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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To make a formal complaint about the GP surgery?

101 replies

wink1970 · 30/09/2013 14:39

Early in August I developed a sudden-onset range of symptoms including swollen abdomen, excruciating back-ache and spotting. After a bit of online research - it was over the weekend, so 2 full days before the surgery opened again -I put this down to my coil possibly slipping (coil number 3, had always had a good experience) and went to the doctors..... who did nothing, nothing at all except refer me for an ultrasound.

Ultrasound was an 8 week wait (!) so I went to the FPC and had the coil removed. This didn't change the symptoms, it clearly wasn't the coil.

Fast forward to about 1 week ago (and in the meantime I have been back to the doctors 3 times, with no course of action by them other than 'wait for the ultrasound') and I bought some antibiotics on the Internet... and lo, my symptoms have gone. I would guess that I had some form of cervix infection.

Now, I know we shouldn't over-use antibiotics, but surely over 4 visits you would have thought they would have (a) thought of the possibility of an infection, or (b) prescribed some just to shut me up, or (c) had a good poke around rather than waiting for an ultrasound that didn't tell them anything anyway?

AIBU in thinking of making a formal complaint, maybe even a snotty lawyer's letter about malpractice? I have been in considerable pain and discomfort, but am also wary of being 'blacklisted' - it's hard enough to get an appointment as it is.

OP posts:
yegodsandlittlefishes · 30/09/2013 20:24

Pssst...OP...I don't know about your local ultrasound dept. but at ours, if you get a really long wait like than and are in pain and need one urgently, try phoning them up to see if they have had any cancellations on a day you are flexible to fit in. I was able to do this to fit in with my job, it was great!

YANBU to want a better standard of care than that. Ask the surgery whether they have a complaints form. Fill it in with the facts, using non emotive language and name names.

Don't talk lawyers though, that would be going too far. (Keep your powder dry).

candycoatedwaterdrops · 30/09/2013 20:34

I just had a thought, if you went to the family planning clinic to have the coil removed, they were equally responsible for not taking a swab.

Erebus · 30/09/2013 20:37

A thought- if you had back pain, a swollen abdomen and spotting- I'm thinking UTI and/or renal stone. Cervical infections don't, to the best of my knowledge, give you a swollen abdomen.

Both can apparently 'go away' of their own accord; a stone gets passed or sits harmlessly in your bladder; your body sorts out a UTI.

However, if it were either, in the longer run, be careful not to dismiss them as stones can obstruct kidneys and recurrent UTIs can cause kidney scarring. Note the 'can' in both cases.

As for fab service in the USA, well... you should see the reams of onerous 'radiation protection' rules UK radiographers now have to follow after the eyewatering abuse of 'diagnostic imaging' that has happened in the USA as it's all so unregulated.

Don't always confuse 'lots of healthcare' with 'good healthcare'!

ivykaty44 · 30/09/2013 20:47

catdance - so I guess there are never ever any law suits against doctors in the USA?

edam · 30/09/2013 20:47

In the US doctors love ordering lots and lots of diagnostic tests and procedures. Because they can bill the patient's insurers for each and every one. As a result, patients are put through lots of tests that are unnecessary, uncomfortable, time-consuming, expensive and carry significant risks, not least over-diagnosis.

Over-treatment is as serious a problem as under-treatment.

As for missing serious conditions, that can indeed happen. Anywhere in the world. GPs should be alive to the possibility of rare conditions. But the British approach tends to be 'rule out the most likely cause first'. So, if it looks like a cold and there are no worrying symptoms that could be something more serious, you'll be told it's a cold and to take over-the-counter remedies if you wish. BUT you should also be told to come back if you don't get better in X amount of time, or develop any new symptoms.

PennySillin · 30/09/2013 21:09

That's exactly how we're told to consult edam (I am a minor illness nurse not a GP btw).

Common things happen commonly, if you hear hooves expect to see horses not zebras etc - HOWEVER if the patient has no red flags you offer worsening advice ie what to do if things get worse or don't resolve after an expected length of time.

I think it's quite difficult to compare the NHS and USA healthcare systems. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

WeddingComp · 30/09/2013 21:21

Antibiotics could have been vitamin c for all you know! Absolutely ridiculous buying medicine on the internet, you have no idea what was in it

bumperella · 30/09/2013 21:45

OP doesn't really know what was in the tablets, even if they purported to be from "a GP" in Glasgow I can't believe any UK-based and UK-regulated GP would diagnose online unless they were pretty dodgy.

However being told to wait 8 weeks for a scan and being given no other information, discussion, investigations isn't really good enough. Even if the GP were to've told her, clearly and professionally, that she needed to book a double appointement (ie 15 mions rather than 7 minute allocation) to discuss, then used it to explain it couldn't be her coil or an infection because of x y and z and couldn't be further narrowed down, assessed or diagnosed without seeing the results of a scan that would be fine (I've no medical training whatsoever and am guessing that this was the case).
Leaving her to consult Dr Google and buy drugs off the internet (!!!) is just not acceptable, and GP's need to be aware that this IS what patients will do if they are desperate and have excessive faith in medicine.

JeanPaget · 30/09/2013 21:50

How on earth do you know that the drugs you took were antibiotics?

edam · 30/09/2013 22:21

Quite, bumps.

Penny, glad I got that one right. Grin My sister's a nurse and my Mother and I have worked with doctors for decades (in different roles and different organisations), something has clearly sunk in!

PennySillin · 30/09/2013 22:24

Spot on Wink

Retroformica · 30/09/2013 22:24

Uanbu

hashtagwhatever · 30/09/2013 22:33

who took the coil out?

how didn't they notice?

kali110 · 30/09/2013 23:54

Iv come across some very bad gps so im not great love of them however i do think yabu.
He sent you for a scan, maybe he didn't think you had an infection or thought the fpc would have done swabs like they usually do.
Im shocked you bought pills off the internet they could have been anything. Could have been sugar pills and given you a placebo effect.
There also possibility that your problem did sort itself out. Iv had infections that have cleared up.
Also possibility that you don't/didn't have an infection and just think your better as you've self diagnosed.

kali110 · 30/09/2013 23:55

Plus 8 weeks really isnt that long.

TabithaMcKitten · 01/10/2013 01:03

I'm not sure why you are worried about being blacklisted from your surgery - you seem quite happy to self diagnose, self prescribe and then follow up on results yourself; why do you even need your GP?

What exactly would you hope to achieve from a formal letter alluding to malpractice?

LessMissAbs · 01/10/2013 01:05

I should imagine that such an infection was very painful. I also don't see why you should have to "ask" your GP for antibiotics...you are not the doctor...

Even doctors in this country can be frustrated by NHS prescribing criteria - just look at the difference in the way thyroid function tests are interpreted in this country compared to many others (basically people are treated for under-active thyroid in most countries who would be left untreated by the NHS).

There appears to be such an obsession with not prescribing antibiotics in case of resistance that tales abound of untreated infections, or of doctors not understanding how different antibiotics work. I had "A-typical pneumonia a few years ago and got sicker and sicker despite two visits to GP who initially diagnosed a UTI! Penicillin wasn't effective because it is caused by bacteria which do not have cell walls, which penicillin breaks down. Hence I needed a macrolide or tetracycline. I know this because I researched it, not on Google but in a medical textbook, told my GP this on my second visit, at which I collapsed at reception, and was told the penicillin took that long to work and to go home. I ended up being taken into hospital by ambulance two days later and on intravenous clarithromycin.

Similarly, my MIL had a long term ear infection causing balance problems which she claims her GP told her was untreatable as it did not respond to antibiotics. On holiday in France, she visited a French doctor and was diagnosed azithromycin, which cleared it up.

Asserting that only doctors can understand basic medical concepts is ridiculous. As a lawyer, it is my job to understand concepts quickly and effectively. It cannot therefore be beyond everyone else on the planet either. I do not claim to be able to diagnose, but I do claim to be able to occasionally spot a lack of diagnosis in myself, and I will retain the initative to do something about it if the NHS is unforthcoming.

Cantdance · 01/10/2013 05:58

For those that think the NHS is doing a fine job read this and let the statistics speak for themselves - and this is a comparison with other European countries for those that think comparisons with the US are unfair.
www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/01/uk-cancer-big-spend-limited-success

SofiaAmes · 01/10/2013 06:18

Cantdance, actually it's the lower middle class and the self-employed who have trouble with health care in the usa, not the poor. The poor actually have very good coverage. My dc's have been covered by the state health insurance for the poor for the last 4 years. My ds, who has a genetic disease and spends a lot of time in doctors offices with weird, hard to diagnose symptoms, has had every referral he has needed for everything medical large and small (including speech therapy, neurologists, opthamlagists, etc.). The only piece that doesn't work well is the mental health coverage, but as far as I can see, the USA is still well ahead of the rest of the world in terms of acceptance of mental issues as diseases that need to be treated just like any other illness.

Sunnysummer · 01/10/2013 06:20

YABU to make a complaint about them, though maybe not to make a complaint to them. You got the coil removed, presumably, before the ultrasound and before your next visit, have no way of knowing if the drugs you bought (which may or may not have been actual antibiotics or just sugar pills!) actually fixed it, or whether it was time. If you make all your own diagnoses and follow your own treatment plan then claiming malpractice will only lead you back to yourself as lead physician, plus your attending, Dr Google.

Did you request an internal? Did the fpc see anything? It does sound very uncomfortable, and hope you are better, but it's not really a clear cut case of blame.

MammaTJ · 01/10/2013 06:39

BTW the ultrasound was clear, not that the doctors have bothered to tell me, I rang the hospital.

Really? It is normal for a person to have to ring for test results. How many attempts would it take for them to ring you, confirm it is you answering the phone, then give you the results. A waste of their time.

thistlelicker · 01/10/2013 06:44

Ure an idiot for
Buying online! U really need to read the news about bogus drugs!

If u were in that much pain - did u seek a second opinion? Another
Gp? Walk in centre? Perhaps a n e??? If u self diagnosed why didn't u ask for a swab on each visit after the initial..... 8 weeks is standard waiting, it's obvs ure gp didn't thnk it war rented an urgent referral- I surprises you didn't question the wait!

I'm a bit on the fence with this the op seems a bit self indulged but the gp appears not to be arsed!!!

ilovechips · 01/10/2013 09:05

Having worked in family planning I find it more shocking that you presented to them with the symptoms you describe and they did nothing? At the very least you should have had a thorough examination, full history taken and swabs taken for infection.

(I assume you didn't have to wait the full 8 weeks for the ultrasound, as your symptoms began less than 8 weeks ago and you have the results already)

I think some areas of the NHS let you down - but diagnosing yourself and buying drugs online is never advisable.

kali110 · 01/10/2013 09:13

Plus if they thought it was serious and were waiting to see what ultrasound said then they wouldn't prescribe antibiotics if they thought it was something else i.e cyst etc
Id be calling the docs and telling them id taken something off the internet

Madamecastafiore · 01/10/2013 09:24

In the USA it wouldn't happen because you would be sent for a multitude of tests to ensure you didn't sue the HCP. They don't care how much or many tests you are sent for or the cost as these are not picked up by the state.

If rather live here and have free healthcare for all rather than the States any day.