Any GP Surgery Staff or Similar Who Can Answer Please...

[SingingInTheShithouse]

What are the actual rules on the following situation...

I rang my Dads GP surgery asking that they investigate why a GP didn't visit him as promised when I rang & made him an urgent appointment & even gave 2 possible diagnosis, given his medical history (& mine) & symptoms. Potentially very dangerous given he has significant kidney disease.

I was told a GP would visit him after 11, but may ring first for more information, but would definitely see him today given his age, he's 85. GP rang, but didn't visit & arranged a hospital referral to check his bladder

This lead to my dad collapsing on the floor, soiling himself & couldn't get up. He was like that for over 10 hours until a police welfare check found him & got him to the hospital where he was found to be severely dehydrated & suffering with a very bad case of campylobacter food poisoning infection & he spent 10 days in hospital. Thankfully he's as strong as an ox & though really scary, he's managed to pull through & is back home & much better ... & thanks to the police, he now has a social worker & a Mediline thing to call for emergency help if anything like this happens again.

When I rang to make his appointment before this happened, I suggested he had either a kidney infection, or food poisoning & said that I was very worried about him being dehydrated & he has CDK4 so I felt he needed to be seen urgently by a doctor to check him over.

The lady I spoke to on the phone remembered my making the appointment & was surprised no GP visited him. Passed i pinto the secretary to ask for an investigation. They listened, asked if I had my dads permission to know his medical info, which I said, no, I don't think so, but I am next of kin, I made the appointment. Her attitude after this was far more dismissive & I was left with, we'll talk to the doctor concerned & get back to you in a few days

Over a week now & nothing

This surgery is dreadful & I've tried many times to get DF to change GPS, they let my DB down badly with delayed treatment that lead to a stroke, but even though he complains, he just won't. The reviews are appalling too. It actually took me 3 minutes short of an hour to get through to make that appointment too. Dad often gives up trying to make an appointment as he struggles to sit long on the phone & gets very wound up by it.

Surely my asking for an investigation means it needs to be done & I should have heard by now?. If not me, DF should have heard as he now knows, agrees & has heard nothing.

What are the rules on this & where do I go next to raise a formal complaint as it doesn't feel like they are doing anything at all. This isn't the first issue with promises made to me on the phone after I've rang on his behalf & then nothing done

TIA

www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/how-to-complain-to-the-nhs/

I would follow the procedures as outlined above.

Keep a factual log; eg not opinions, just times dates, what was specifically said (bearing in mind this will likely have been recorded), dads admission times, any calls etc, hospital evidence from admission. And use this to form the basis of the complaint.

You can request a copy of any medical records at any time if you need these.

I would also change surgeries if you're having issues.

Thank you! That's great

Unfortunately it's my dads surgery & he's been there for decades & so far won't change. Hoping I can persuade him when he's fully better & this is a wake up call 🙏

You have no legal rights to anything regarding your dad's health or a complaint made regarding his care without power of attorney or similar set up so it includes his healthcare, being his next of kin doesn't count and as your father has never expressly given his consent to your involvement, the surgery shouldn't be talking to you about his care at all.

Regarding the actual complaint, did your dad speak to anyone at the surgery before the referral was made? Did they speak to him by phone rather than visit? Unfortunately home visits are becoming increasingly rare, and in my experience, it is not a GP who does the visits at all, usually a practice paramedic, so the surgery may have promised something that was never going to happen.

Thank you muddled

Yes I expect no details of his medical information, but that my asking for an investigation into why to be taken seriously, even if it's my dad they contact with the update afterwards. They haven't & he knows I've rang.

Surely 85, diabetic & significant kidney disease & more with D&V symptoms, dizziness, stumbling & caller worrying about dehydration because he can't keep anything down should warrant a visit to check if he was dehydrated regardless of things being pared back because of Covid. ?

Yes a doctor rang & she convinced my dad she didn't need to see him & he needed a urology appointment, which makes no sense to me at all with his symptoms.

I was a bit concerned he might have told the doctor not to bother, as he's an incredibly stubborn & fiercely independent typical thinks he's indestructible old soldier, but he insists he didn't. That's the only reasoning I asked for an investigation rather than go straight in with a complaint, just incase, though I do believe him now.