Russ Aiton is a consumer representative on the safer use of anticoagulants project and co-chair of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi, the Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission consumer advisory group.
Russ has left ventricular heart failure with atrial fibrillation.
When he was first prescribed anticoagulants, Russ and his wife did what they were told by his treating clinicians and didn’t feel like they were in a position to challenge what they were being told.
Russ is passionate about making consumers feel confident to ask questions. By sharing his experience, he hopes to help others who find out they need to take an anticoagulant.
An accessible transcript is available to read or download below.
Download transcript: Russ's story (31KB, docx)
Audio
[Music plays]
Visual
The video begins. The screen has a white background with a blue brush stroke in the top right and multicoloured tohu on the bottom left. In the middle of the screen are the words ‘Russ's story: Safer use of anticoagulants | Te āta whakamahi i ngā rongoā ārai poketoto’. The words are replaced with text that reads, ‘Russ is a consumer representative on the safer use of anticoagulants programme. He lives with left ventricular heart failure with atrial fibrillation and takes anticoagulants’.
Audio
So I've had three stents, one re-stenosis, dual pacemaker, several heart attacks and live with angina on a constant basis.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘When Russ was prescribed an anticoagulant called warfarin he didn’t know what to expect or what questions to ask’.
Audio
If my medical team back then had had a little bit more humility in the way that they dealt with me and my wife in a very scary situation and understood the emotive side a little bit more and less on the ‘Here's a book, here's a pill, yes, it's called rat poison, don't worry, but see you in a week’, it was just like, if they'd done that with a little bit more due care, humility and looked at the person in front of them, that would have made an awful lot of difference at the time. And this is where I kind of get quite emotional because it really sticks somewhere here [Russ gestures to his throat] what we had to go through to get to where we are.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘Russ felt he wasn't given all the information he needed to fully understand the medicines he was taking’.
Audio
It was only after the heart bypass that I just started to get this little gnawing feeling that there was a lot more to warfarin and interactions with other drugs that I found myself on because of the heart bypass and then the heart attacks. But it was like pulling long teeth at the time trying to get information. But eventually I found somebody that was prepared to give me some time and said, ‘Right, this is what warfarin is, this is what it does, these are what the concerns are, these are what the diets are, have you noticed any strange bruising?’ ‘Well, yeah, actually’, ‘Ah, well, that would be… you know… it interacts.’ So it was very difficult to get to a point where I felt comfortable being on the drugs that I was on.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘Russ shares ways that consumers can advocate for themselves’.
Audio
Take somebody with you, give them the questions and let them ask on your behalf. Take them along with you to the appointment. It's just, be curious. Ask questions and use the world out there because there's always somebody that's gone on before you. There's always groups that politically and culturally can assist with that. And also remind the clinician of why they're there. They're there for you. And it's your time, it's not their time. Be brave. And that's easy words, you know, me saying it. You know, I've been there, I know what the pitfalls are, and I know what the concerns are and you don't want to make a fuss. But, hey, make the fuss.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘Despite the challenges in communication when he was first prescribed anticoagulants, Russ has seen positive change’.
Audio
My observation as time has gone on, not just with my own kind of progression through the heart issues, but observing around, is that there's a lot more awareness of, it's not just, ‘Take a pill’, it's, ‘Take a pill and there's this that could happen’ or, ‘You need to be aware of this’. That's more evident now and the leverages are the various acts and support for the consumer and the consumer group, support groups, NGO world, you know, they're a fantastic repository of information and help that are using the various tools available to them.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘Thank you to Russ for so generously sharing his story’. This then fades away and text appears saying, ‘Find out more about the safer use of anticoagulants on the Te Tāhū Hauora website, www.hqsc.govt.nz’. This then fades away and in fades a black logo for Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission and Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa New Zealand Government.
The video ends.
Russ’s story: Accessible transcript
Download transcript: Russ's story (31KB, docx)
Audio
[Music plays]
Visual
The video begins. The screen has a white background with a blue brush stroke in the top right and multicoloured tohu on the bottom left. In the middle of the screen are the words ‘Russ's story: Safer use of anticoagulants | Te āta whakamahi i ngā rongoā ārai poketoto’. The words are replaced with text that reads, ‘Russ is a consumer representative on the safer use of anticoagulants programme. He lives with left ventricular heart failure with atrial fibrillation and takes anticoagulants’.
Audio
So I've had three stents, one re-stenosis, dual pacemaker, several heart attacks and live with angina on a constant basis.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘When Russ was prescribed an anticoagulant called warfarin he didn’t know what to expect or what questions to ask’.
Audio
If my medical team back then had had a little bit more humility in the way that they dealt with me and my wife in a very scary situation and understood the emotive side a little bit more and less on the ‘Here's a book, here's a pill, yes, it's called rat poison, don't worry, but see you in a week’, it was just like, if they'd done that with a little bit more due care, humility and looked at the person in front of them, that would have made an awful lot of difference at the time. And this is where I kind of get quite emotional because it really sticks somewhere here [Russ gestures to his throat] what we had to go through to get to where we are.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘Russ felt he wasn't given all the information he needed to fully understand the medicines he was taking’.
Audio
It was only after the heart bypass that I just started to get this little gnawing feeling that there was a lot more to warfarin and interactions with other drugs that I found myself on because of the heart bypass and then the heart attacks. But it was like pulling long teeth at the time trying to get information. But eventually I found somebody that was prepared to give me some time and said, ‘Right, this is what warfarin is, this is what it does, these are what the concerns are, these are what the diets are, have you noticed any strange bruising?’ ‘Well, yeah, actually’, ‘Ah, well, that would be… you know… it interacts.’ So it was very difficult to get to a point where I felt comfortable being on the drugs that I was on.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘Russ shares ways that consumers can advocate for themselves’.
Audio
Take somebody with you, give them the questions and let them ask on your behalf. Take them along with you to the appointment. It's just, be curious. Ask questions and use the world out there because there's always somebody that's gone on before you. There's always groups that politically and culturally can assist with that. And also remind the clinician of why they're there. They're there for you. And it's your time, it's not their time. Be brave. And that's easy words, you know, me saying it. You know, I've been there, I know what the pitfalls are, and I know what the concerns are and you don't want to make a fuss. But, hey, make the fuss.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘Despite the challenges in communication when he was first prescribed anticoagulants, Russ has seen positive change’.
Audio
My observation as time has gone on, not just with my own kind of progression through the heart issues, but observing around, is that there's a lot more awareness of, it's not just, ‘Take a pill’, it's, ‘Take a pill and there's this that could happen’ or, ‘You need to be aware of this’. That's more evident now and the leverages are the various acts and support for the consumer and the consumer group, support groups, NGO world, you know, they're a fantastic repository of information and help that are using the various tools available to them.
Visual
[Graphic] A white backdrop with blue text that reads, ‘Thank you to Russ for so generously sharing his story’. This then fades away and text appears saying, ‘Find out more about the safer use of anticoagulants on the Te Tāhū Hauora website, www.hqsc.govt.nz’. This then fades away and in fades a black logo for Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission and Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa New Zealand Government.
The video ends.
