In an interview for the Oldie magazine, oncologist Prof. Karol Sikora has recommended being as nice as possible to those that treat your health conditions. “If someone is particularly helpful be appreciative – everybody likes positive feedback,” he told John Sutherland. Sikora is promoting his new book The Street-wise Patient’s Guide to Surviving Cancer in which he advises patients to charm their doctors if they hope to persuade them that they are worth ruinously expensive cancer drugs. NHS staff are “dedicated and remarkably caring”, he said, “and they naturally respond well to pleasant patients.” His advice,though to “tell someone they have a lovely smile,” might come across as a bit obsequious though, not to mention downright creepy in some situations. Best, I think, compliment people on their actions rather than their appearance. But he’s probably right in saying, “The lower down the food chain you are the less you get thanks in the NHS – that’s where the unsung heroes are to be found.” Sikora advises getting a ‘small gift’ for the receptionist: a bunch of flowers, bottle of wine or box of chocolates. This, he says, will make all the difference in prioritising your case. “Don’t be too generous,” he says, for this will embarrass everybody.
Sikora’s book is undoubtedly a ‘consumers’ guide’. It characterises cancer as an ‘industry’ and provides advice on how to maximise personal gain from a system geared to the general good. There is a fine line between genuine gratitude though and blatant bribery, and I suspect staff at all levels are able to tell the difference.
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