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 work in a profession that is regularly criticised online (much worse comments than stating factually that it was difficult to get an appointment) and I would get a serious bollocking for bringing comments up like that. Completely unprofessional.

This is truly wild behaviour.

so the gp is upset that people weee complaining the app wasn’t working to book appointments?

did he also design the app or something?

totally inappropriate.

In no way, shape or form is that okay. How can a GP mention a comment that you made on FACEBOOK. In what world would they need to do that? Unless you named someone and created a bunch of lies, I don’t see why/how it’d be okay to say something to you directly.

Was the GP surgery mentioned on a local FB page or was the post on the GP surgeries FB page? Either way, it doesn’t even matter. Totally unethical

I second this.

GP should be allowed to defend his practice, you made your gripe public, but they said it directly to you and didn’t post it online for all to see,

Being professional doesn’t mean they’re robots that just have to put up with this. They see it everyday and should be assertive when
criticised publicly.

Utterly moronic comment.

Clearly he was pissed off. Just because he is a GP it doesn’t mean he isn’t human

I think I’d had been embarrassed in your shoes op!

Since when did "consult" become a verb? (misses entire point of the thread).

Some of the attitudes towards patients on this thread are disgraceful. I would never think to leave a Facebook comment complaining about my surgery or any other NHS service but it was highly inappropriate of the GP to use a medical appointment to tell a patient off over it. It is unprofessional and inappropriate. The practice could simply have left a comment saying "we appreciate how frustrating it is when you can not get an appointment, our staff are working hard to resolve the problem." NHS staff are working in extremely hard conditions, everyone should be aware of that and abuse of these staff should never be tolerated. However, we also need to recognise that thousands of people are left in pain, with debilitating illnesses, unable to access the services they need. Treating them with contempt and saying "well this is what you get for being a thick member of the public and voting tory" is a disgraceful attitude.

Inappropriate I'd report and change gps.

I have read all your posts on this thread @Lliria, but I got too fed up with the Mumsnetters who were trying to make you feel awful, and putting the blame on you, to read all of the PP's points of views. So I hope I am not about to say something that has already been brought up:

Any matters like the OP is talking about here, should be dealt with by the Practice Manager, and not be talked about - at all - during a medical appointment. The GP was totally in the wrong - for various other reasons too - to mention it at all to his patient, unless she brought it up first herself, and even under those circumstances, he should not have responded in a negative fashion.

The Dr/patient relationship (above any, and all other, professional relationships) must always remain professional, and be one where the patient must always be able to trust and feel safe when talking to, and being treated by, any doctor, whether that be her own GP, or a random doctor in something like an A&E situation.

Good luck with getting a positive result Lliria 🙏 My GP's surgery sounds scaringly similar to yours, maybe even worse... 💐💐💐

^Being professional doesn’t mean they’re robots that just have to put up with this. They see it everyday and should be assertive when
criticised publicly.^

But the GP wasn't criticised publicly - their booking system was! If the GP can't understand the difference between personal criticism and criticism of a process that's extremely concerning (unless the GP wrote the app themselves, in which case they should still accept the criticism with grace - perhaps the app is crap)

If I were you I'd be updating the post on Facebook stating what happened and warning others to post comments about the surgery anonymously. I'd name the doctor as well but I don't give a f**k and am a bit of an arse.

Extremely unprofessional of the GP to mention it.

You have a right to voice your opinion as a patient, and if the practice is not good, there is nothing wrong with you speaking out about that and saying what you feel, whether that be on Facebook or anywhere else.

If people didn't speak out then they would have to just put up with it. Don't silence yourself because of this.

What the heck does he do if someone make a complaint to the practice, put them in a hair shirt and make them grovel for care. Very inappropriate.

i don’t see any problem with the gp defending his position, ie having the right to reply. However, having a bollocking sounds a bit of an over reaction to what was said.

But the GP wasn't criticised publicly - their booking system was!

@ICanSeeMyHouseFromHere Yes and even if the GP himself was criticised publicly, that would actually be OK as well. If he'd done something inappropriate or treated a patient badly, of course it's fine for people to talk about it. That is part and parcel of working in public sector healthcare.

Patients can and should voice their opinions. That is how they are listened to. People talk about and share their experiences. They have rights to do that, it's called freedom of speech and it's one of the key building blocks of our western democracy.

When did people become so oppressed?

If the GP doesn't like seeing what patients are saying about him/ the practice, he probably shouldn't be browsing Facebook threads about it.

As a GP, I find this hilarious. Why does he even care?

Your GP needs to get off social media and get a grip. Patients will notoriously complain about all the negatives on Facebook or Google reviews and rarely mention anything positive about their surgery. It's just the way it is and it's ridiculous to get upset about it.

@RiderofRohan Agreed. I'm shocked how many people on this thread are defending the GP saying he's 'only human'.

He's a professional, a doctor, why on earth does he care what people are saying on social media? And to actually bring it up in a patient appointment is very shoddy practice, not to mention harmful to the doctor-patient relationship.

It was completely unprofessional of him, OP. You should put in a complaint to the practice manager.

Criticism is not abuse

People moaning about not being able to get appointments is pretty standard. There’s a crisis in this area right now and it does need sorting out. It’s not a sign a patient doctor relationship has broken down. It’s a sign healthcare is hard to access. Some practices have looked to sort it out in ways others haven’t.

So the GP shouldn't be able to comment but anyone else on Facebook can comment on your post? Would you rather he went on FB to comment and not address you in person?

Those people actually work really hard daily for a very broken NHS.

Complete overreaction - do you always think like that about others who happen to be men!

The OP wrote ' he had a proper go at me about my comment and said I'd hurt people's feelings etc.' - this is hardly aggressive or vile - what is a proper go?

I think you mean, since when did "consult" become a noun?