Can I Get You Anything Else?

I spent two days, one night in the hospital. I had a laproscopic supracervical hysterectomy. Ouch. But that's beside the point. What I'd like to comment on is the quality of the nursing staff. They were awesome! When I pressed the big red call button they politely said "Can I help you?" And when I made my request they saw to it immediately. When they came into my room to check on me, my vitals, my drip, they invariably asked before they left "Can I get you anything else?" while looking me in the eye and actually pausing....waiting to hear if there was an answer. They tried to anticipate my needs and make me more comfortable, even if I wasn't complaining of discomfort. They joked with me. I was filled with gratitude for their attentions.

And then I got pissed. This is the very same hospital that houses me for psychiatric issues. However, the treatment I get when in for "that" is completely different. When I make a request, I am usually met with irritation and a long wait. No one ever asks if there is anything else. If a nurse joked with me on the psych ward I'd be so stunned I might think I'm hallucinating! No nurse ever tried to anticipate my needs or check on my comfort level. When I'm in the psych unit I feel like a blight on society, a piece of shit stinking up the hospital, a hemorrhoid on the ass of the health care system. They truly treat patients like dirt.

So, does the hospital hand pick their very worst, most insensitive staff and stick them on the psych unit? Is it a power and control issue? Has society so stigmatized the mentally ill that even in the same fucking hospital the same fucking patient gets two completely different levels of care based on what the illness is? It's infuriating!