Much of what has been said about the relationship between patients, relatives, and general practitioners is also true in the context of the hospital clinic. There are, however, several practical points that should be borne in mind. Aim to arrive at least ten minutes before the appointment time or, if parking is likely to be difficult, even earlier. If transport has been arranged by the hospital make sure that you are ready a good quarter of an hour before the time that the ambulance or car is due. It is very likely that you will have to wait for some time both before seeing the doctor and while some of the assessment is taking place, although you will be involved in quite a lot of this yourself. It is important therefore to take something to occupy yourself and if possible something that will occupy your relative with dementia. It is also a good idea to make sure you know where the toilets are and if you have to make use of them, let the nurse in charge of the waiting area know where you are going, and that you won’t be long. If you have to leave your relative in the waiting area, make sure that the nurse knows that he or she will be unattended, particularly if wandering is a problem. If your appointment is near a mealtime, ask whether there is a cafeteria for patients in the hospital or take sandwiches. It is better to do this than risk going without a meal. Make sure that the clothes your relative is wearing are easy to take off as he or she will probably need to be examined fully.
Remember that the staff at the clinic are there to help you. It may well be more difficult to talk to them than it is to your own general practitioner whom you know better and whom you see in relatively familiar surroundings. Even if the doctors, nurses, and others seem busy and hurried, remember that you have come a long way to see them, probably at great inconvenience to yourself and possibly others, and that it is important that you leave the clinic with a clear idea of the present position and what is going to happen next. After all, if you return home and find that one of your most pressing questions hasn’t been answered, it won’t be as easy to find out the answer as if you had only to repeat a visit to the general practitioner’s surgery.
Despite being well-organized, many people nevertheless discover when they arrive home that they have forgotten something that was said or have forgotten to mention something. Don’t worry about this! There are two courses of action that you can take. One is to make an appointment to see the family doctor and ask him whether he could answer the question for you or find out the answer. The other approach, possibly the better of the two, is to write a letter to the specialist explaining the position and putting the question again.
I would like to stress again that although the staff in hospital clinics may well seem more difficult to approach, either because they are less familiar than the local general practitioner or because they seem exceptionally busy, it is important that you take this opportunity of finding out the answers to your questions. Don’t be intimidated by them. As long as you ask your questions in a courteous and friendly manner, you will most likely be treated with consideration.
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