Am I too good a listener?

"A good listener"

That is what we all want our doctors to be.
As patients we want to be listened to for practical reasons as well as the emotionally therapeutic benefits. There is a whole 'industry' to listen to patients, which, don't get me wrong, is excellent and much needed. But I want to talk about the listening skills of patients in this post.

Forgotten Conditions (2020Health Report)

As a patient with a number of rare long term health conditions, I can get quite frustrated with all the coverage and focus that the big common conditions get . . . Which was why I enjoyed reading the Forgotten Conditions: misdiagnosed and unsupported, how patients are being let down report by 2020Health so much, and identified with so much of its content!

The report summarised what sounded like a fascinating round table event that I wish has been to! Acknowledging that people with rare conditions are often "neglected and overlooked", it looked closer at the issues this particular cohort of patients face, as well as recommendations to address those issues. There is a risk that these patients will continue to "languish in the difficult-to-deal-with box", because of the complexities of these rare conditions, not to mention the additional issues caused by their low prevalence.