Patients with Power

ALT A post by drcarolineantler which reads I don't think most medical gaslighting comes from malice. I think it comes from fear. Many providers know how limited their knowledge and tools are, especially when it comes to complex, chronic, or poorly understood conditions. But instead of owning that and staying curious, they shut down. They blame the patient. They project their discomfort onto us. The ones worth trusting? They' re the ones who say,"I don't know, but I believe you."

ALT A screenshot of an article by the Canary which reads "an NHS hospital is starving a severe ME patient and now has stopped giving her fluids", published on 22 Jan 2026.

ALT A framed image with text that reads "If you can control a person's suffering, yOU have immense power over them." There is a quote from George Orwell's book 1984, which reads: How does one man assert his power over another, Winston?' Winston thought. 'By making him suffer,' he said. There is a Patients with Power logo in the corner, where the Ps look like lightning bolts, and the handle @ptswithpower is written below.

ALT Screenshot from an article which reads: One common theme of patient safety reports is that in almost every serious case of failure, patients and their families had raised concerns long before the problems reached public attention. They often needed to push for their concerns to be taken seriously, sometimes for years, and at a terrible human cost. Reviews have repeatedly concluded that failures could have been avoided if patients and families had been listened to in the first place. The government's plan to tackle the healthcare system's tendency to neglect patient concerns involves streamlining regulatory bodies and encouraging patients and staff to access routinely collected healthcare quality indicators. Patients will be invited to contribute to quality datasets through regular feedback and can use these findings to inform their treatment decisions and choice of provider. The plan refers to this process as "transparency, voice, and choice."

ALT Shards of broken mirror lie on a table. A woman's face is visible reflected in the shards, looking straight into the camera.

ALT Screenshot of a tweet from @DrPanel which reads: "The number of people who believe doctors "hate" patients is heartbreaking. No one goes into medicine because they despise patients, what a vile assumption. Are doctors perfect? No. We are human. We make mistakes. Many of us are stretched thin. But at our core, many of us are here because we care, deeply. We know that many people have been failed by the healthcare system. We understand that frustration; many of us are patients too. But it is devastating to see that pain exploited by those selling grift, conspiracy, and false hope. I will never stop calling that out. If you've made up your mind that doctors don't care, that truly saddens me. Because most of us are doing our very best to fight for our patients every single day."

ALT A poem which reads: The rage you are feeling comes from the same place inside your heart as the love. This is why you refuse to accept a world where cruelty reigns and the fire consumes all. You have known hope and joy and kindness like you have known water. And justice is a river that demands you do not give up on it. - Nikita Gill