Reporting Bad Technician

Unfortunately, in a private facility, I think it's harder to find the right person to whom you can report issues with technicians.  Having said that, I would ask to speak with the Chief of Radiation Treatment.  You are, IMHO, using right thinking with regard to reporting this technician.  The minute you mentioned that you were in pain, your positioning on the table should have been adjusted.  By reporting those involved in what sounds like blatant disregard for your comfort, you may save someone else from that experience.

I am sorry you were treated so poorly!

Slueth01- Sorry you were treated so badly and having pain now because of it. You have a right to review and or ask for a copy of the original records, some hospitals may charge you about .25 cents per page. You can go to medical records and fill out a form stating you want the copies, if they dont give them to you, you can go to the medical board on line and fill out a complaint, Good luck!

The facility must be licensed by the state.  You can file a complaint with the licensing body.  Also, check and see if the facility has any signs indicating that they are certified by any group or organizations, look them up on line and find contact info and file a complaint there.  You can also contact the medical board that give the rad onc his license, as he is in charge and responsible for everything that happens during your care. 

Don't wait for records to file complaints.  The facilty MUST, legally, give you your records upon request.  The agency licensing the facility can help you with getting records, as can the civil liberties union.  

You need to fight this, you are not getting good treatment.  

Sleuth01.....Below is a copy of my post Dec 09 when I had just started radiation treatments...I feel for you...I wonder also if these techs are all qualified, it's almost like we need to check their qualifications ...When I finished these treatments, I did ask and did receive my medical copies of all my treatments including this day and my concern whether it was done correctly..We are all so vulnerable lying there with half our bodies uncovered and keeping our fingers crossed that the techs know what they are doing, and we can all forget about the days when most who are entering the medical field because they actually help people...I have never felt so humiliated as to those first whirlwind months of this BC diagnosis and all that it entailed......I wish you the best, write down everything and question everything that doesn't seem right, go with your gut!!!!

Started rads Dec 2 09.....on suppose to be state of the art "Trilogy Radiation System", suppose to have fewer se's and able to target area better...We shall see!!!!!...1st day, I was told to hold my breath from 10-20 secs for about 5 radiation rounds....I was out of there in about 7 minutes.....2nd day, was told to hold breath during treatments and there was a lull for about 3 minutes with nothing happening,  I assumed they were training a new tech that I had noticed and this time was longer....3rd day the new tech was telling the regular tech to go to lunch that she could handle mine, I was assured by regular tech and I questioned her knowledge of this new equipment and again was assured she had plenty of experience before I let the other tech go.....Well, I should have trusted my gut feelings...she did the first three radiation sessions without telling me to hold my breath (I could hear them) and I yelled from my bed "Aren't I suppose to be holding my breath?..the other tech must have heard me and said yes and had me hold my breath for a 4th, then he must have left her again because the next session again was without her telling me to hold my breath.....I yelled again "I am suppose to hold my breath!!,she replied "I don't think the mic is working, I yelled to get me out of there and that she was totally incompetent and would never be attending me again...When my Rad doc's assistant was called, she just kept apologizing to me over and over...How could this happen when I did all I could do to make sure she was qualified...My Rad doc was called to explain that the amount of extra rad was not to worry about that my alignment was still fine...I asked well am I suppose to hold my breath every time or not ..she said "YES"..I said then how hard is it for that tech to tell me this before she pushes the button...she too just kept apologizing and I was assured that only the regular techs would do my radiation..I asked and was assured this would be notated in my rad med record..

Here's my recent problem with an ultrasound tech....All of us that are going through these follow-up scans know now how important it is to have a qualified tech....Well last October 2011, went for my second yearly scan and I was greeted by a tech who said she was in training and her supervisor would be in to check on her (us)..This tech took her time and I felt like okay she is doing a good job, but where is the supervisor that was suppose to be in to check..She never came in...When I said I wasn't happy with that after being told that she was only a trainee, I called the center the next day and was told I could have a re-scan which I did...When I came in for the re-scan, the tech who greeted me this time said "Oh, you are the one we are re-scanning", I said yes because the trainee's supervisor never came in to see if she were doing an okay job"...She said "I was the supervisor and I never told her that I would be in"...I didn't like her attitude but felt that with 2 scans at least if anything were there it would have a better chance of being caught..She did the scan so fast that I was in and out of there in a couple minutes flat!!!...But still I let that go because of the 2 scan aspect...

Well low and behold about a week ago when I went back for my 6 months check again I got the supervisor and I am sure she remembered me because again, I was in and out of there in about 5 minutes time..(I have had mammos and ultrasounds every 6 months since BC Oct 2009 and most of the time I am on that table at least 30 minutes when both breasts are ultrasound)...The radiologist did come in and tell me that the few nodules that were seen before had gotten smaller and one was a simple cyst...That was great!...But the more I thought about the 5 minute scan, the more I had to call the center and question the quality of a 5 minute scan...I called and spoke with the Center's Head of Radiology and she said she would check into it and I made an appointment to see her the following day with her results of investigating this...I felt like this tech had in in for me and was not giving me a proper scan...

 When I went in to see the Head of the Radiology the following day, she was super and told me that I was so right!!!...That the scan was extremely short and therefore she would be having a talk with this tech...She stated that if people like me did not report these problems that she would never have known...So now I will be having another re-scan at there different location so as not to have a chance of getting the tech who obviously is not taking her job seriously...and is scarry to all of us trying to get the best scans we can as to not have to face BC again...We have to trust our gut with these techs but if you feel something isn't right then don't hesitate to question it....