GP bollocked me for a Facebook comment

[Lliria]

So, I don't know if I ll be the only one but basically my GP used my telephone consult to bollock me for a comment I made on FB.
Like all local FB groups there's always a whinge topic and even though our GP practice is very good sometimes the 7am App for making appointments just doesn't work so by the time I can call though all the appointments have gone sometimes by 9am. So I commented on a post that was already running about this- nothing mean just agreeing..
Weeks later I managed to book a phone consult off the 7am App. The GP called at 7.20 then 2 minutes into the chat had a proper go at me about my comment and said I'd hurt people's feelings etc.
I was shocked that a medical professional sabotaged my appointment to do this.
What I wrote in my private life has nothing to do with my medical consult - surely
Why is he reading through everyone s comments then using his position to say something ?
I feel it's inappropriate.
I've never even seen him as a patient.
I'm actually quite upset and feel I've taken the can for the other 62 people that made comments that day.
Maybe he was stressed but it's not ethical is it ?

I’m genuinely on the fence here. It’s impossible to tell who’s in the right without knowing specifically what you said.

The GP might have overstepped, or you might have been a bit of a keyboard warrior who didn’t like being made to squirm when you were challenged.

And the GP, like any Hotel, restaurant, etc, also has the right to reply when the opportunity arises. They are not State employees either, but private businesses who sub-contract to the NHS. They are not paid a fee per appointment either.

Why do people keep bringing up hotels? You must know the professional obligations and taxpayer funding differ, plus a restaurant isn't going to be replying to you while you're in a medical appointment.

But it's utterly ok to join in a public bollocking of the GP on a public website?

If you have a complaint about the doctor, there is a complaints procedure.

@Neriah a GP surgery with a public presence is absolutely going to get positive and negative feedback. No way should GPs use publicly funded time to have a go at a patient. Also there is a massive balance of power issue totally not appropriate for a GP to behave in that way

The GP is a public servant providing a service to the OP, their client, funded by all of us. It is the OP’s CLINICAL TIME. And it’s very limited! It is hugely inappropriate to use the time allocated to the OP for their HEALTH problem to make a complaint about a public comment the OP made regarding an appointment booking service. If the GP felt it was important to address they needed to do that at a separate time.

imagine for example, a client goes in with symptoms of an extremely serious health condition. The GP because they have spent time focussing on a Facebook comment, ends up missing an important symptom and the client is misdiagnosed. Or the client presents with a serious mental health problem, and the judgemental critical response from the GP about the Facebook post means they no longer feel comfortable disclosing they are suicidal etc etc.
GP has a duty of care!! They absolutely do not get to decide to hijack the OP’s appt for their own purposes.

Well God knows what you want us to say - who cares??
Either speak to PM, stop posting negative rubbish online or get over it .. why didn't you just change the subject?

They have a right to reply but not just ‘when the opportunity arises’ , they have many ways they can raise with OP without it being during a medical appointment.

My last appointment with a GP I could hardly talk for crying as I was so upset, this would not have been an appropriate time to bring up something not related to the matter being discussed. Now I get that not everyone will be upset during a GP consultation but no one is likely to be speaking to a GP if they are feeling at their best are they?

She has upset people.

But why are people upset? Unless OP actually named an individual, why would they take it personally?

@Goblinmodeactivated Misinterpreted my post entirely and you clearly have no idea about the structure or funding of a GP practice.

Stepping out of this thread. It's become massively toxic.

Because GP practices are not public servants but private businesses and as such have a right to reply. OP could have made an appropriate positive criticism to the Practice Manager, instead of making negative comments on a a FB site. GP does not necessarily have time to make a specific reply, but choose to make a short comment when the opportunity arises. They are not robots, and NOT servants either, public or otherwise. But Private Businesses providing a service.

Until we know exactly what the OP posted it's hard to have an opinion on this - they're being pretty vague. I doubt any GP would kick off at "sometimes it's hard to get an appointment" but wait to be proved wrong ...

You've completely ignored the differing professional obligations. That's the biggest reason why this isn't comparable.

Also, none of this is affected by whether the OP could've done things differently. She didn't, and so we're talking about the response to that.

I think that GPs are ultimately funded by NHS England, which is funded by the public, right?

Sorry if I misinterpreted your post. I was picking up on the idea that a clinical appointment that a member of the public had with a publicly funded healthcare professional was seen as an appropriate time for that HC professional to raise a grievance, rather than use the OP’s clinical time to focus on their clinical issue.

There must be guidance out there from BMA or GMC about how to manage these appointments and Id be very very surprised if it said, that it’s ok to use to space to discuss other issues with a client, when they made an appointment to see you about a health concern

I disagree. If it's directly hurt a member of their staff then yes, they should be called out on it. Publicly humiliating staff on social media is unacceptable. Have you ever worked in primary care?

I don't need to have worked in primary care to know that critisising a system is a far cry from critisising or personally abusing an individual. It should be taken as constructive feedback.

I’d want to know if they have made a note on my file. How has he remembered this long list of names without logging it somewhere, either privately or professionally? Maybe query that or make a subject access request? The linking of your personal data in your medical files with a random facebook post doesn’t feel right to me.

One thing is for sure, the language used in the OP is not useful and if it is representative of the initial comment by OP on FB- which she has not shared despite several polite requests- perhaps explains the reaction. I am pretty sure the GP did NOT 'bollock' her.

I thought that the complaint wasn't about staff but the APP the surgery has in place. Surely you can't offend/upset an APP .

Mind you like this thread I've seen FB post replies go off into the oddest tangents.

Very unprofessional of him. I’ve complained to ours by email in the past and added a comment on a complaining thread on FB. No one from the surgery has ever told me off for it. In fact they were quite helpful with the email complaint and got it sorted.

We invite patients who make negative social media to join our patient group to help improve services where the limitations and difficulties can be discussed- some have joined the majority haven’t - maybe get involved in your surgeries group.

We invite patients who make negative social media to join our patient group to help improve services where the limitations and difficulties can be discussed- some have joined the majority haven’t - maybe get involved in your surgeries group.

And this is the grown-up, professional response I'd expect from a good surgery or any other decent business.

But we don't know- as the message posted on FB has not been posted. If OP did, we could comment appropriately. We don't know if it said something was said that was directed at a member of staff (as is often the case on those FB groups).

Please OP, do share the comment/s made on FB.

Not entirely, no.

They are independent small to medium size business contracted to the NHS. Many offer private services (eg. signing passports, travel vaccinations, private referrals incl letters & reports, private skin tag/mole removal clinics, etc) are entirely private and outside the remit and control of the NHS. Ie., they are mix funded.

They receive an allocation per patient registered from the government, in exchange are subject to the CQC and contractual obligations regarding access hours etc, but receive funding, bursaries etc from other sources. Some GP practices will be almost entirely funded by government funds; others won’t be.

Ie. No, GPs and their staff are not entirely paid for from our taxes and, thus, are not our ‘servants’, public or otherwise.

It doesn't matter. If what OP said was abusive, defamatory or prejudiced then it still shouldn't have been addressed in a clinical appointment - it should have been dealt with by the practice manager entirely separately, involving the police if relevant. If it was so hurtful or offensive that the GP no longer felt able to provide care to OP then she should be removed from their list and told to register elsewhere.