FEATURES OF GENERAL PATIENT CARE 25

if from time to time some explanation is given to him as to how matters

are progressing. Even just a smile and a brief encouraging remark can
make reassuring the patient that the radiographer remembers
a difference,
his existenceand that his X-ray examination has not been forgotten. A
patient who is alone in a waiting-room for some time has been known to
convince himself that he was entirely alone in the department, everyone
else having gone home. Ward patients worry sometimes over how they
are going to get back to the ward.
The patient must always be fully instructed as to what he must do about
food and drink during the waiting period.
There are many small general details of this nature which to the patient
can be of verygreat importance, far more than we realize. They can add
up to large
a sum in the balance of his estimation, and can make a big
difference to his ease while he is with us. Many of them are within the
scope of the least experienced member of the department once sufficient
insight and observation —valuable qualities in those who care for patients
— have shown the need.
While there are many things which the student radiographer can under
take for the patient's well-being, anything untoward that happens to the
patient while he is in the department should be reported to seniors in
charge. If the patient has an accident, even a slight one, an accurate written
report of the occurrence should be made at the earliest opportunity. If
there should be any legal issues later, a written record of what has happened
and the measures taken will be invaluable. In any case the making of such
a report may show where the responsibility lay, and may indicate prac
tices and conditions which should be improved for safety. Most hospitals
provide a form on which record of accidents should be made, the details
on the form including a report on the action taken.