Doctor Slams Hospital's "Please" Policy

Administrators at England's Worthing Hospital are insisting that doctors say the magic word when writing orders for blood tests on weekends. If a doctor refuses to write "please" on the order, the test will be refused. From the article: "However, a doctor at the hospital said on condition of anonymity that he sees the policy as a money-saving measure that could prove dangerous for patients. 'I was shocked to come in on Sunday and find none of my bloods had been done from the night before because I'd not written "please,"' the doctor said. 'I had no results to guide treatment of patients. Myself and a senior nurse had to take the bloods ourselves, which added hours to our 12-hour shifts. This system puts patients' lives at risk. Doctors are wasting time doing the job of the technicians.'"

Comments

Re:Just wanna say

[hkmwbz]

I don't know... Those guys at the store that smiling at me and being friendly and nice are probably just doing it because they are trained to do so. But I still feel more welcome. At least they are making an effort to come across as friendly and service-minded. If I come across someone who doesn't make that effort, I feel less welcome. Of course, I always try to be as polite as possible myself. It doesn't hurt one bit to use words like "thank you", "please", "my apologies", and so on.

Re:Easy solution

[HangingChad]

That includes the word please!

That's a little like me refusing to treat a patient at an accident scene because they didn't say please. When it comes to saving lives and treating patients, you don't put bullshit pleasantries ahead of caring for the patient. This isn't the local diner, it's a freaking hospital.

There are other ways to get the point across to doctors than withholding timely patient care. Dock them $5 on their paycheck. Just five bucks. Most doctors make a metric assload of cash, but ding them a token amount of money and they act like you just put a lock on their BMW.