Esther Kraus

I have been a patient for a couple of years and fortunately I didn’t have much of a need for a GP. Maybe I met her once, and every other time (3 or 4) I have been followed by someone that was replacing her. Nothing wrong with that, considering that so far the doctors replacing her were quite understanding and helpful, until today.
I have booked an appointment to check on a couple of things and I received the confirmation for one month after, my problems were not of a huge need but I still wonder: one month?
The day I’m supposed to go, I get a message 30 min before, that the doctor is sick. Okay, it can happen. If not that I receive the message that the appointment has been postponed to ANOTHER month time! Is it fair that since my needs are not of a big urgency I have to wait another month, or is it because I have been unlucky enough to have the appointment on the day the doctor called sick? Has everyone else whom had the appointment after me been moved of one month? I doubt that. Anyway, nothing to do. At the office, they say they cannot help me and I have to stick to the appointment I’m given.
I wait for another month and finally I get to go to the appointment I had scheduled! There are a couple of other thing that popped up (in two months, it can happen, can’t it?) some that even made me worry, and so I start talking to the doctor working for Dr. Gundersen. After my second issue, all of a sudden I am told that I am out of time, other people were waiting and that if I wanted to express some others of my concerns, I could schedule another appointment. First appointment available in? ONE MONTH!
Now I start to wonder: is it possible that I’m getting worried for things that are of so little concern that I am to be pushed this far? Is it clear that I’m not the type that goes to the doctor every other day, it probably says how many times I asked for a professional opinion on my file. Am I entitled to express doubts to the doctor when I finally get to the (in)famous scheduled appointment?
I have never felt like such a burden. That my problems were so irrelevant to be treated like I have been treated today, that I’m there stealing time that belongs to others.
I thought that I could count on my doctor, but apparently I cannot.
The message that comes up from my experience is: “We couldn’t care less” of what is your problem, your expectations or your needs. We just don’t.

Jeg har hatt Esther som fastlege i en del år nå, og hun er den beste fastlegen jeg har hatt. Jeg føler meg alltid tatt godt ivaretatt og sett. Hun henviser alltid videre om det trengs, og er nøye i utredninger. En annen ting, som er viktig for meg, er at hun har møtt meg som overvektig pasient med bare godhet - og hun behandler symptomer uten å legge all skyld på overvekten. De som arbeider i resepsjonen og på lab er også veldig hyggelig og flink!

Kontorets foretrukne kommunikasjonsmetode er det tungvinte HelseNorge, men man når dem på telefon til bestemte tider hvis de har nok folk på kontoret til å svare telefon. Dessverre opererer disse systemene separat, så dersom man i etterkant avtaler noe annet på telefon, enn man har bedt om på Helse Norge, fakturerer Esther deg for tildelt time uansett. Hun har ingen forståelse for at det er kommunikasjonssvikt internt som er årsaken til uteblitt time, selv etter gjentatte forklaringer fra egne legesekretærer. Helt skandaløst arrogant oppførsel.

Jeg ble møtt med absolutt ingen forståelse eller empati, og det føltes rett og slett som hun ikke hadde noen intensjon om å hjelpe meg og ville få meg ut av kontoret så fort som mulig. Når jeg da uttrykte min frustrasjon over mangelen på hjelp valgte hun å oppfordre meg til å bytte fastlege fremfor å faktisk prøve å hjelpe meg. Etter denne pasientbehandlingen var det heller ikke noe spørsmål - har byttet fastlege.