To dress up for doctor’s appointments?

[PollencaCalling]

Really re: classism in medicine!

Unless desperately ill I never go to see a GP/consultant etc without making sure that I’m looking well put together. Of course I’m not talking formal attire - just nice, tidy outfit and good hair/makeup. My opinion is that this way things are taken more seriously, and from experience this has been the case. Spoke about it with a friend earlier who thinks I’m bonkers!

Although it shouldn’t be the case I do think that to some extent I am justified in thinking this. Some doctors certainly do still have a class bias and I have experienced it myself. Took DD to A&E a few years ago and got quite a nasty doctor who implied that she was making it up! Once she took her coat off and revealed a hoodie from her (quite MC grammar school) his opinion of her completely changed and he couldn’t have been more pleasant or helpful. It really bothered me at the time and has stuck with me since

It's my experience that the Dr will often, and usually say, "hello Roses, I am Dr Jones". It's such a reductive practice.

Or I arrive at reception, "what's your name". "Mrs Roses Hellebores". "Go and sit down Roses". Sometimes I ask innocently "oh please could you remind me who I am here to see". It's never Kate, John or Simran, always Dr Smith, Dr Jones or Dr Khan. Noting, I always say please and thank you - words which seem to escaped anyone who works for the NHS.

My early 20’s dd was having issues and not being treated seriously. When I went with her, things started happening.
I think the youth are also in the category of being easily dismissed too.

So school them to address you according to your station.

Some people really do get their knickers in a twist over nothing. Reductive indeed

I always shower before seeing the doctor, unless I'm too ill. I certainly don't dress up, but I look well groomed, as I always do when going out.

They assumed I didn't work - as did the GP practice nurse last week when she booked the yearly you're bound to have diabetes from the biscuits and pies (that I don't eat) appointment - umm, no, I still can't come to these because I'm working, no matter how many times you say they can only be done between 1 and 3pm.

People in deprived areas DO have shorter lifespans though. That's common knowledge

It’s a bit more nuanced than that, according to this article summarising a 2003 government study, which says more affluent patients get more GP time (10 minutes vs 8 on average), and are more 40% more likely to get a heart bypass —

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/nov/07/uk.health

but also says poorer people actually go to the GP far less often, go later in the course of an illness, are more likely to present at A and E, and are far less likely to attend preventative appointments.

This one is an international meta-study, which is about the ‘social gradient’ in doctor-patient interactions, and has interesting things to say about communication styles and more educated parents volunteering more information, but less educated patients getting more examination.

Yes, the difference in life expectancies between the most and least deprived UK population groups is scary (20 years for women), as if the expectation on how many years on average each set is likely to live in poor health.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/25/growing-gap-in-healthy-life-expectancy-between-poorest-and-richest-in-england

It's not about being petty it's about respect. As a patient you already feel vulnerable, your life in the hands of the doctors. Calling you by your first name while they go by Dr so and so is infantalising and it sets the tone for an imbalanced and patronising interaction it all adds to making the patient feel insignificant and harder to advocate for themselves. It's about dignity and treating adults as adults. The fake overfamiliar 'we're just one big family' first name basis that some clinics and surgeries 'pride' themselves over often vanishes at the slightest challenge by the patient to the doctor. Set the tone as you mean to go on and respect should be afforded to patients too. @RosesAndHellebores shouldn't need to school them, it should be basic manners.

I wouldn't dream of putting on make up or changing my handbag to visit a doctor or other healthcare professional. I mean, only people who like handbags would notice what bag you have anyway. I wear appropriate clothing for things like smear tests, injections etc.

When I am not at work I dress casually, but am always clean and well presented. Unlike most mumsnetters I iron my clothes.

I am polite and well spoken and like to think I come across as intelligent and have never been treated with anything other than respect by any medical professional.

I have been receiving treatment for over ten years for a serious autoimmune condition and I can totally confirm what the OP says. I dress a bit alternative but have a very RP voice, and I know that when I start speaking often the HCP's attitude will change.
Of course, these days this is countered by the fact that I am an older woman and fat 😕
I remember once being desperately mentally unwell - it was taking me hours to get out of the house as I thought people were reporting on me and staring at me. A terrible time. I got to see a psychiatrist and she just went 'Well, I can see from the way you're dressed you're not depressed'...

I once had something of the opposite experience. Was at a nice birthday event for a friend (so all dressed up with hair and makeup done) when I came down with a very sudden and severe illness. I ended up being referred by NHS24 to attend an out of hours appointment. The doctor asked me to describe my symptoms, after which he said quite dismissively ‘well you certainly look alright.’

(At that point I vomited in his bin, was sent for an abdominal scan, diagnosed with appendicitis and then had emergency surgery).

"I am polite and well spoken and like to think I come across as intelligent and have never been treated with anything other than respect by any medical professional."

I wish I could say the same. I haven't. I make a point of speaking softly but definitely, this flusters them. I always have all my times, dates, evidence. They don't like this.

I'm always clean and in clean clothes when I see a doctor. Nevertheless, the type of clothing has made a difference in some cases.

It goes without saying that the clothing worn has always been accessible for whatever illness or injury I've been seeing about - apart from the time I had to go straight into A&E for a displaced, fractured elbow. Getting my arm out of that sleeve wasn't easy...

I'm actually flabbergasted at the number of people who have responded to the OP's post by making comments about being clean. That goes without saying - the only time you'd see a doctor when you weren't clean would be if you'd been injured whilst doing manual work or sports. (I'm setting aside issues such as depression here.)

In my first comment on here, I think I wrote of the difference in attitude when I turned up at a surgery wearing casual clothes - jeans. I was still clean!

I am sorry to hear your experiences

I just have a shower, put clean clothes on and brush my teeth and hair.
I'm going to discuss a health concern, not to a fashion show.
I couldn't give a fig what the doctors think of my presentation.
I once had an accident on the street which rendered me unconscious.
I'm pretty sure that the medical team was more concerned with treating me than they were with my period stained knickers and shabby grey washed bra that they ended up cutting off with the rest of my clothes.
They've seen it all before.

I always go to advocate for people I know who need an extra hand, whether it be for my children or people we know. I have fought several times for faster/extra NHS or MH services, not always successfully, but other times definitely- I have even been known to go in waving the NICE guidelines if I'm sure of a treatment pathway and I want them/me to be on it.

I once investigated a health issue where about 1 in 10 of the patients should have been on meds in the poorer areas and weren't, whereas all of the patients in the richer areas were- I know it's only 10% but imagine that over the whole country.

I also think if you go in as an accident, or unconscious, or whatever, the heath professionals I've seen have been amazing and kind and don't judge, as I suspect in their area of the NHS they are constantly confronted with less than 'ideal' patients, in dress, manner, alcohol or drug issues and so on.

That said, again, I've heard health professionals be supportive and kind to those with drug problems and specialise in that as they were so concerned, and I've heard judgemental and non-professional talk, and a lack of following of guidelines fairly.

I think people should know it matters, I wouldn't dress differently as I always dress quite nicely, clean hair, and so on, but I think a lot of people don't realise they are disadvantaged when they are inarticulate or unable to advocate for themselves, this counts not just in the NHS, but in housing, in social care, all services are very very stretched, and that's why biases end up counting a little bit and it all adds up.

I'm afraid that there's little doubt that you get better treatment if middle class, polite and articulate and probably not elderly. If you're old, poor, not able to speak up and have no one to advocate for you, particularly on a hospital setting, things are fairly bleak.

I think people should know it matters, I wouldn't dress differently as I always dress quite nicely, clean hair, and so on, but I think a lot of people don't realise they are disadvantaged when they are inarticulate or unable to advocate for themselves, this counts not just in the NHS, but in housing, in social care, all services are very very stretched, and that's why biases end up counting a little bit and it all adds up.

I agree. I would add being polite to the list. All the people I know who complain about their GP or other health professional are quite confrontational and aggressive in the way they speak, and nothing gets people's backs up more than someone being rude to them. They need to learn to be assertive withut being rude.

However, I do think we are lucky with our GP because they are unfailingly polite to everyone. Last week I took DD in to re-register as she has moved back home. There was an older lady in the queue in front of us who was struggling to understand that she would get a text to confirm her next appointment. This discussion took several minutes. DD presented her application form and ID, was asked if the had the NHS app (yes) and was finished in under a minute. The receptionist was equally polite to both of them.

There’s nothing funny or shallow about a proven phenomenon, you also don’t need to be sick to access medical care. The specialists that I see privately (insured through work) are the exact same consultants that work in the NHS.

I absolutely hate this too - as a HCP I always make sure that my patients receive the same levels of respect and courtesy as I would want. Consultants who put themselves on a pedestal and introduce themselves as ‘Mr …’ whilst calling the patient their first name really bother me.

Yes I think it also depends what you've come in for. If it's maybe more unusual I feel like certain people are more likely to be written off as "anxious"

I was in hospital at the weekend and a nurse said almost exactly this to me herself.

She was saying it in the context of people needing to advocate for themselves and if she is struggling to do it with her job how others do it and how people can be judged.

(Nurse had similar medical condition to me herself and we got chatting while she ran tests)