GP+hospital appalling treatment of My mother 76 with pneumonia ...sent home still ill!

[Manxman in exile]

I keep an eye on the NHS board because I'm a former NHS manager.  I saw this thread started years ago and thought I'd have look.

 

I'm sure it's purely coincidental, but when I got to #61, it reminded me of a different poster on a different thread from last year.  They aren't identical, but the way things are expressed are remarkably similar.  (eg 20 min wait - ask receptionist - Drs are very busy - wait another 20 min - ask again - receptionist checks computer - says Dr has refused to see you because of complaint 2 years ago - transferred to another GP who expresses "shock" at other Dr's behaviour - vague and confusing references to a "justified" complaint.

 

Maybe it's just me, but they seem remarkably similar, although the other thread is missing a 2014, 2016, 2017 backstory.

 

 

layla_83   As others have already said, there seems little point in complaining now about issues that stem from things that happened in 2014 (and 2016?).  If you wanted to complain to "put the system right", you should have done that six years ago.  Even if the original GP is still about, they won't remember any of it, so there will be absolutely no opportunity for them to learn any lessons from it.  And the fact that the original GP did not want to see you (or rather your mother) because you (she) had made a complaint against them two years ago most certainly does not mean that the GP remembers anything from 2014, it just means that you (or your mother) are flagged up on their system as a "complainer".  As I asked a year ago, why would anyone be unhappy because a GP they had previously complained about refused to see them?  You should be relieved!!!  You say the GP should not take the complaint personally, but if I were a GP I would not want to treat anyone who has made a complaint against me.  (And if you are connected to that other thread, you should have complained to your local CCG or the GMC by now).

 

You were going to send a letter of complaint to the practice in 2017, so why only now complain about their response?  Did it take them nearly three years to reply?

[Manxman in exile]

Just to give another view of the NHS and GPs - two GPs probably saved my life last year.

 

I'd been extremely ill, no appetite, significant weight loss, not taking enough fluids.  Wife took me to A&E.  Terrible experience.  After four hours told my wife to take me home.  She said "told you this was a mistake.  I'll get you an emergency GP appointment tomorrow".  Saw a GP Registrar (essentially a trainee GP) following afternoon.  She was very concerned and asked a colleague for a second opinion.  Second GP was horrified as soon as she saw me, and said "You ought to be in hospital".  She told the trainee to arrange to have me admitted to hospital and just over two hours later (after my wife had driven me there) I was in bed on a medical assessment ward.  Stayed in hospital for a week and was only discharged because they needed the bed.

 

I was going to complain about my A&E experience (I think the triage nurse must have screwed up my triage assessment) but a week after I was discharged, I had to take my wife to A&E as her optician thought she might have a detached retina.  It was about 5:30pm on a Saturday and the place was full of injured footballers and rugby players.  It was much busier than it had been on the Monday afternoon I'd been there, but my wife saw a doctor in 20 mins and we were out in 40 mins.  I decided that sometimes you're just unlucky...