Wow. This world is full of double standards, where something is good for one person, but not good for another person. I believe that one of the biggest and most outrageous double standards is a case where families, patients and residents of medical centers, rehabilitation centers and hospitals have to deal with social workers who believe that they are the only ones who have lives.
Let me explain more clearly. What usually happens is that when it is ready, or even before the time has come — for the patient to be discharged or transferred from one place to another, the social worker, the social worker planning release, tries to contact family members. The social worker calls once, and if there is no answer to the phone, or if someone does not call the social worker right away, that social worker usually calls again. Or they will call another family member, rather than waiting for the original to return. So what is a double standard? It is clear. If you, a family member or resident or patient, are trying to get any information from a social worker or doctor, you can usually wait, wait and wait, and you can wait several days, if not weeks for such information. And the information you are looking for is the information you have the right to have.
So, you wait, wait and wait. You are waiting for food; you wait for information, you wait for the sheets to change, and you wait for your wounds to be wrapped, and you wait, wait, wait and wait. And then, finally, you wait MORE. Now this is not an exaggeration. Ask any patient at any medical center, and they will tell you that you are just waiting.
And here comes the double standard. As soon as the statement scheduler should talk to you, they will not and will not wait even an hour. They expect to hear from you immediately and sooner than at once. They expect you to wait by phone - after everyone else is waiting, and you just sit there by phone, waiting for them to call you. Most people do not. Most people are at work or at school or are in the toilet or are on the shopping market or somewhere they cannot reach the phone right away. Nonetheless, as a rule, social workers planning graduates cannot and will not wait - although they have previously asked you to wait, wait and wait, their double standard is that they do not expect to wait.
I suggest that patients and families remind social workers that even if a social worker has a family mobile number, this phone looks like a home telephone, since no one is sitting there waiting for a call. Remind them that the phone is not always on, but sometimes it turns off, because you need to charge it. And reassure the social worker that someone will return to them on the same day that they call you. Even better, when you give a mobile number to someone in a hospital or nursing home, just tell them that this is another number for you. This is not their business, whether it is a cell phone or not. When you tell them that this is a cell phone, they require that you answer all the time - even when you are not on the phone or even when you do not have a phone with you. And when they call your cell phone, they expect and demand that you answer it immediately.
Therefore, especially if you are dealing with social workers inside abusive nursing homes or nursing homes that give inadequate or poor care, never tell anyone who is a cell number and who is not cellular. This will work better for you, especially if you are not using a cell, such as a cell, all the time with it.
It just makes good sense to make it clear to social workers that your time is as valuable as their time. And just as they are not always on the phone, you too, not always on the phone.
So in the end,
- When you give phone numbers to get in touch with you, just enter your home number and alternative number without pointing to a cell phone.
- Assign them that when you are away, in the toilet or in the bathroom, you will not answer the phone, but that they leave a complete detailed message for you and you will return to them as soon as you can.
- Always keep in touch with them, with the discharge planner or the social worker who will manage discharge planning and the main doctor for the case. If you cannot contact them for a considerable time, consider contacting patient representatives or administrators, but only for very important items.
- Remember that you, the patient, and the family work together on health issues, not nursing home workers, not social workers. In most cases, discharge planners are concerned with telling you what to do, and they act and speak as if you have no choice. Always know what your choices are, because these people, hurrying to let someone out, most likely will not tell you all your options.
It has begun to be able to cope and understand what is happening when it comes to the fact that someone is in a hospital or is in a hospital on his own, or visiting or being in a bad rehabilitation center. There is much more that you need to know to protect you, the patient, family and visitors. So keep reading these articles if they are updated, and I will write more articles on the same subject.
Updated May 10, 2008
