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I work for a caregiving agency and was sent as an escort for a woman with Huntington's disease to a Dr. appt. She really needed to be in a wheelchair but wasn't in one. When we arrived at the Dr. office there was no medical personnel to help her, in fact I was told they couldn't even touch her for fear that they could be sued. The Dr. had no idea why she was there and no one in the office did. The fiduciary had sent paper work that I was to give to the Dr. but no one had a clue as to her needs. I called the fiduciary to see if I could get any answers, he wasn't working that day and his supervisor told me I wasn't being professional and hung up on me. This person contacted the office manager and told her how rude I was being to which the manager responded that I hadn't been and that she was with me during the whole conversation. I called my office and my supervisor was out smoking I left a message and it wasn't returned for a 1/2 hour and I was told I had a problem and that my 2 cents wasn't needed. This poor woman had no one to advocate for her, she wouldn't have been able to remember anything the Dr. told her. Truthfully the Dr. saw her for 5 min, no one helped her down the hallway and she was left to stumble out on her own. I believe both the fiduciary and my agency failed this poor lady one hundred percent and would like to hear from this community about how I could have dealt with this experience in a better way.

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It sounds like you did about all you could do in the situation. It doesn't sound like you got any support from your agency, her fiduciary, or the doctor's office. I hope the poor woman can have more support in the future from her doctor and her fiduciary.
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Sounds as if there might have been a miscommunication from the fiduciary's end as well. Did you discuss this with him or her? It also seems if your office contact was out smoking, that there's not consistent staff available to address issues that arise.

Who was it in your office that told you you had a problem and your $.02 wasn't needed? Your supervisor? I think I'd be considering finding another employer. The agency should have jumped in to offer suggestions.

I would raise this with your supervisor as well as contacting the Fiduciary directly. Even though someone screwed up, approach it in a problem solving, not confrontational manner.

You might also talk to the person (the fiduciary?) who hired your agency and ask if there have been problems like this before.

Who or what does the fiduciary represent, and what's the legal basis for this person's involvement?
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Normally, the doctor's office has written down why the patient is there. Is this a review of medication, pain symptoms, injury, etc. ? I wonder why they didn't have that.

The doctor's office should also have all signed documents on file giving permission to treat her.

I normally appear at all of my LO's doctor appointments when out of the MC unit, but, if not, they will treat, but only with proper paperwork. The facility escorts her to the appointments.

Also, I don't expect the doctor's staff to help with escorting a patient, because there are liability issues. If she falls when they are helping her, well, it's a liability. I get it.

It sounds like you did your job, but, the person responsible for this lady may need some help. IT's unfortunate.
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A good idea in the future would be to call to confirm the appointment first. Ask about help when you arrive. It sounds like an amblicab would be best for this woman.
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