Advocates Listen, Help Patients with Problem
The Raleigh Times

NOTE: This plain text article interpretation has been digitally created by OCR software to estimate the article text, to help both users and search engines find relevant article content.  To read the actual article text, view or download the PDF above.

The Raleigh Times
Wednesday, October 31,1973
patients with problem
By JAN JOHNSON
Times staff writer
John A. is a patient in -the
Wake unit at Dorothea Dix
Hospital. He feels mistreated
because other patients go to
the canteen and he doesn’t.
Who does he complain to?
One night a week John cai
voice_ his complaints and
problems to a volunteer in the
patients’ advocacy problem.
Some -quick checking showed
that John could go || but he
had been afraid to ask and the
staff hadn’t outlined his privi-
leges.
The volunteer layman’s
program began in the Wake;
unit a year ago, sponsored by
the Wake Con ity Mental
Health Association.
It allows patients to talk to
advocates who either clear up
the problem immediately or
make a report to an advo-
cates’ panel for a final deci-
sion. The panel makes recom-
mendations to the hospital in
order to provide feedback -on
patient problems.
Dix officials praise;, the
program. They say 4 has
Correction^
Willaim L. Timberlake. 18,
who was killed in an auto acci-
dent Tuesday morning, was the
son of Mr. and Mrs. W. L.
Timberlake of Ri. 1,
Woodland. His parents were
misidentified in § story in The
Raleigh Times uesday.
Benjamin Saiiber
drew up program
created a more relaxed.,
trusting atmosphere in the un-
its.
The program will be expand-
ed from Wake andCherry units
to three more units in
November. The Cherry unit
serves patients from Lee and
Harnett counties. It will be in
seven units and will serve 11
county units by the end of the
year.
The Department of Human
Resources is also considering
expanding the program or a
similar program statewide.
Benjamin Sauber, who drew
npThe program with support
from the county association,
said the program was respon-
sible for establishing a format
for electoshock therapy.
VWe were getting com-
plaints that patients didn’t
want the therapy and also
criticism from hospital per- ;
sonnel that sometimes patients-
who began treatment quit,”rajf
said. I
The advocates recommend-
ed that patients be given a?
complete picture of what the^
treatment includes and the op-
portunity to accept or reject
treatment. But’if they start,
they must continue the
prescribed series. The hospital
implemented the recom-
mendation.
“The program has been a
tremendous success. Since it
began, I haven’t had a single
complaint from those units,”
said Dr. Peter Witt, hospital
research director,
Witt is charged with handl-
ing complaints — “research
scientists are relatively
detached from the manager
ment structure,” he said.
He said the advocates “are
thoughtful and eager to do the
right thing. They help the
patients without creating trou-
ble between staff and
patients.”
Dr. Peter Holden, an assis-
tant superintendent, said the
program “has been thor-
oughly good.. I was anxious
when it first began that aides
might become hostile and
defensive when complaints
were lodged against them.
“But there have been few
complaints against aides.
Some justified complaints
have resulted in cnanges,”
Holden said.
’’ Holden said patients com-
plained that they didn’t see
doctors. “So I went around and
made sure.’ doctors saw
patients at least once a week,”
he said. Other complaints
resulted from i arance of
procedures “t t no one
bothered to tell them,” he said.
. Holden als|)| said the
program had boosted staff
morale because there were so
few complaints against aides.
“We had many meetings with
staff and advocates so they
would know each other and
what would be happening,” he
~ said.4-1
Sauber said the association
felt s‘ ongly th; advocate
should )e volunti rs and nr
employes of the hospital
’system.
“If a complaint led to a suit,
we couldn’t have an employe
testifying against his
employer,” Sauber pointed
out. •
He said he also felt the
employes are more relaxed
with volunteer advocates. “We
were apprehensive that the
employes might fe threat
ened, but within an ith theii
fears were gone id they
began to refer patients to us,”
Sauber said.
Saiiber said in handling com
plaints, “no criticisms were
levelled until the complaint
was checked out with super
visors and the head nurse.”
He also said. “The patients
trust us. They know we’re not
getting paid and    re there
because we care,    his helps
them open up a g it deal to
EjsGflj
The program was “evolu-
tionary’. not drawn up in detail
in advance,” Sauber said.