Originally published in 1964, this book describes the hospital service as it is seen by patients. It is based mainly on interviews with a random sample of patients and discusses the relationships between patients and between them and hospital doctors, nurses, and general practitioners. The best available medical care should not only be given, but the patient and his relatives should feel that this has been given. Explanations need to be seen not as a lavish appendage, but as an integral part of medical care. Recognition and acceptance of this responsibility could stimulate interest in patients' social lives, so that hospital staff become more aware of the difficulties patients may encounter when they leave hospital. This in turn could lead to greater integration between the hospital and welfare services and between the hospital and the general practitioners. Still relevant today this study can now be read in its historical context.
Acknowledgements Part 1: Introductory 1. Background to the Study 2. Admission to Hospital Part 2: Life in the Ward 3. Nurses and Ward Routine 4. Patients and Privacy 5. Ward Site Part 3: The Problem of Communication 6. The Desire for Information 7. Doctors as a Source of Information 8. Other Sources of Information 9. Improving Communications Part 4: The Hospital and the Outside World 10. The General Practitioner and the In-Patient 11. Families and Friends 12. Works and Wages Part 5: Differences in Hospital Care 13. Variations Between Hospitals 14. The Particular Problems of Maternity Patients 15. The Influence of Social Class 16. In Conclusion – The Best Hospital Service We Have. Appendices: The Sample of Patients; The Sample of General Practitioners; Interview Schedules; The Twelve Study Areas; Statistical Significance; Classification of Social Class; References. Index.
Biography
Ann Cartwright
