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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To complain about this GP? Long, don't want to drip feed.

457 replies

OriginalGreenGiant · 12/12/2014 15:31

Ds1 (6) has had a minor sore throat for a few days but yesterday had woken up crying in pain, couldn't swallow, yawn or talk. I had a look and his tonsils were huge, felt his glands in his neck and they were like hard round marbles and he went 'ow' when I touched them. Felt a bit warm but no actual temperature at that point. So I managed to get a morning appointment in open surgery time and took him to see GP.

We waited over an hour for an appointment, in which time I could feel and see ds's temperature going up. He was tired and a bit lethargic and you could feel the heat radiating off him. So I stripped his top off and put him next to the window.

Anyway...in we went. The GP didn't look at ds at all when we entered, just maintained eye contact with me and asked his symptoms, then picked up the thing (light...magnifier?) and looked in ds's ears and throat. It's hard to explain how 'off' this seemed in words, but IMO you can tell quite a bit from how a child looks, so it seemed very odd that she didn't even look at him, let alone ask him anything.

So, she pronounced his throat red and ears fine. She then ran her hands lightly over his neck and said 'glands are normal' and took his temperature (in the ear) and declared it 36.8 and fine. Then asked me what treatment i was hoping for from then on Hmm .

At this point I could feel the warmth still radiating from ds so asked if she could test his temperature again. She gave me an indulgent smile and did...looked surprised and a bit shamefaced and went 'Oh it's actually 39! Sorry!'

I asked her about his glands and said to me they seemed very pronounced and painful. She felt them again a bit more firmly, ds1 visibly winced but she again said they were completely normal.

She then said that she understood I was probably hoping for antibiotics, but...and gave me a two minute lecture about the differences between viral and bacterial. I tried to politely interrupt (I'm not an idiot, I know the difference and had given no indication I was 'looking for' anti b's) but she was on a roll with her speech so on she went.

She then turned to her computer and brought up google, saying she would check if antibiotics were needed. She googled 'fever pain score', clicked on the first result and filled in a form. She said to me 'You can actually do this from home, to see if anti b's are necessary but obviously I don't mind completing it for you'. Well gee, thanks Hmm

She turned to ds (and just to point out, this was the first time in over 5 minutes in the room that she had looked ds in the face or spoken to him) and asked him 'So, would you say your throat pain is moderate or severe?'. Ds is a bright 6 year old but fgs, he's 6. He stared at her, obviously not understanding so she repeated it to him word for word. So I answered that it had seemed severe.

Anyway, this form came up with the result that antib's were recommended. So she completed a prescription after poring through some text book for a full two minutes to check dosage. And out we went.

It all just seemed so wrong. Other than the moderate/severe question, she didn't actually look at ds or speak to him/question him at ALL. I'm not a Doctor, but considering the painful marbles that are protruding from ds1's neck, I'm pretty certain they wouldn't be described as 'normal'. Plus add in the temperature mistake, and google telling her whether to prescribe or not.

I said to dh I feel like complaining. I know that Doctors are probably sick of people traipsing in kids with a sniffle at the moment, but ds clearly had more than that and I don't feel that she really examined or diagnosed him at all.

Dh thinks I'm overreacting. He is of the 'Aw come on, she's probably newly qualified or having a bad day' opinion...tbh I couldn't give a fuck and neither of those warrant not doing your job properly IMO.

AIBU?

OP posts:
DazzleII · 13/12/2014 23:40

Clearly it must be very irritating, but schools demand a sick note from parents. Who is supposed to tell parents that they must not ask the GP for a sick note? And who is supposed to provide the sick note?

DazzleII · 13/12/2014 23:42

Also, aren't the fees charged useful income? I'm always happy to pay, but paying and being griped at is a bit much.

Sirzy · 13/12/2014 23:42

Nobody is supposed to provide the sick note. It isn't needed. I don't understand why people would need telling that tbh!

macdoodle · 13/12/2014 23:42

The schools should be aware, so we are often surprised that they have been told to ask for one, and perhaps suspect they havent. Its yet something else, we are "supposed" to do, which was never and should never be a NHS service.
Every single surgery I know will say so on its website.
I will always inform the patients that it is (1) not necessary (2) not a NHS service (3) the school is in the wrong if they requested it, and (4) if that is the only reason for an urgent appt then yes it is a waste of an appt.
Our patients do know, but we have spend a lot of time previously, informing/reiterating the rules to our local schools. I will be polite but firm, they can have a private note, but it will take a few days and will be chargeable.

Pishedorf · 13/12/2014 23:44

Well protected against violence? Tell that to my colleague who was held hostage by a patient's relative when she was doing a home visit.

School sick notes are NOT an NHS service, they come with a fee. It doesn't matter if it's state school or not.

Lulujakey if your med review genuinely takes 3 mins Id be very worried. A 6-12 monthly med review should involve possibly bloods, blood pressure, weight and height, PEFRs if it's an asthma review, a chat about how things have been if it's a depression review.

Out of curiosity I would love it if you timed your next review to see if it genuinely took 3 mins.

idiot have a look in your GPs waiting room next time you're there. All that info should be there - opening and waiting times, lateness policy, normally a sign saying 'the doctor will only be able to see you about one problem'. Who to make a complaint too (or you could ask reception). The GP I'm registered at has a sign saying how many appointments were wasted because of XX number of DNAs (did not attend).

Most GP practices have a website with this information too. In this technological age there isn't an excuse for not looking up this information too.

An issue in general society is that people expect to be spoon fed information instead of being responsible for their own information gathering. We are trying to move from the Patriarchal Doctor-Patient relationship to a mutual one. And part of that mutual relationship is that patients can take more responsibility for their own health (within reason).

macdoodle · 13/12/2014 23:45

Useful income?? Eh, £15 not much really, and a complete waste of everyone (including the patient/parent's time).
And I'd rather not have my urgent appts wasted so I can certify that yes little Jonny has a cold/sore throat/temp/diarrhoea, because of course I can only certify to what I know to be true. This yet perpetuates the inability to self manage and take responsibility.

Blessedandgrateful · 13/12/2014 23:45

What the dr may have meant is that it is entirely normal for DC at that age to get swollen glands ... that wouldn't indicate need for antib's.
Neither would swollen tonsils unless they had pustules on them.

DazzleII · 13/12/2014 23:47

So for sickness notes for schools, should a parent go to a private GP?

DazzleII · 13/12/2014 23:50

For example, if a child has diarrhoea on the morning of their GCSE, what is a parent meant to do?

macdoodle · 13/12/2014 23:51

Pishedorf, exactly, we are told to communicate and include the patients, but no one seems capable of checking the website.
I had one patient, scream at my staff and me, because he was charged for a travel insurance form (because I had saved his daughters life by picking up her lung clot in her consultation for tonsillitis). He said he was never told he would be charged, despite the very large notice stating it at the front desk and on our website, and refused to pay it. He also called me a "fucking greedy bitch and I should just do my fucking job".
He didnt actually thank me for my medical skill that saved her life, my prompt action in admitting her, and the excellent post discharge care she had from us. Not once.
The form was £45, it was quite lengthy. The cancelled holiday cost £5000.
Perspective and entitlement. And people wonder why we have had enough.

Blessedandgrateful · 13/12/2014 23:51

Agree with Macdoodle at beginning of thread.
Too many people these days can't seem to cope with minor illnesses , they can't make judgments for themselves . I blame the nanny state

Tbh unless I could clearly see pustules on the tonsils I would not have taken my 6yr old to the GP with those symptoms - ie swollen glands and swollen tonsils - both can be managed by OTC remedies for relief of symptoms until virus passes.

Blessedandgrateful · 13/12/2014 23:53

And tbh you can't blame the GP you saw for the electronic machine giving out a duff reading initially . It does happen.

macdoodle · 13/12/2014 23:54

Dazzle, why do you need a sick note is your child is ill, cant you ring or write to the school? Does your child need to see a dr for 1 day of diarrhoea?? Or just for a note. Can you really not see how an absurd abuse of the system that is.
As for exams there is very clear guidance from the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) about this, which all schools should know and you can easily find via google!
The problem is that the GP is easy, free and accessible, or has been up till now. We are now reaping what was sown. Does anyone really believe that Nye Bevan envisaged doctors appts for sick notes for school, for sore throats and colds, and the latest news, prescriptions for boilers!

Idiotdh · 13/12/2014 23:55

Dazzle..I think they are saying no sick note is needed. You need to take issue with the school.

Pished.. I was thinking of notices for the hospital. It's like a social club in there then when you run to an arrest you can hardly get through.

Wrt GP , our surgery has the lateness policy etc but not much else.

DazzleII · 13/12/2014 23:56

So what is the rule for GCSEs?

DazzleII · 13/12/2014 23:57

I can absolutely see that the system is absurd and useless, but my dc should not be punished by doctors for that.

Idiotdh · 14/12/2014 00:01

Dazzle, why is the school asking for a sick note?

DazzleII · 14/12/2014 00:03

If a child is ill on the day of a public exam, like GCSEs, the schools say they need proof of illness - a sick certificate.

macdoodle · 14/12/2014 00:13

As I said the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual), do not require a doctors certificate, they have a form which a parent can complete.
No one is "blaming the children", but emotionally blackmail like that is part of why GP's are so burnt out and disillusioned. Because whenever we try and make a stand, everyone uses that kind of emotional manipulation.

macdoodle · 14/12/2014 00:15

God yes threatening and stalking your GP is exactly the way to go.Perhaps the poor GP in that link was busy actually trying to treat ill patients.

macdoodle · 14/12/2014 00:16

Its the school you should be angry with not the GP.

DazzleII · 14/12/2014 01:10

I should make clear that I wasn't the OP on that thread; but it's the experience of most people I know. That was after the Ofqual guidance letter you linked to, so clearly the message wasn't communicated.

Is it beyond comprehension that parents might feel anxious in such a case?