GP Refusing to carry out medical

[GracieHC]

Title says it all really. Refusing to do it as they are too busy with covid. I complained to the practice manager to be told that it’s not deemed to be essential and they will be in touch when they are offering this service again.
Don’t really know where to go from here. Feeling very frustrated.

[Kindee]

That is really frustrating and goes against the guidelines of the BMA & RCGP (www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/covid-19/gp-practices/covid-19-toolkit-for-gps-and-gp-practices/service-provision). If you aren't getting anywhere with the practice manager then I would contact the patients association helpline who should be able to help you. I hope you can progress soon.

[GracieHC]

This is really helpful. Thanks so much Kindee.

[Remy7]

We had a bit of a push back as they weren't doing them late last year either. We went with a letter from our social worker and rang them..... A lot!
They were honest and managed our expectations. I eventually got an 8am call from the practice manager who was very excited she could finally book us in.

[dappledsky]

Adoption medicals are classed as Safeguarding work (as they relate to the care of vulnerable children). Safeguarding work is essential. You may like to raise this next time you speak with the practice manager.

[ScottishBeth]

The medical was the hardest part of stage 1 for me. It took absolutely ages to get it all sorted. I echo what @Kindee said.

I hope you get this sorted soon.

(Honestly after the GP medical I was all ready to change GP practice as soon as we were approved, as I completely lost faith in them. However I currently have Long Covid and they've been fantastic. Just in case anyone has similar concerns trusting their GP.)

[gordongrumpy]

It is work outside their contact, (private work) so if a practice is at breaking point (contrary to popular belief, practices haven't been closed, nor have GPs been sat on their bums!) they may not have capacity. It's likely to be temporary, perhaps while all hands are on deck for the vaccines.

I would contact the practice manager nicely, explain that it important for vulnerable children, and please could they contact you asap?

What I wouldn't do is get stroppy about it, or complain. They won't be opting out of this work without good reason, they've probably put a blanket ban on all non-NHS work for now, as they're struggling to do even that, so if you want to be top of the list when they restart, it probably pays to be nice.

[tradition]

@gordongrumpy

It is work outside their contact, (private work) so if a practice is at breaking point (contrary to popular belief, practices haven't been closed, nor have GPs been sat on their bums!) they may not have capacity. It's likely to be temporary, perhaps while all hands are on deck for the vaccines.

I would contact the practice manager nicely, explain that it important for vulnerable children, and please could they contact you asap?

What I wouldn't do is get stroppy about it, or complain. They won't be opting out of this work without good reason, they've probably put a blanket ban on all non-NHS work for now, as they're struggling to do even that, so if you want to be top of the list when they restart, it probably pays to be nice.

My surgery are buckling under the strain of NHS work so we would not have capacity now for medicals which are classed as private work. However, speak to the practice manager and ask nicely if they can put you on a waiting list. Can you get it done elsewhere?

[GracieHC]

Thanks all. I think what got my goat was it was just a blanket no. I made it clear that I could accept a date one/two/three months from now. What also worries me is where this will end. I read they are talking about another round of vaccinations in Autumn
So assume they will remain busy until end of the year.
Anyway luckily I have managed to find another local practice who is doing them and will take me on to their books. So fingers crossed will be another thing to tick off the list soon x

[Mrsdoubtfireswig]

We had quite a bit of pushback due to covid - they agreed they would do it but couldn’t / wouldn’t confirm a date and said I had to just keep ringing back. I rang every two weeks and as got closer to panel - said it would stop panel if not done so they then did video appt that day. But we were then delayed by the actual report being sent which took another 4 weeks and pushed panel out by 3 months overall

[RestingPandaFace]

Could you use a private GP service to do it?

[lauraslops]

We had this exact problem. We were waiting months and months. I looked into private hospitals locally too and none would complete them. I just ended up chasing the GP regularly for updates and my s/w then called them also and the adoption medical advisor wrote them a letter. They finally agreed to book us in for a couple of months time which was frustrating but it at least gave us a date to aim for rather that being open ended. We finally had our medical about 3 weeks ago. Keep your head up, its extremely frustrating but you will get there.

[RoomForMore]

My doctor surgery was refusing to do my medical because they weren't doing any 'private' work due to Covid. I was like a dog with a bone and they relented and did it. It took a few weeks of phone calls and conversations. Our agency would have paid for me to have mine at a private hospital though. They gave my GP one more chance before they went ahead and booked it and luckily my GP changed their mind.

[Jenzy87]

Hi
I was wondering if you had any luck with your medicals?
Me and my husband are trying to get our medicals done but our GP is refusing to do medicals as they are stating it is not mandatory to do them. They have had the request form our agency since the 2nd of August and we have been calling most weeks, emailed the practice manager and have not had a response from them at all and our social worker and their medical adviser have been on to them to with no luck, we have also contacted our local MP and all they can do is talk to our GP on our behalf and we so far have not had any luck with that either. Please if anyone can help it would be much appreciated as that is the only thing stopping us from moving on to the 2nd process and we are stuck on what to do.
Many thanks
Jenz

[JohnPA]

I had to pay my GP for my medical as part of my last adoption (£75 per head). Have you consider it doing it via a private doctor?

[GracieHC]

You can lodge a complaint higher than the practice manager. I forget who it is now but I think perhaps you’ll find the details on your GP’s website.
I had to change surgeries in the end. Which was not ideal.
Perhaps you need to start calling every day rather than every week. I find politely doing peoples head in is often the best way to get things sorted