To have been patronising to the Doctor?

Never seen or heard of an online triage form.

Are you sure he could see your triage notes?
You would hope so but it’s quite possible that they are on different systems. Where I work it’s practically unreadable, and I ask people why they are here. Sometimes they don’t even know themselves. I wouldn’t be a GP it is thankless. That may not be the case and not for you to sort out, but it’s so pants atm as NHS is on its knees.

This may sound odd but Co Pilot put together a very good shortened version of events with my conditions. I simply read that out to the doctor while they listen.

Sure, but another GP has already responded to
you to explain how little time they have between patients and you seem to have disregarded that. A little understanding on both sides doesn’t hurt, you don’t need to be defensive at any perceived slight

I would have lost it at the ‘bubububub’. What an absolute prick.

To be honest I see both sides of this. I totally see how you felt patronised but I also can see how he didn’t have the pertinent info. I think communication could have been improved on both sides.

Yes, I agree with you that he should have read your notes and not been rude. But my totally logical/pragmatic side would have led me to lead with the most serious information ie as soon as I booked the appointment or sat down, say “I have had a kidney transplant and have been advised to seek urgent help if I have signs of a UTI”. Then let them lead the next steps. I don’t think his comments were great if you didn’t have a kidney transplant either, I’m not excusing that - but I am aware that NHS GPs are overwhelmed, likely don’t have a lot of time between patients to thoroughly evaluate notes (especially if the relevant notes are far down your file) etc.

Generally speaking I’ve always been able to get GPs to do what I want and I achieve that by speaking their language so to speak, understanding their limitations and adjusting my communication to that. I’ve never had an issue getting the prescriptions or referrals I want as a result and I have regularly been on the receiving end of patronising GPs - hence this learned approach

Well done, what a patronising GP and so glad you stood up for yourself, a lot of people don't because they presume GP is always right.

And.. a good GP allows the patient to speak. Hope feeling better?

PS- I have two serious illnesses misdiagnosed/swept under the carpet by GPs. Don't trust them, I always question now.

Agreed.

Another doctor apparently incapable of listening. Never mind having to announce your transplant as the very first words out of your mouth, he needs to give you a chance to explain your situation before trying to brush you off. What a knob!

YANBU, and yes, you should complain.

My Dad was told his pain was shoulder tendonitis. He thanked the Doctor and told him he was relieved, because his last scans showed bone cancer there, but tendonitis was much less concerning. He then left and asked for a different doctor.

It BAFFLES me that GPs don’t read the notes before taking in their Px. I couldn’t imagine not doing that in my job, I want as much info as possible before I call the Px through!!

I think many patients think we have a centralised NHS notes system that allows us access to whatever input they have had from wherever in the country. Whereas where I work we only have access to notes from our Trust. I don’t blame patients for not knowing that.

Just reading this made me feel furious. What a patronising fool!!!!

well done for giving him short shrift. Hopefully he will reflect on his attitude ….

Yes, I’m afraid the people saying the doctors don’t have time to read notes didn’t bother to read your posts either. It was obvious from your op you’d have mentioned your ‘conditions’ in the triage form. And absolutely the dr should have read them- could have done so in the time it took you to cross the room and sit down I’d have thought.

hope you’re getting the treatment you need now

You are right on those circumstances, with not so cooperative patients, but this is a completely different situation to the OP. The OP case involves an arrogantvpatronising GP putting her life in danger if she had not spoken up for herself. He was arrogant, patronising and negligent. And, sadly, not the only case going around.

In A and E you can ask where you are on the waiting list. And if they have not put you as a high priority you can argue and say considering you are at risk of kidney transplant failure you need to be seen quickly.

For GP's, we are very very lucky. Ours is amazing. Always thorough and we can always get a same day appointment without any fuss. Even calling at 3pm if its important they will see you. Had one doctor stay behind to make sure they saw my daughter once when we called late. If its a routine appointment needed they go through the calander to find a date and time that works best for you.

I'm a GP

You weren't unreasonable in this scenario at all, you should have been listened to and sounds like his communication skills left a lot to be desired! He should have read the notes relating to the appointment ahead of time.

However. Having appointments lasting 10 minutes per patient - including reading notes beforehand, recording the consultation after etc is a nightmare and does make it impossible to fully read notes. I hate it. But that's the way it is - see 18 patients in 3 hours, 10 minutes break to allow for a quick wee and then onto home visits. Awful but not always the GP's fault.

Also on most GP systems you can put alerts onto the computer system so it flags important information. When you complain maybe ask if they can look at how the transplant info is recorded.

Hope you feel better soon.

YANBU and you are a legend.

Tbf I also get patients that do this the other way round, don’t let me actually finish a sentence. Some people are just knobs and like the sound of their own voice. Get it everywhere not just in healthcare.

But I clearly said I do read my patient's notes and that it was poor that the doctor hadn't picked up on this. However I've lost count of the amount of times I bring a patient in and actually ask what I can do for them and give them time to talk and they reply 'well you should know already from my notes' or 'I explained all this to the A and E doctor 3 years ago I'm not going to repeat myself' I think there has to be a degree of realism. GP notes sometimes contain 20 years worth of consultations and letters....

Absolutely complain. Email the practice manager and head your email "Formal Complaint". I had trouble once with the surgery and did exactly this, they got back to me within the hour to try and rectify the situation (more of an admin thing in my case, but still I had been patronised and talked down to and the person I spoke to just wasn't listening to me.) Good luck!

Yes he definitely should have looked at that and got the gist of it.