28 year old female tells how her 86 year old grandfather was patronised in hospital
"Whilst in hospital my grandfather was spoken to as if he was a child. He was told that he was using his razor incorrectly even though he had used it that way for years. Despite the fact that he was a coherent educated man the nurse spoke to me about him as if he wasn't there and then talked to him as if he was a delinquent. She was really rude in her tone."
[This made me feel] "unhappy, embarrassed for him and cross."
The nurse was estimated to be 30 years of age.
Hi
ReplyDeleteHave you challenged the nurse? If not, you absolutely should. Behaviour of such people will never change if nobody ever corrects them or challenges them. I am guilty myself of being too sheepish to challenge such people, but I strongly believe that this is the most effective way of fighting ageism.
Complaining to their managers never works (because the manager will be too sheepish to do anything, and because they go on the defensive); reporting to the media will take too long to filter through; and to do research and wait until its results get published and influence the society - well, life is too short for this - certainly your grandfather will not see any changes in his lifetime.
If you challenge the nurse, she will probably be shocked, because she never thought that she did anything wrong. She is stuck in this mindset, and she will probably be surprised, and also quite scared that the client is openly unhappy. This will make her think - and certainly worry that she might be challenged again, by somebody who might be more trouble than well-behaved you...