John Launer: Why we should all #sayhellotopatients

I’ve just had some imaging done at a hospital I attend. I had to wait on a trolley for about 15 minutes while other patients went in to have their own procedures done. As I waited, I noticed something remarkable: 20 or so people happened to walk past me during this time and, almost without exception, smiled and said hello. This included, so far as I could tell, radiographers and doctors, porters and nurses, along with cleaners and other staff.The experience struck me as extraordinary. I’ve often waited on trolleys in similar circumstances, and I’ve generally had the feeling that I was regarded as either invisible or inanimate. It always seemed as though wearing a hospital gown and lying horizontally demoted me from being a worthy member of the human race to an object with no entitlement to be noticed, let alone greeted.I suspect that there was something exceptional about…
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