂

I see a consultant regularly for an ongoing, chronic condition, about which I make an effort to be as informed as possible. He letters always start simply with "I saw Mrs Glass in clinic today...". Though I suspect he thinks I'm a bit of a P.I.T.A.

@Absy
That made me laugh

Mine usually mention that I used to be a biomedical scientist, especially anything involving lab work or medication.

Am American letter from a spell in hospital in NY said I was very knowledgeable about my medication. It's a good ob I was, because he kept trying to prescribe me a drug which is contraindicated for people taking a type of medication I took daily. Giving me the second drug could have been a tad nasty.

Many years ago I had a student job in a hospital and spent my Christmas holidays weeding through the records to sort for archives. This meant skim reading through the notes to search for the most recent date. Lots and lots of these types of openers, the majority of which were positive or at least neutral. Occasionally there would be some coded warning to their correspondent.

There was one where the consultant clearly became increasingly exasperated by a patient suffering from a condition notoriously effected by lifestyle and the patient was demanding magic cures with no effort to address the aggravating factors in their lifestyle. The letters became more and more descriptive over time. The most recent letter included a string of adjectives like smelly, obese, beligerent and rude.

He must have been quite some patient as that one really did stand out amongst many thousands of letters in thousands of notes.

Normal practice... tradition I guess
I once got one... I had another difficult consultation with IKEA

My brother had a letter cc’d to him describing him as a ‘complex patient’. I’m sure that was an understatement! He’s a PITA!

My IBS investigation letters always mentioned that I was a teacher, and then consultants always insisted any issues were related to stress from my job 🤦🏻‍♀️

Aww there I was thinking I was delightful and it turns out I’m just normal. 😆😆

Funniest one I ever saw started with I met with this lovely Irish lady and ended with 'and I wished her luck in the Rugby this weekend'

My husbands said 'This very tall man'

I have been a nurse for years, I find it amusing to read some of the really old letters in Patient notes when personal opinion on people by medics was more accepted. I have seen people described as 'simple' 'dull' and 'rather dirty' . It's not encouraged in this day and age as making any personal statement,good or bad , is a subjective opinion.

@Nonamesavail

My husbands said 'This very tall man'

DH had one of these ones too.

Except it was 'very tall pleasant man'

Was the only letter like that he had ever got, though expects more now he has been referred to various departments of the hospital

My mum has stopped being a lovely or pleasant lady in her discharge letters and is now a "difficult historian"

@ChelseaCat

There are others... for example: “Well informed” = spends too much time on google and think they know more than the clinicians

Hahaha, I've had this one. I always suspected it was a dig.

Well pleasent is not a bad thing to be added :-)