Official GP Complaint

[hellsbells]

Before I start, I apologise to all you ladies out there who don't have an NHS, and who pay a lot of money out of your pocket for your healthcare.

Whilst we have an NHS, I pay a fair amount of tax and a chunk of it goes towards the NHS. So, I feel I've been badly treated by a GP, as do we all. I went repeatedly to my GP with symptoms on top of IBS, and he refused to acknowledge that it could be anything other than IBS. So I took matters into my own hands and sought a private consultation, for which I ultimately paid £624 out of my savings. I shouldn't have had to, I pay my taxed for the NHS.

So I wrote to my GP with my complaint a few months back. He wrote a ridiculous letter back contradicting himself and it was just so annoying. So now I've taken it to the Patient and Laison Service (PALS) and they've contacted my (ex) surgery and said a satisfactory resolution would be reimbursement of my costs. They have declined to pay. £624 to the NHS is NOTHING, but it was a huge chunk of my meagre savings. So the next step is the Parliamentary and Healthcare Ombudsman which the nice lady from PALS has encouraged me to go to. At first this was about the GP acknowledging poor care, then it became about getting my money back. Now, I'm feeling it's more about giving the medical population a kick up the arse. If my complaint can possobly help raise some awareness, I'm taking it as far as I can. Getting my money back would be nice, but the main thing now is to get someone to say 'Yeah, he should have done better'.

What do you all think? And again to you ladies outside of an NHS - I know you have to pay a lot for healthcare and I feel bad for you, but ours is SUPPOSED to be 'free'.

[JC]

GOOD FOR YOU! Screw these F'ers! They get away with such crappy care it's about time some people start speaking up! I'd even be more of a biotch and contact the media. The media soaks up this stuff here in the US and once you get the media involved people start kissing your feet. Stupid buttholes. They better listen to you!

[hellsbells]

Just done a bit of research, and I reckon I pay around £90/$150 a month as part of my taxes to the NHS. Thanks jenaya, I'm starting to feel like being brave and actually getting bolshy about this!

[cherry]

Good for you getting your money back doll.
I'm ever so grateful for the NHS but if I could afford it, I'd go BUPA and get doctors who depend on their reputation.
MY GP literally won't follow up stuff unless it's unavoidable. I could have killed myself last year for the absolute lack of care and lack of serious regard for my mental state.
I had a complaint lodged against my first gynae who dismissed me with 'cured' endo and IBS, then when my current gynae opened me up he found I was 'under attack' and had gone to stage 3/4 less than 6 months after the first doc discharged me. I didn't want to burden the hospital seeing as I was finally getting the care I needed but you have every right to be reimbursed!
Keep us updated.

[hellsbells]

So, I've re-contacted the Parliamentary and Healthcare Ombudsman to get this complaint moving again. PALS can't help because there're financials involved. The guy from the PHSO I dealt with earlier this year was really nice, so hopefully he'll be able to help. He hadn't seemed too impressed with the Dr's response to me. In that letter he said 'it's possible to have more than one condition', 'I feel you have two conditions: endometriosis and IBS'. NO SH1T SHERLOCK!! And he also said in the same letter 'We have to rule out one condition before confirming another..', yet he also states he believes I have both. Jerk. I try not to think about it too much cos it makes me mad.

Now, I know this is nowhere near as bad as what Keri has recently experienced, but I can't let this man get away with how he treated me. He needs to be more aware of endo and the not-so-obvious-symptoms.

[omaklackey]

I say good for you too! I'm now working in health care and I'm even more convinced that a few more complaints (legitimate ones) would encourage better behavior! With what happened with Keri, with what happens to all of us someone needs to be proactive in making the doctors open their eyes. When someone does good we should send thank you notes and when they screw up we need to acknowledge it and not ignore it, or how else are they going to realize they are making mistakes?

[pretty]

Gosh what a jerk doctor. I hope you get a resolution that works for you,and your money back, instead of a bunch of bullsh!tty run-around. That's even worse in my opinion.... oh and BTW what's up with acronyms like "PALS" sounds like they're your good buddies but really they're....useless? hello?
anyway, this sucks.

[hellsbells]

Lol. It's the Patient Liaison Service, supposedly to help with all sorts of issues, not just compaints. The guy from the PHSO (sorry Pretty, types it out once already...:-)) called me briefly today to let me know he'd be picking it up on Monday. I mat not get my money back, I may not get an apoloy, but I can make the f*ckers at that practice squirm and think twice before ignoring another woman in pain.

[pretty]

that's the way, give em hell! only way to get fair treatment apparently on both sides of the pond is make a lot of noise very persistently for a long, long time.... plus that money is nothing to sneeze at, it's your money so it belongs in your bank. period. f-ckers!

[sunshine78]

Whatever the outcome, they owe you, and I'm glad you're fighting the good fight, advocating for yourself and others. Good job, and I hope those jerkoffs end up realizing that they screwed up, and definitely screwed with the wrong woman.

[JC]

There's another PALS acronym that stands for Pediatric Advanced Life Support. It's a certification that nurses, medics, EMTs, etc. have to get. LOL

But aside from that, people really should complain more. It's insane what these guys get away with.

[KSA]

I am so glad Helen you advocated for your treatment. Its not right that some docs get to damn near kill a pateint and still get to go on practicing and treat other patients just as bad or worse. We have a list of docs in regards to my situation. After all my procedures are done and we get a result it may not be a complaint but something much more serious for the docs invoved in my diagnosis of Failure to Survive. It really bothers me that all of us have to be ignored then go thru all the pain, hurt and anger. The docs are suppose to help us!
"I may not get my money back, I may not get an apoloy, but I can make the f*ckers at that practice squirm and think twice before ignoring another woman in pain"
Helen summed it up great with this qoute. I dont want the money or a sorry I want to know next time the patient gets treated right.

[hellsbells]

So, I got a letter today from the Ombudsman and they've decided not to pursue my complaint - after seekeing advice from a consulting GP (no doubt a stupid, b*astard man) they've said the GP acted in good faith and treated me fairly and appropriately. Well, no he didn't. I'm going to send another couple of messages to the Ombudsman and the GP to have the last say, and then I'll have to let it go.

[Karen]

Hey, you tried your best, can't make them agree with you but at least they HEARD everything you said. Sorry they didn't side with you...

[chicagogal2]

That sucks! They need to be held accountable for their actions! I'm so over crappy service!