To find my report from breast clinic condescending?

[duletty]

I’m 44, had breastfeeding pain for a few months and then found a large lump on the underside of my arm near arm pit.
Gp arranged a quick appointment (was three weeks when usually a two week wait)....
Any way after mammogram and ultrasound they said it was cysts and calcification, so all good.
Got letter today outlining results and it said:
“Saw the this delightful lady in clinic today”......etc etc
I find this language unprofessional and it pissed me off that it was shitty code like a child’s school report.
I have to write reports for EHCPs and use appropriate professional language do it set me on edge.
Am I being precious?

Errr what do you want them to write?

How about "I saw Mr. or Mrs. Thingy today". There is no need to add anything subjective.

It's bog standard doesn't make you special by any means. Nothing to give a second thought to.

it's just habit for some Drs .
I read a lot of letters from Paediatricians in my job and one always says the same phrase at the star of every letter.
It means zilch.

*I still describe patients as delightful on occasion usually for an older person. It flags up that they were very very nice , extremely good for their age and suggests to me and the reader that we should go above and beyond the call of duty
*
I find this very concerning. Someone acting nasty could be a symptom of maybe dementia, stroke, infection in older people, depression or trauma. People who don't act delightful should receive the same care as those who do. My grandad was an awful, controlling, oermanently frustrated person to be around. He survived years of WW2 death camps and left with lifelong pain, trauma and health problems. Thankfully his doctors were understanding that all the delightfullness had been tortured out of that man, and he needed a kind and careful approach.

I'm glad your diagnosis was a positive one op.

I can see your point - what would be wrong with "I saw Jane Smith in clinic today"

I also agree woth Kaiser. Would a nurse refer to the consultant as sweetheart or my lovely. Probably not. Why is that? We are often told the NHS treats everyone the same yet that can't be the case if stakeholders are addressed differently.

I have had this comment from consultants many times. It is a very standard letter. It doesn't mean anything condescending at all. It has never bothered me.

I agree it’s totally standard. Having worked in GP surgeries for years previously I’ve seen lots of similar opening sentences. The one that stands out in my mind though, even after probably more than 20 years, is “Thank you for seeing this obnoxious fat man.”

Just be glad it didn't say 'anxious lady' e.g.. hypochondriac.

A gp put it on a letter to my consultant and I was not taken seriously for severe back pain. 36 years later after 2 untreated slipped discs I am still limited in my every day life because I carried on working in a physical job.

I haven't read through all comments so probably repeating but my last 3 hospital letters were worded exactly like this. They are merely trotting out the same thing to all. Absolutely nothing personal to you whatsoever. The NHS think this sounds good and are simply trying to be nice around perhaps sensitive times.....

There was a thread like this a while ago.

Apparently it's totally normal.

I got a medical report once about my son and it said..."(insert name) is a lovely boy" I was such a proud mum!

The old doctor codewords - highly puzzling to mere mortals!

Presumably they are normally polite letters as quite often the patients see them.

I've had pleasant/charming/funny

I like it that they still do this - it's very human and very endearing

He was making clear to another doctor that you aren't an attention seeking neurotic with nothing better to do than whinge on about what may be unintentional slights. Even doctors can be mistaken.

My letter called me a young mum. I was very happy as at school pick up I would most definitely not be described as young. I was also on the 3 week pathway as my lump was small and appeared non urgent. It was cancer but very treatable. Take the letter as part of the whole experience. My other half was described as a cyclist with a stamma in a GP letter. That gave us a laugh as well.

this delightful lady

I understand that the code for not delightful is simply to leave out the pleasantry so "this lady"

Ah, now I've RTFT and see @TroysMammy had already explained, and more succinctly than I did

One patronising gynae said about me "the patient was very anxious". This, I guess is doctor-speak for "fucked off but trying not to show it" as, yet again, I had been booked into the wrong clinic so couldn't have the procedure I was supposed to have.

I am rather bemused at the number of posters attacking the OP for not being more grateful for her clear result, as if being grateful excludes finding anything at all associated with the process less than perfect and optimal and worthy of undying gratitude. I'm sure she is grateful, and relieved. I'm sorry for those of you who have received worse news (and as it happens I am currently in the position of perhaps joining you soon), but you would have been entirely within your rights, alongside that news, to find being referred to in the third person in a distinctly condescending manner rather irritating. And it is condescending - one can't simultaneously argue it's 'just doctorspeak' and 'means nothing' and, as a PP did, that it's about treating the whole patient. if there is a fact about the patient's personality and mental state that needs recording, it can be done - I think the 'stoical' example is one of those - but value judgements on how well the patient pleased the clinician? No. Not relevant and distinctly smacking of sitting in judgement, as another PP observed.

As for the 'privilege' of being seen by the NHS (as referred to by another PP), I thought we were far enough advanced now as a society to understand necessary healthcare as a right (which, sadly, many people around the world continue to be denied), not something we need to fall down in humble gratitude for, never ever thinking a bad thought about any aspect of our care?

As someone currently going through chemo, I've had every positive adjective under the sun applied to me and my husband (who has been documented through our 5 year journey as my partner, fiancé, new husband (?!) and finally just husband). I used to get annoyed by it as I don't think it's very professional but once you've received a million letters you'll find that you bypass that to get to the actual "gory" details even though you were already told them about a month ago, and they're just late sending on the letter.

We're also frequently described as young parents. I'm 32 and he's 34. I assume they mean we've got a baby as opposed to being actually young!

Have always had 'delightful lady', 'lovely woman' and my son gets 'lovely little boy'. Also found it odd, but lots of people like how it sounds personal.

It's a convention and it surprises me every time, it's old fashioned and hopefully it's dying out. It carries a clear implication that if you're not pleasant, then you'll get worse service (which is probably true in some interactions - doctors are human beings, doing long hours, tiring jobs). It also points up the power imbalance because both the consultant and the GP are gatekeepers to the services you need. Just write down what you saw the patient for, any relevant information and what you recommend or propose to do, using the minimum of technical language. Job done!

I've had a variety of descriptions for the dcs, who are frequent flyers at lot of clinics.

We moved area when they were about four and seven, and were referred to a paediatrician at our new local hospital. (I know that the referring and receiving paeds knew each other and would have loved to see that letter).

Anyway, they gave us a double appointment to bring both kids to see the new paediatrician at the same time, which on paper makes sense but actually was mayhem.

The clinic letter started 'it was enormous fun to meet Jenny and John in clinic this morning' which made me smile.

I swing both ways on this.
I don't think 'personal comments/opinions' are necessary, but it is also really important that patients are seen as people.
There's lots wrong with 'the gallbladder in bed C3' for example.
Would you rather a doctor stood in front of your bed and said to his colleagues 'this 23 year old female has cholecystitis' or 'this lovely 23 year old lady is unfortunately suffering from cholecystitis'.
Medical reports are factual and don't tend to contain this sort of language.
Clinic letters are more personal because you're writing to your colleague about an interaction with a patient and possibly their family too that they will likely be copied in to as a way if keeping them informed about their condition.
I can see how it seems a bit incongruous, but I don't think it's necessarily the right thing to do to leap to making interactions less personal altogether.
I wonder if there is a way to keep the human element without it rubbing people up the wrong way.

As an HCP it's also often more genuine then I think patients realise. If I wrote 'it was lovely to meet Mr X in clinic today and I'm glad his symptoms have settled' it's because I really enjoyed meeting him and I'm glad he's feeling better! Doctors are human too and get good feelings from interacting with patients.

I like it. You're a human being not a machine part and they were kind to you. Why not leave it at that?