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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to try to decipher the coded message on referrals?

48 replies

Reality · 16/08/2013 17:23

DH's wisdom teeth letter said 'this pleasant gentleman', which I'm pretty sure is code for 'normal'.

My slightly eccentric but lovely aunt who has terminal cancer was thrilled to receive one the other describing her as 'this delighful lady'.

I KNOW they are coded, I just want to know what they mean. Can anyone shed any light?

OP posts:

Original poster

Reality · 16/08/2013 17:36

miserable bump

OP posts:

AtYourCervix · 16/08/2013 17:40

Means he didn't shout, swear or throw chairs around.

MimsyBorogroves · 16/08/2013 17:40

I'd love to know this too. My first letter back from a neurologist to my doc started with "thank you for referring this lovely lady..."

I don't think I've ever been called a lady in my life. And I'm not that lovely either.

bruffin · 16/08/2013 17:41

My mil was referred to as this delightful lady. She is 87 and was thrilled

dollylarma · 16/08/2013 17:45

I was referred to as ' this delightfully charming lady" ... [preen]

I was 18 and flirted with anything that crossed my eye line

candycoatedwaterdrops · 16/08/2013 18:10

I was once referred to as "this intelligent young lady". I was 18. :)

TheVermiciousKnid · 16/08/2013 18:14

Ooh, my gastroenterologist referred to me as a 'pleasant lady'. (I'm fairly pleasant but not really a lady. Actually, most definitely not a lady.) I wonder if he still thinks I'm pleasant when he looks at my insides? Though I'm sure I've got perfectly pleasant insides.

Doha · 16/08/2013 18:19

Many many times l have been tempted to write--thank you for seeing this obnoxius cunt ......or this rather smelly old lady.... but unfortunatly it's not the done thing although
"rather difficult" tends to be the code for --good luck you will need it with this twat.

Silverfoxballs · 16/08/2013 18:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Iamsparklyknickers · 16/08/2013 18:32

IME 'delightful' tends to mean a bit of a character who will talk your ear off (in a good way) or take no prisoners (in a good way) so enjoy your appointment with them!

Reluctant tends to be used for patients you need to be wary of and you want to schedule a pleasant patient for a bit of relief after them.

PseudoBadger · 16/08/2013 18:34

I, my mum and DP have all been referred by GPs to specialists as pleasant :o

SofiaVagueara · 16/08/2013 18:37

Having worked with patient notes and medical typing I can tell you that it means he is middle class. I thought for a while that it meant they were members of the masons because it normally said 'this pleasant gentleman who is .

It basically means this person is middle class, and I suspect, don't give them any shit because they're educated enough to complain effectively.

raisah · 16/08/2013 18:38

In my line of work, the term 'the lovely Dr x' means God help you with dealing with this pain in the arse!

DinoSnores · 16/08/2013 19:03

It really doesn't mean anything! It is just a social pleasantry to make the beginning of the letter sound better. The idea it is a code to say they could complain is laughable!

That said, I was still pleased to see in a letter that my obs consultant wrote to my GP and referred to me as "very pleasant".

Dayshiftdoris · 16/08/2013 19:09

I have been referred to as 'sensible mother'

Because its not good practice to say 'she came in with a plan & the evidence plus is a bit pedantic and scary so I just agreed '

In my experience 'pleasant', 'delightful', etc means just that!! It's a bit frowned upon in certain quarters

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 16/08/2013 19:13

Might it be a sort of reverse code? As in "pleasant" means normal (so they go away happy) but no adjective at all means "twat" (and they go away none the wiser).

frogspoon · 16/08/2013 19:15

'this pleasant gentleman who is .

It basically means this person is middle class, and I suspect, don't give them any shit because they're educated enough to complain effectively.

Haha, I once had a referral letter in which I was referred to as a pleasant lady who is a teacher!

AtYourCervix · 16/08/2013 19:19

NFS

crazynanna · 16/08/2013 19:21

I had one that said "Thanyou for seeing this slightly overweight lady...."

HungryGeorge · 16/08/2013 19:44

There was a thread on this subject a year or so ago with lots of explanations from Doctor MNers - no idea how to find it again though

Iamsparklyknickers · 16/08/2013 19:49

Lol Dayshift you would have been referred to as knowledgeable or informed in our department

Helenagrace · 16/08/2013 21:45

I was referred to as "knowledgable" on my copy of a referral letter. On their copy (I was left with my notes for 10 minutes) "knowledgable" was circled and in pencil on the top of a letter it said "consults for ".

SinisterSal · 16/08/2013 21:53

NFS, Cervix? more code!

Pleasant probably means Not shouting drunken abuse

Willdoitinaminute · 16/08/2013 22:21

Sorry to disappoint you op but we are strongly advised to avoid codes and abbreviations by indemnity insurers so any descriptive terms are generally genuine. Patients are very knowledgeable today thanks to the great Google. Many are very pleasant and I love the lovely ones.

Helenagrace · 16/08/2013 22:32

Half of my message disappeared!

On the top of my letter was a reference to a big scary firm of clinical negligence lawyers who I did some consultancy for

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