'The
working MAN & his CLINIC'The last time I paid a visit to the clinic, I had to take time off work. This was an unusual feeling for me, since prior to getting back into work a few months ago, I’d been unemployed for over a year. So clinic visits were not something that involved serious planning.
During this visit, I mentioned to the doc that I was bothered by the many acne-like spots that had appeared on my face and neck. She got a nurse to spray several of these with some kind of liquefied gas. After doing this, the nurse said to me in a very matter-of-fact way: “Right. Come in again in a couple of days and then every two or three days for a couple of weeks.”
I experienced a mixture of stunned amazement and growing irritation. Why on earth did this nurse assume, without knowing anything about me, that I was free to wander in and out of the clinic at will? Is an HIV positive person who works so rare that she’d never met one before?
I pointed out to her that I am in full-time employment and would not be able to attend the clinic without making special arrangements with my employer. This was greeted by a look of equally stunned amazement on her face. “But treating those spots only once won’t work! You need to have three or four treatments.” I masked my annoyance (it wasn’t her fault, after all), thanked her for her ministrations and made my way home, my irritation now transformed into full-blown anger.
It’s difficult enough even to make an appointment with your GP or dentist without it impinging upon work time, but isn’t it about time HIV clinics also recognized that growing numbers of us are long-term survivors? And not just survivors. We live fairly normal lives, and don’t allow HIV to dominate us in the way it has inevitably dominated the lives of those before us who were unfortunate enough not to have access to the new range of drugs.
We work for a living and take a full part in social activities. Our diaries are full to bursting and we resent, yes resent, the inconvenience of having to attend a clinic and will only do so when it’s absolutely necessary. So how about some early-morning or late-evening clinics? How about being able to see a doctor when it suits me and not only when it suits them?
The
spots are still there. Instead of disappearing, they’re getting worse and
there is no way I can ask for more time off work - certainly not on the basis
of three or four visits to the clinic in the space of a couple of weeks. I work
in a call centre and even coffee-breaks have to be planned carefully, to ensure
that the lines are manned at all times, so taking hours off in the middle of the
day is totally out of the question.
So, are my health and my unwillingness to walk around with a disfigured face contingent upon the working hours of doctors and nurses? I don’t think they should be. And while I’m on my soap-box, why not email access? I would love the opportunity to email details of my medical problems to someone who could very easily give me an answer within 24 hours. Indeed, I’ve heard that a friend of mine already receives this service from his specialist, so why can’t it be extended to all HIV clinics? I’m sure this would relieve the pressure on health workers, by enabling people to avoid unnecessary clinic visits, thus leaving more time for those who must attend; a beautiful win-win situation.
If after reading this you would like to add your voice to a campaign to make these suggestions a reality, please pay a visit to the discussion, ‘Flexible hours at HIV clinics’ on the UKC’s discussion forum, Positive Voices: http://www.ukcoalition.org/discuss/
