Have I just been thrown out of GP Practice?

"Wow, thanks for so many quick responses. First time posting here.

It seems I am being unreasonable. Just cannot stop complaining..it's like a compulsion.
I will move on now..and try not to complain"

That "try not to complain" resolution lasted a long time, then.... 🤦🏼‍♂️

Funded in theory not entitled/allowed. A lot of people use far far more than that. Not logged other than obviously visible when you open notes. Those who attend frivously will be aware of but only in an informal way. There is no way to formally restrict number of contacts per patient under the current contract. It's an "all ypu can eat buffet" for less than a fiver rather than a pay per item service. Which is what makes it such good value for the government and rapidly unsustainable for GP partners.

A pp concerned me saying that you were entitled to two face to face visits a year only. Is that perhaps why people can't get an appointment, they've used up their quota for the year?

Is this logged on the software. ?

Our surgery you get a questionnaire by text which is very limited, it's a yes or no tick box. You then get a text saying pick up prescription at surgery. You don't even get to speak to a GP. I'm wondering if it's even our surgery GPS dispensing these days

Thanks for this perspective. A rubbish situation for primary care to be in for everyone really. Worth remembering also that dealing with multiple written complaints from the OP will have further taken resources from the practice which could have been useful elsewhere.

They may have meant there are only 5 emergency appointments available each day. Our GP takes bookings two weeks in advance and they fill up as soon as the book opens. You can still fill out the triage form for emergency appointments on the day, but they have really limited numbers and very often they can’t offer you an appointment and you are told to try and get one for 2 weeks time, see a pharmacist or go to the minor injuries etc. I haven’t seen a doctor in 11 years; I only go down for routine things like smears, but sometimes my kids have needed to go and it’s been a compete ball ache.

There are not 5 appts available a day. Obviously. Why people believe this actual nonsense is beyond me.

There are obviously more than 5 appointments daily, even if the practice has only one doctor. That must be to do with the way they organise appointments.

Yeah, move somewhere else. Some surgeries have quite toxic receptionists! It usually comes down from the manager. (Ours was the same until she left, now the atmosphere is really nice, and as it should be!)

I think you’d be happier elsewhere, leave ‘em to it, go elsewhere and be treated like a human being.,😊👍🏽

We're fed up with the doctors we go to because it's virtually impossible to get an appointment. One of the staff told us that only 5 appts are available daily. The people in the surgery are fine but their one fault is so few appointments from a village with 7000+ inhabitants.Chronic and acute? Are they trying to get us to go to A and E?

You don’t like the way they work, so y would u want to stay, that’s basically what they r saying.

Would you want to treat someone who has made a complaint about you? If you have made several complaints about several members of staff it would definitely be best to move practice - GP practices take complaints seriously your mistreatment must have been bad so why would you even want to stay?

I dont think they have made it clear, which suggests to me that they haven't kicked you out - they would just prefer you move elsewhere.
When i worked in a veterinary practice, if people were being kicked out (by letter) it was very clear, short and sweet that they are not welcome back.
This surgery sounds like it used overwhelmed with the amount of patients they are taking on. I think if the duty of care is being met, then dont nit-pick at an already exhausted service

I'm an NHS GP. My immediate question was why the OPs previous practice had closed. Practice closures are now increasingly common. For many reasons, but by far the most common is funding. Most GP practices are run as independent businesses, and have been since the NHS was formed. The GP partners ie owners of the business have a contract with the NHS to provide a service. Historically, the vast majority of practices provided a level of service way above what was contractually required.

The proportion of NHS funding allocated to GP services has decreased year on year since about 2016. But the workload and the contractual requirements have increased dramatically and the funding practices received was not enough to fund this extra work.

So practices had a choice. Reduce their level of service, whilst still fulfilling the contractual requirements, to at least remain profitable, or decide that either reducing the level of service or reducing their income was not something they could live with, so they opted to close.

I rather suspect the OP was with a practice that provided a wonderful service, but that this level of service became unsustainable for the practice, hence their closure. And when experiencing the level of service which current funding allows, they were understandably disappointed.

GP practices are a private business. While subject to local policy and guidance from health board normally have their own policies around 'reasonable service and expectations' to individual patients. A complaint can take several hours of the practice teams time to manage. Several complaints may constitute an 'unreasonable service expection' and likely would constitute cause to discharge a patient.
Please be aware that the practice is funded to approx 2 contacts (read as 10 or 15 min appointments) annually. If you use far more than this and also have multiple complaints you are likely considered to expect an unreasonable level of use and can be discharged.
Your rights/expectations do not override the practices continuity or those of other patients.
Move somewhere you would be happier

I doubt that. Until the OP stops missing what she has been used to, I doubt she will settle anywhere.

You have to come to terms with change, and that is very hard to do when you have been with the same surgery for a very long time.

I think she should give it a longer try.

How can things have resulted in so many complaints in such a short time?
Who has defined you as 'vulnerable'?
Agree with others that it reads like you were used to a type/level of service from previous gp that new one doesn't?
Such as home visits/appts on demand/you control/self prescribe meds?
It's actually reminding me of a recent thread where the OP was incandescent at gp who wouldn't prescribe what dr Google had said without seeing her as she knew better than gp!

I am under quite a few specialists at my local hospital and have always been treated exceptionally well. After my first appointment with each of them, I always send a compliment into PALS as it then goes on their respective records which helps with their annual assessments. It's also good for staff morale. I also do this for the nurses, admin staff etc.

At Christmas, my GP gets a bottle of wine, and the reception/admin staff get a tub of chocolates. They are always very appreciative.

My DM used to say that people are very quick to complain, but very slow to compliment.

My mums GP practice was conveniently local to her but went downhill in terms of the service and how they treated her. I didnt realise how bad they were to her until I was dealing with them on her behalf. I was in the process of changing her GP practice when she died. She was end of life during the pandemic and the GP wouldnt come out to her and the awful receptionists gatekept access to services when she was dying - refusing to give me access to a GP or nurse and passing me on to other services who also wouldnt help... until the time ran out and she had died. I spent her last remaining hours calling around being passed from pillar to post until it was too late. I made a complaint and reported them to CQC. The GP practice investigated and apologised. I accessed her GP records to evidence my complaint and I was shocked at their attitude towards her which was evident from how the records were written. There is no way I would stay with a GP practice who were awful. My advice is that if you are being treated badly by a practice then move on to aother practice who treats you better - before you really need them and they are too awful to help.

I wou;dn't bother wasting your energy with the ombudsman - they generally side with the health services. Look up the rate of success and you will see it is a very low number of cases that the complaints are upheld. You could report your concerns to the regulator - CQC in England. I think it is the care inspectorate in scotland. Consider how you spend your energy and what might be the best and worst case outcome. Complaining has its merits and is an important process. But to complain is draining and is a negative use of energy which could be spent on better things. I wish you the best of luck with your move to a better GP practice.

If the practice is kicking you out…I’d like to hear their share of the story too.
A new patient making multiple written complaints? Is it because you were not treated the same way as you were at the older practice? Perhaps because it is run different?

I used to be a complainer, but it got me pretty much no where and worse, at work, I got a reputation as negative and basically get overlooked.

Now I keep my own counsel and save complaints for absolutely life threatening issues and even then I am careful to couch it as an improvement issue..
I don't comment on group messages, and I generally keep my head down..

Your complaints were most likely justified, but right now, no one has your back. Move on..

I have proved it.

It’s impossible to say without knowing, how often and why you complained. Having worked in gp surgeries, I would say that your complaints must have been pretty unreasonable for them to want to move you.

How has this gone to 9 pages of replies?
From what you told us, you have been offered the chance to move to another practice. Not forced, offered.

With the obvious subtext - "we don't seem able to do anything right, perhaps you'd be happier elsewhere".

People say this all the time like it's fact. I have been a doctor for over 30 years and have never seen this in hospital or primary care. All I have seen is medical staff upset and stressed wondering if they did anything wrong. Discussed always informally and formally (SEA) and often agonised over. That's why the rate of alcohol, drugs, suicide are so high in medics. The old boys club hasn't existed in a very long time.

Complaints take up an inordinate amount of time and stress. They have to be responded to as per NHS guidelines so investigated and a written response. Even the ridiculous ones. The majority are purely vexatious, ridiculous, out of our control etc etc. They take away from clinical and management time and are at best annoying and at worst incredibly stressful. If there is a genuine issue we absolutely take it on board, discuss reflect and change. I'm afraid we don't tar and feather or whip anyone. Complaints have skyrocketed and not because we are any worse. But because people have become entitled and demanding. It's become ridiculous. Even the ombudsman who is notoriously anti GP has started telling people they are being ridiculous. I never understand why serial complainers stay. Unless you are very rural there is usually another practice or more you can move to.