No interest in the individual patient
I attended a dermatology appointment with my Dad today and was very concerned by the lack of care or clarity for the individual demonstrated by the person who saw us. My Dad is almost 80 years old and has suffered with skin problems, with many prescribed solutions he has been subjected to previously having had negative or nil effects on his skin condition, for over 30 years. The dermatologist seemed insistent that this was a recent problem, only having occurred in the last two years, and was dismissive of my assertions otherwise. The dermatologist continued to fire questions at my Dad who (understandably, I would hope) does not keep up cognitively and was clearly answering from an unsure perspective when being interrogated on a number of brand names. Seeing this, I stepped in to point out that he doesn't remember or doesn't have time to administer the multiple ointments and creams they are asking him to apply four times daily, to which the dermatologist responded "You came here for my professional opinion, I'm a dermatological specialist and do this for a living, you can either take my advice or lump it". This shocked me as I was under the impression that certainly goes against the NHS principle 4: 'Patient-Centric Approach: At the heart of everything the NHS does is the patient. Their well-being, dignity, and experience are paramount. The NHS strives to provide compassionate care, respecting each patient’s unique needs and circumstances.' This dermatologist did not ask anything about my Dad's personal circumstances on the first visit, and did not want to take into consideration those which I tried to point out. I believe he should be under the guidance of the NHS principles and values, correct me if I am wrong. Additionally, my Dad had been prescribed tablets which had totally cleared his skin up and he was able to live a normal life for the first time in a long time. I know he had hoped that he would be allowed to continue with a much reduced dose and broached this with the dermatologist. He was told he would not get any more of the medication because of unspecified "side effects". As he had not had any side effects over the three weeks he had taken the medication for, this did not give a clear explanation for the refusal.