Abstract
Very few people function solely as individuals. When an individual is ill, the whole family is affected, yet hospital care separates the patient from his family. Once in hospital, the patient becomes ‘our’ property and we as a profession have been brought up to resist ‘intrusions’ from relatives. If our aim is to intrude on the patient’s life style as little as possible; if it is to treat human beings as individuals and not a ‘heart’ or a ‘bladder’; then we must consider him as part of his family unit.
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.
1 Corinthians (12:26)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Copyright information
© 1986 Carol Flemming
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Flemming, C. (1986). The Patient and his Family. In: The Other Side of Medical Care. The ‘New Approaches to Care’ series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18179-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-18179-7_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-37528-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-18179-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)