Unheard

Have you ever felt unheard by your doctor? Been frustrated that they haven't understood your symptoms, that they have neglected your concerns?

When Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan was admitted to hospital as a patient she didn't receive the pain medication that she told them she needed, despite her being a senior doctor. It was in that moment she understood that something was deeply wrong with our healthcare system. Doctors aren't listening, and it is making us ill.

In Unheard, Dr Dhairyawan takes us on a journey through history to show how not listening to patients has been ingrained in medicine from its inception. Western medicine has been built on the assumption that power should always lie with the doctor, and that patients should be powerless to decisions made about their body if it is done to make them well. This, alongside the prejudices of society, has led to dramatic gaps in medical knowledge because for centuries people have not been heard.

Dr Dhairyawan offers a way to reshape our health system for a future where active and engaged listening is the new frontier in a timely, shocking and engaging expose of the medical world.

The book I've been longing to read. This is such a timely, vital exploration of the ways in which doctors can silence their patients and how this reinforces health inequalities. Dr Dhairyawan writes with great compassion, candour and a scalpel-sharp intellect. A brilliant, fascinating book. Dr Rachel Clarke, bestselling author of DEAR LIFE
A powerful book that made me reflect on my own clinical practice. A must read to break the cycle of silence and shame that perpetuates to widen the knowledge gap and keep a nation sick. Dr Nighat Arif, author of THE KNOWLEDGE
Accessibly written and deftly argued, Dr Dhairyawan not only lays bare the shortcomings in our health system's culture, but offers solutions. Gary Younge, author of WHO ARE WE? and DISPATCHES FROM THE DIASPORA
Dr Dhairyawan is a powerful advocate for patients. Her compassion shines through in Unheard and is something we can all learn from. Unheard is a vital read that has the capacity to transform patient care. A must read for all those interested in improving health outcomes. Dr Annabel Sowemimo, author of DIVIDED
Unheard is a vital prescription for health equity, with a clear and simple message: listen. Dr Dhairyawan skilfully bridges the long-standing divide between patients and their healthcare providers, calling for a more collaborative, respectful and empathic relationship between the two. I hope every healthcare professional reads it and feels inspired to radically rethink their practice. Sarah Graham, author of REBEL BODIES
In Unheard, Dr Dhairyawan's experience and wisdom as both doctor and patient are brought to bear on one of the most pressing subjects of our day: how to access vital care and how to deliver it, and the often devastating consequences of silencing and misdirected power. This is a timely, necessary, indignant and ultimately compassionate book that should become required reading for medics, politicians and the public. Sarah Perry, author of THE ESSEX SERPENT and MELMOTH
With Unheard Rageshri Dhairyawan shows how much medicine has lost its way when it fails to really hear the patient's story and points the way back to a better (as well as more effective) medical culture of listening. Gavin Francis

Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan is a doctor, researcher and science communicator. Her clinical work, research and advocacy focus on improving health equity particularly at the intersections of gender and ethnicity.

Rageshri qualified as a doctor in 2004 and has been an NHS Consultant in Sexual and HIV Medicine since 2012. She led the HIV service at Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust from 2013-17 when it was awarded 'Clinic of the Year for Ethnic Minority Patients' by the charity, Naz.

Rageshri is an experienced science communicator for general and specialist audiences. She is an inaugural Wellcome Collection x Spread the Word awardee 2022, where she has been supported to write this book proposal. She has written for The Lancet, BMJ Leader, Media Diversified, Discover Society and Cost of Living. She has appeared on The Victoria Derbyshire Show, Channel 5 News, BBC Woman's Hour, BBC World Service, BBC Sounds, BBC Asian Network, Masala Podcast, Global Health Lives and Race and Health podcasts.

She chaired the British HIV Association External Relations Group from 2017-21, leading on its communication strategy to patients, healthcare professionals, the media and public.

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