Margaret Hughes: Everybody’s dream is that a doctor talks to them and takes the time to listen to their problems; and discuss the possible methods of curing the ailment. However, once the doctor really does start doing that he can never keep an accurate appointment book.

Alan Fletcher: Think,you are right,there are times that delay are unavoidable.

Margaret Hughes: My pet peeve about doctors is that they want to hear your complaints, but don’t give you time to adequately describe them in your own terms. Due to their time constraints, they in reality stop listening as soon as they think they’ve got the information they need for the diagnosis.

Any listener who formulates an answer before the speaker has finished outlining the problem hasn’t ‘heard’ all there is to consider. So, I don’t stay with a GP that doesn’t give me the space I need to discuss my ailments, but many do.

In searching for a good GP, I discovered that no matter how much I emphasise that I need sufficient time to express my concerns in my own way, and no matter how much the GP agrees this is a good thing and they can do that, it hasn’t worked out that way. They revert to their ‘assembly line? bring em in, short survey, dx (diagnosis), rx (treatment), out of the door’ format, which simply does not work for me. I’m still looking for a GP that can work with me, and whom I can work with.

Jim Burns: I could not agree with you more. I have read many replies to this problem and in a study conducted on 24 family doctors It was found that, on the average, patients’ visits lasted nine minutes. The doctors heard only some of the symptoms – and may have missed vital clues. Studies show that the patients who were abIe to fully describe their medical complaints on their first visit recovered much faster than those that didn’t get the opportunity to do so.

What’s more, even doctors admit there is a problem. According to 3,352 doctors many patients feel that their doctors don’t show any compassion. Worse, some doctors are seen as arrogant. What can the patient do against intimidation? If your doctor interrupts you, simply return to the symptoms. ‘Be prepared with your best description of what you think the problem is, and make a list of the questions’, Dr. Stewart, Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Western Ontario and an expert on family doctor- patient relations states. The key, Stewart suggests, is to be honest and actively involved. Don’t be intimidated by your doctors, educate yourself. If you do not feel that your doctor is giving you the right treatment for your illness, get a second opinion.

Acquire your medical records. Do not let the doctor tell you that you cannot have them, or that he has to keep them on file for a certain period of time. This is false. In 1992 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the patient had the right to take his file to any other physician of his choice. To save time, arm yourself with your records and test results, x-rays and physicians’ summaries of your condition.