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Original poster

Good things about doctors!!

37 replies

Susiesue61 · 22/10/2018 21:11

Just been reading a thread about some horrific experiences people have had with doctors/ the NHS. Whilst I sympathise greatly with missed/delayed diagnoses and poor experiences, it makes me desperately sad to think of all the good things doctors do that may go unnoticed.
I've been a doctor for 23 years and have never deliberately been awful! I love my job and do my best for my patients. However we are human and make mistakes.
How about some good stories to counteract some of the bad?!

OP posts:

VioletCharlotte · 22/10/2018 21:20

Susie I work for the NHS, I'm in awe of our amazing Drs and nurses who do so many great things everyday, under what are more often than not, extremely challenging circumstances.

On a personal level, my GP is fantastic and has always been supportive and really listened to me.

I think, despite the negative stories, overall the public love the NHS and really appreciate everything Drs do.

hugoagogo · 22/10/2018 21:21

My friend is an a&e doctor- she is a star and cares so much about her patients, including idiots who cut themselves making toasties.
Another friend is a great surgeon who cares about her patients and spares their dignity and maintains a sense of humour.
My life has been saved by drs I can't even remember, as a 33 week newborn and through two emcs.
And I am lucky and have hardly ever been ill or injured.
Sometimes drs are sadly limited by the resources the government give them, but rarely in my experience from a lack of care.

HippoLatte · 22/10/2018 21:38

I have great GPs which I moved to 16 years ago after bad experiences with previous GP. So I've experienced both ends.

However I can never get to thank an out of hours GP for her gut feeling which saved my life a few years ago. I didn't feel too bad and didn't want to sit around waiting on tests etc as I had a newborn with me so she rang around and managed to get on to a ward instead of sitting through A&E as I could keep the baby with me. Ended up admitted for a few days as I was really ill although not showing too many signs. If she hadn't insisted I could have dropped dead within a few hours and not got to see my kids grow up.

FrancesFryer · 22/10/2018 21:44

I saw a very rude doctor around 20 years ago.
Fortunately he did his job properly and sent me for the correct blood tests which saved my life.
So whilst i will be forever grateful to him, i haven't seen him since and don't plan on seeing him either.

A bit of both there I suppose

dontalltalkatonce · 22/10/2018 21:45

Our current GP is ace!

MollyHuaCha · 22/10/2018 21:45

My DH's GP listened to him, diagnosed a complex and misunderstood illness that would have killed him, prescribed unusual (for the NHS) treatment and thereby saved his life.

Thank you.

heidipi · 22/10/2018 21:46

I am 49 and a few wks ago went to my GP to say actually I think I may have had some form of depression since I was a child. In that 10 minute appointment she listened more than I think anyone ever has in my whole life. I now have a plan - partly because I was ready to talk but equally because she was able to listen. Just at 9am on a random Wednesday with everything else she heard that day. Thank you all!

honeysucklejasmine · 22/10/2018 21:49

My childhood doctor's surgery were rubbish, but I'll not forget the GP who referred me for blood tests which revealed my autoimmune disorder. Or my lovely rheumatologist who I was under for 12 years before I moved. And my wonderful GP, who after a decade of trying to control my periods, simply smiled and said "I think you need a gynaecology referral, really". I could have kissed him.

My new GP was also wonderful when I arrived on the other side of the country and told him which referrals I needed to a new team of consultants. No problem at all.

Also the hospital, when I was admitted for pneumonia and had an ebf 3 month old baby at home, who made sure a lactation specialist came to see me, and the GP who prescribed him some specialist allergy formula without question when I was too dehydrated to express enough.

All in all, I have had a lot of positive experiences.

PortiaCastis · 22/10/2018 21:50

The brilliant ICU drs who saved my life because of sepsis, without those brilliant people I'd be dead

TooStressyForMyOwnGood · 22/10/2018 21:52

I’m a HCP and think most doctors are awesome but I suppose I am biased so won’t comment further on doctors as a whole . From a personal perspective though, the obstetric reg who saw me in my first labour was absolutely amazing - I wrote to thank her later but suspect she will never really know just how much her confidence and competence meant to me, even though I probably appeared to hate her at the time .

Plus the consultant who saw my daughter and in one visit sorted out a (admittedly relatively minor) problem that had been going on for months and months.

Pandasarecute · 22/10/2018 21:56

My amazing GP who was so incredibly supportive throughout my years of infertility and IVF. When I finally got pregnant he was so supportive and reassuring about my anxiety and whenever I took my DD in to see him he was lovely. I was so sad, for him and me, when he took very early retirement due to stress. I recently saw him in the supermarket, he made a point of coming to talk to me. He was an NHS superhero!

TattooUndo · 22/10/2018 21:57

My dh went to the gp for a diabetes checkup. Whilst he was there he mentioned he got a bit of reflux after eating. She sent him for some scans/barium swallow? as although there was no real pain she wasn't happy to leave these symptoms unchecked. Dh nearly cancelled them as he didn't think there was anything wrong and his symptoms eased off.... Luckily he had the tests and thus they found a massive tennis ball sized mass growing out of his stomach!

Then there are all the consultants, surgeons, anaesthetists, radiologists etc who treated him and still continue to give him 6 monthly check ups.

My GP surgery is amazing, our local minor injury unit is amazing, and the hospitals I've been in have saved my life.

Dontstepinthecowpat · 22/10/2018 22:03

The fantastic staff at nhs24 who heard my 4 years old croupy cough and realised it was serious. The paramedics who arrived to ‘grab and go’ the resus drs who were waiting to intubate.

Every night for the past 6 years when I tuck him in, I am so grateful they realised it wasn’t ‘just croup’

PerkingFaintly · 22/10/2018 22:10

Glad to see this thread, even though I think the other thread is important too.

I'm not very articulate at the moment, but OP.

DaisyDreaming · 22/10/2018 22:11

I have 2 amazing doctors who are just so caring, they listen and respect my opinions (after all it is my body) and are just so caring to all their patients. They treat everyone how I assume they would want their parents treated. They don’t have a magic cure but have paid attention to the things that would improve the quality of my life.

Thank you to all the good ones!

worknamechanged · 22/10/2018 22:15

My best friend is a doctor. She is incredible and I would love to be treated by her.

Once I saw a GP during a breakdown following a massive court case. He saw me weekly for a while and then when he went on paternity leave, introduced me to someone else who would treat me. He was amazing. I once had called the oot team and saw him just after. He phoned me later that day to apologise for not reading all the OOT teams notes.

When in hospital ans upset post surgery, a doctor came to see me, sat on my bed and hugged me. I had felt very alone but her kindness made a Huge difference.

worknamechanged · 22/10/2018 22:16

*ooh not oot team!

FiveGoMadInDorset · 22/10/2018 22:18

DH's amazing oncologist and nurses, and the lovely GP I saw last week who was so understanding when I thought thrush was something more sinister

Crunchymum · 22/10/2018 22:23

It's not just the Drs.

My beautiful 9 month old DC3 was born with a rare genetic condition and we've been inaugurated into the "system". We have a team behind us - community nurses who help change her feeding tube, physio, SLT, dietician, OT. All these HCP's are assisting my child's development and growth and making sure she has the best chance of a happy and healthy life.

Without these people we'd be fucked.

Phoenix76 · 22/10/2018 22:24

My GP’s surgery is amazingly well run. The receptionists are not only very knowledgeable, they are very compassionate and thanks to the instincts of one they had me booked in straight away to see a doctor ( they’re only a short drive away) after listening carefully to me describing the symptoms of my then baby, the gp ended up calling an ambulance. So so many times my GP has “saved” my family and I from minor up to major problems and always with such care. My docto, despite being under a lot of pressure is funny and kind and I’m so grateful to them all. Every Christmas I take them tins of Roses as just a small thanks we really do appreciate them. Thank you also to all those GP’s and staff in the NHS who work so hard to take care of us all.

Blackladybug · 22/10/2018 22:30

So many! To the drs, nurses and microbiologists and everyone when my son had a drug resistant UTI and was seriously ill, he was admitted on the Thursday and it took until Saturday night, after trying 3 different antibiotics to find the one that made him better. Everyone was so amazing! And now, whilst I'm having my own health problems, they're all amazing. 'receptionist, nurses and Drs, everyone behind the scenes as such too.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 22/10/2018 22:32

I was surprised to get a phone call from my GP this week. She was just ringing to check how my ds (2yo) was getting on with his chest. She'd prescribed an inhaler last week to try and clear the wheezing following a really crappy cold he's had. She said she will ring again next week to check up... and I believe her. So lovely.

I also have a huge amount of respect for the consultant psychiatrists I work with. And our current fy1 is so lovely and very thorough. He's been getting amazing feedback from our service users and they normally don't bother much with the juniors.

happypotamus · 22/10/2018 22:34

I am a nurse and work with some great doctors.
Today I took DD to the GP and she was really good. She has good communication skills with me and my young DD, did a thorough examination and discussed a treatment plan. The doctor who fitted my coil recently was also really good, really put me at ease when I was very apprehensive, explained the procedure and everything that would happen, was very gentle and made an unpleasant procedure as good as it could have been. The clinic was running over a hour late but that wasn't her or her team's fault and I am pretty sure they had worked through their lunch break to reduce the delay. In fact, writing this is making me think I should look into sending my positive feedback to them (I suspect the sexual health clinic probably doesn't get much positive feedback). Whenever I have had to take DDs to A&E I have been impressed with the doctors there too.

Original poster

Susiesue61 · 22/10/2018 22:40

That's all lovely 😊 I will set off for my 9th consecutive day at work tomorrow with a smile! And yes, all other HCPs are fab too

OP posts:

confusednorthner · 22/10/2018 22:43

Our local gp's are amazing! Ds has had several scary moments and ambulance trips and it terrifies me what might have been the outcome if they weren't as efficient as they are. I'm currently having investigations for lady's issues and I really think that if it wasn't for the fact I feel like I actually know my gp I wouldn't have been able to go ahead with them.

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