Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-995ml Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T06:25:36.472Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Patient or client?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Maju Mathews
Affiliation:
Mental Health Unit, Basildon Hospital, Basildon SS16 5NL
Joanne Mathews
Affiliation:
Warley Hospital, Brentwood (e-mail majumathews@yahoo.co.uk)
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Type
The Columns
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 2001. The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Sir: The article by Ritchie et al (Psychiatric Bulletin, December 2000, 24, 447-450) provides an ‘evidence base’ for a debate that has been going on for some time now. It confirms the beliefs of many clinicians, that patients prefer to be called patients. We have so far refrained from using the words ‘client’ or ‘service user’ without any problems.

The origins of the word patient go back to the 14th century and are derived from old french, from the latin word ‘patients’ — meaning one who is suffering. Webster's Dictionary defines patient as an “individual awaiting, or under medical treatment”. Client is defined as a “customer or patron, or one who depends on the protection of another”. By these definitions, it is the word patient that best suits the people under our care.

As far as we are aware, it is only patients under psychiatric care who face these dilemmas in nomenclature. People receiving general medical care are still called patients. By calling patients under psychiatric care anything different and by denying that they too suffer from a medical illness, we only minimise their suffering and stigmatise them further.

Let us not deny that they are going through pain and suffering. There is enough stigma attached to suffering from a mental illness. Let us not segregate them further. Our patients have expressed what they wish to be called. For once, let us listen to them.

Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.