Leading medics have hit back at a controversial Twitter hashtag that saw doctors being ridiculed for being ‘d***heads’.
Social media erupted with dozens of angry patients telling their horror tales of how their conditions went undiagnosed for years.
But in a strongly worded response to the outpouring, two doctors have attacked the hashtag and said: ‘Doctors are not d***heads’.
Dr Matt Morgan, an honorary senior research fellow at Cardiff University, penned the response with Professor Peter Brindley, of the University of Alberta.
In their retaliation piece in the British Medical Journal, they wrote: ‘Nobody gains by leveling harsh accusations at fallible humans, regardless of their proximity or salary
Dr Matt Morgan (left), an honorary senior research fellow at Cardiff University, penned the response with Professor Peter Brindley (right), of the University of Alberta
‘Doctors are not d***heads. We are just heads, and, like our patients, these heads are connected to hearts.’
The provocative hashtag erupted when YouTuber Stevie Boebi posted a video slamming the time it took for her to be diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Hundreds of angry Twitter users jumped on the opportunity to reveal they also had to battle with their doctor to get a diagnosis for a range of conditions.
Dr Morgan and Professor Brindley accepted that many of those airing their frustrations, including Ms Boebi, had suffered from ‘medicine’s imperfections’.
However, the pair added how they take ‘umbrage’ with the ‘overly convenient cause and effect’ of blaming individual doctors’ inadequacies.
In their piece, which was published yesterday, they added: ‘Has any situation ever improved by calling someone a d***head?
Emily, whose Twitter handle is @revolverbunny, spoke of how a doctor blamed being in love for her chronic fatigue and pain when she was 14
Beth Paige told a similar tale. She said teenage girls battling chronic pain are too often told it could be ‘growing pains’ or ‘in your head’
Karrie Higgins, who claims to have previously work in two clinics with doctors, said she had seen them make fun of patients behind their backs
Ophelia Brown, of Ottawa in Ontario, claims she was ‘making up’ her symptoms of complex regional pain syndrome
Laura Ashley, from Colorado, told of how her gynaecologist ‘laughed and said there was no possible way’ when she raised concerns over her Essure device
‘Instead, this sort of language leads to an arms race of finger pointing, excessive shouting, and inadequate listening.’
Dr Morgan and Professor Brindley also spoke of their concerns about doctors who ‘took the bait’ to jump in and point the finger back at the patients.
They added: ‘Medical errors – or what can be better understood as human errors in a medical environment – can be truly awful and sometimes lethal.
‘To wrongly attribute the root cause to a fallible individual, however, is to squander the opportunity to meaningfully improve.
‘Although we get the human need for blame, more important is what is the collective plan going forward?
‘This should start by accepting how complicated healthcare can be. Next let’s encourage behaviour that builds rather than tramples.’
They added: ‘Humans and their myriad of presentations are eye wateringly complex. This is why up to half of our medical diagnoses may be ultimately wrong or incomplete.’
‘Medicine is as much a philosophy for dealing with uncertainty and managing probabilities as it is anything else. It is not, however, an exact science.’
Emily, whose Twitter handle is @revolverbunny, spoke of how a doctor blamed being in love for her chronic fatigue and pain when she was 14.
She claims it took her 11 years before she was eventually diagnosed with EDS – which can cause the crippling symptoms.
Dr Bobby Chiong responded to the ‘DoctorsAreD***heads’ hashtag and admitted he ‘completely’ understood why it was trending
June, from Portland in Oregon, said her cardiologist ridiculed her for suggesting she had a condition after researching it online
Beth Paige told a similar tale. She said teenage girls battling chronic pain are too often told it could be ‘growing pains’ or ‘in your head’.
Ophelia Brown, of Ottawa in Ontario, claims she was ‘making up’ her symptoms of complex regional pain syndrome.
She blamed the lack of care and competence from her doctors that saw her wait years for a diagnosis, by which time her condition became ‘untreatable’.
June, from Portland in Oregon, said her cardiologist ridiculed her for suggesting she had a condition after researching it online.
She added how she later diagnosed her with the same condition, dysautonomia – a disorder of the nervous system.
Laura Ashley, from Colorado, told of how her gynaecologist ‘laughed and said there was no possible way’ when she raised concerns over her Essure device.
The controversial contraceptive launched onto the global market in 2002, with more than 34,000 women across the world complaining of side effects in the years since.
Karrie Higgins, who claims to have previously work in two clinics with doctors, said she had seen them make fun of patients behind their backs.
Other tweeters said they ‘guaranteed’ the real harm done in the experiences behind the hashtag are ‘worse than the hurt feelings’ of doctors.
Dr Bobby Chiong responded to the ‘DoctorsAreD***heads’ hashtag and admitted he ‘completely’ understood why it was trending.
He tweeted: ‘[It’s] a good hashtag to checkout if you need to be reminded what it’s like to be on the other side of the exam table [sic].’
Twitter user @ArticDragoness spoke of how her mother suffered at the hands of one doctor when she gave birth
Twitter user @1c75a tweeted a mock-up situation of patronising behaviour from a medic
Other tweeters said they ‘guaranteed’ the real harm done in the experiences behind the hashtag are ‘worse than the hurt feelings’ of doctors
Alastair McAlpine, who claims to be a medic, apologised for being a d***head to some of his patients in the past