[ad_1]
Professor Dumitru Bolshan said that it was not only the two doctors at St. Pantelimon Hospital who were accused of murder that caused Romanians to lose confidence in the medical institution, but the medical system’s refusal to communicate transparently and honestly also played a crucial role.
Romania’s health care system has a tradition of lacking transparency. Photo: St. Pantelimon/FB
Dumitru Borţun, professor at the SNSPA School of Communication and Public Relations in Bucharest and a communications expert, analyses for Adevărul the impact of the St. Pantelimon scandal on Romanians’ attitudes towards healthcare institutions – Doctors report that patients do not want to Internship at Spital – Also mistakes made in official communications by agencies representing the health system.
Furthermore, he explains how medical authorities should communicate and what they need to do to regain people’s trust.
Fact: In the context of the Panteleimon scandal, people from all walks of life have expressed extremely critical attitudes towards doctors in general. Do you think this has become exaggerated?
Dumitru Borşun: People usually exaggerate, it’s their way of expressing themselves. There is also what is called in social psychology, the obligation to express an opinion. Everyone feels obliged to have an opinion, otherwise he doesn’t belong in this world. On the one hand, this phenomenon exists, but on the other hand, in my opinion, it is more widespread than it appears now. My opinion is that it exists in many medical institutions, and this is just where it rumbles”
‘It’s a disgusting attitude’
How do you think the organization representing doctors communicates in this situation? This is the threat of two female doctor colleagues who were accused of collective resignation, and then College of Physicians Calls were made to change the law, stating that forensic doctors cannot rule on complex issues, such as those related to norepinephrine; Şerban Bubenek, president of the Romanian ATI Association, claimed that the female doctor was innocent, and the Sanitas union claimed that they were inviting the public not to express their opinions.
It is a model of non-communication or non-transparent communication. This is typical of many institutions here. There is a culture of non-communication here, and of course the problem is expressed “beautifully” (by the Health Union): “We invite public opinion not to have an opinion”. Although the pun is intended, it is a disgusting attitude that has nothing to do with modern society.
Many of my colleagues are from the Association of Communication Specialists, who work in state infrastructure, ministries, departments, etc. – When they tell the heads of institutions that, according to Law 544, they have to communicate something to the media, their reaction is: “You want both of us to fly out of the office! You give nothing!”
Why?
There is a culture of non-communication.
In the case of St. Pantelimon, we even witnessed solidarity among colleagues, culminating in the threat of collective resignation…
Either there is an old accomplice there and everyone knows about it, so they are doing this to cover themselves up. Or, they simply don’t know and can’t believe that such a thing is happening and think they are doing the right thing. The minister wants to put out the fire as quickly as possible and keep it as small as possible, so he tries to convince them to stay.
If he doesn’t succeed, he should probably just quit.
“An institution’s public image is not built by hiding the truth”
How do you think a hospital in the US or Western Europe would communicate in this situation? Is it normal for him to have any reaction at all?
He would say he was willing to make everything known and communicate as they received the information. He had to communicate immediately. It was called the initial release and was designed to protect the agency from all kinds of nonsense and speculation.
Since any hypothesis appears in the public space, the official position of the corresponding institutions must also be taken into account. That is why it must be done as quickly as possible, within a maximum of one hour after the event, you must say what the official position is, but you guarantee that you will come out every hour or at certain intervals to issue press statements, hold meetings.
In a crisis situation, communication starts with preliminary communication, which you must do within a maximum of one hour, thereby demonstrating from the outset that you are willing to communicate and have nothing to hide.
An institution’s public image is not built by hiding the truth.
If, instead, you show that you want to know the truth, pay the price if someone is wrong, and do your best to repair the damage, you will increase your credibility and the aura of an institution that plays a positive role in society.
An example of “not like that” that I can give is around Suceava in Moldova, when there was a scandal about some homosexual relations in a student dormitory. The bishops’ conference tried to cover it up. A survey conducted after the incident showed a significant drop in trust in the Church, the institution in which Romanians have the most confidence.
The people said, “Look, crow to crow, don’t dig your eyes out. These people are not messengers of God.”
It is a big question to know how to manage a crisis like this so that it does not turn into an image crisis.
How to rebuild trust
Now, doctors at St. Pantelimon’s Hospital complain that they no longer want patients to come to them. How can this problem be solved?
Through very fair, honest, and truthful communication. They need to hire a communications expert, a public relations graduate.
Then, start developing a communication policy that is permanent and proactive, not reactive and reality-denying when things happen.
Communication policy is a permanent activity through which an institution (in this case, San Pantelimon Hospital) transmits the values of the institution, the values shared by the doctors, the medical staff, the mission of the institution, the organizational culture – people gradually begin to believe in this institution.
Error management – The technical term is error management. There are some errors and we will find out through investigation. The first thing you need to do is admit that you are wrong. Then it must be determined: who is wrong and how they will be paid individually.
Second, you need to express your regret for what happened and promise that it will not happen again and that you will take steps to prevent it from happening again.
Three – We reduce the damage. Maybe give some reward to those who have suffered and lost loved ones.
These things are done and understood in communication. There are countless examples like this.
[ad_2]
Source link
