Vanessa: Coercion, control and personal choice

Vanessa, aged 26, was admitted to our acute medical ward with a kidney infection. This had become serious due to a delay in treatment resulting from her not seeking medical help at an earlier stage. Vanessa presented as a quiet and undemanding person, rarely interacting with nurses or other patients. She was keen to leave hospital as soon as possible, and on the morning after her admission she asked me when I think she will be able to leave. There is nothing unusual in such a question, other than, perhaps, the urgency with which Vanessa asked it, and the anxious look on her face when I said that it will be up to the doctors. She was not keen to wait and see what they had to say during the ward round.