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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to complain that not one of the doctors at my supersurgery has a particular interest in mental health?

53 replies

MrsHathaway · 22/09/2015 22:00

I was browsing my GP surgery's website today to see if I could remember who I last saw because a couple of the GPs I don't find particularly lovely and I'd rather not waste anybody's time.

In the profiles bit it lists their particular interests - eg there's someone who has a particular interest in joint complaints, and people who have a particular interest in male and female sterilisation respectively. Each of the doctors has three or four areas of particular interest.

Not one of the many doctors lists mental health.

It's estimated that one in four GP appointments relates to mental health issues, and 23% of the burden on healthcare in the UK. A fucking QUARTER, and not one GP who is the go-to person in my absolutely enormous practice.

That's just wrong, surely? Even if every single one of them has had intense training on MH issues and are all experts, there's not a whisper of it on their brand new and shiny website, or newsletter, or practice handbook.

I've been through the entire website. There are two references to mental health - one saying they have links to the area CPN, and the Samaritans' number in their links to other agencies.

It gives the impression that mental health isn't really part of their remit, when actually they're the first port of call.

Late night irritation but I'm wondering whether this is an issue that ought to be raised through formal channels (in the first instance, with an email to the practice manager)? Am I just being precious?

OP posts:
2rebecca · 22/09/2015 22:02

That probably just means they all do it.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 22/09/2015 22:05

Of course they will all do it - but I can see it would be good if the surgery had someone with a particular interest in this big area of GP care - with it being such a big part of their workload.

wonkylegs · 22/09/2015 22:10

I suspect it's hard to recruit somebody with that specialism. At the moment there are shortages in GPs, GP trainees and Mental Health Specialists.
Several areas in the NHS are facing a recruitment crisis, which is getting worse under the current regime changes. So unless there is a massive about turn in health policy I suspect these problems will remain for the foreseeable future. Crap isn't it!

Original poster
MrsHathaway · 22/09/2015 22:16

Sorry, yes, I should have said that you can see anyone for anything, but for example the one who likes Child Health and Women's Reproductive Health does the postnatal checks, and if you want a vasectomy you book in with Dr Snip on a particular day of the week.

I guess it's a bit like listing all the teachers in a school and not having a PHSE coordinator or something - obviously they all do it but surely you'd acknowledge its frequency by having at least one nominated person to be the Face Of Mental Health.

Maybe they think that person would be flooded with nutters and get nothing done.

OP posts:
RachelZoe · 22/09/2015 22:23

Maybe they think that person would be flooded with nutters and get nothing done.

They would actually be getting exactly what they were supposed to be getting done done if they were constantly booked with people with MH issues if you think about it. Being the mental health specialist and all.

jacks11 · 22/09/2015 22:32

As you say all the Doctors in this surgery will all be able to manage mental health problems (or refer on for more expert assessment/treatment if necessary). It is just that there is not one with a specialist interest. On that basis, I don't think you'd get far with a complaint about this because you can see a doctor who can deal with mental health issues- presumably competently even if it is not within their area of specialist interest (obviously if not managed competently you would have a right to complain about that).

As others have said, there is a shortage of GPs and GP trainees coming through the system. There is also a shortage of psychiatry trainees. I can't help but think there may be a link between the two.

NameChange30 · 22/09/2015 22:33

"nutters"? Hmm

fastdaytears · 22/09/2015 22:36

My experience of MH at my GPs was so bad it still upsets me. I was moderately cross until I felt ok enough to talk to some friends about it...3 of whom had the same problem with the same GP, who is the senior partner.

No one lists it on their blurb at our surgery but I end up seeing locums at least half the time anyway.

Charis2 · 22/09/2015 22:36

There can't be someone specific for absolutly everything.

fastdaytears · 22/09/2015 22:37

MH is hardly obscure though is it! And certainly more common than (for example) sterilisation which is mentioned in the OP's post.

Not sure I'd want to specialise in MH though. I imagine it's endless demand and not enough success stories.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 22/09/2015 22:46

Speaking as one of the 'nutters', I would value being able to talk to a doctor who understood mental health issues - it would be better than the arsehole who reduced me to tears, and nearly had me leaving his surgery feeling utterly desperate, with no help set up, to get in my car and drive away.

fastdaytears · 22/09/2015 22:49

Ha do we have the same surgery SDTG?

Also a "nutter" here and sat in my car crying for an hour after my first appointment.

Wheretheresawill1 · 22/09/2015 22:51

Hardly any do the training in mental health but they often do paeds or obs and gynae or orthopaedics. I agree it's a shame there is not more interest in psychiatry given so much of their work is primary mental health and they are in effect triage for secondary services

Wheretheresawill1 · 22/09/2015 22:53

Mrs Hathaway nicely contributing to mental health stigma there. Nobody knows when they could be affected by mh issues.. Even those who think it's acceptable to call sick people nutters

fastdaytears · 22/09/2015 22:55

Where think that's amazing. How can that not be one of the priorities for training when so much of their day is taken up with MH issues?
Off to sign a petition now! There must be one somewhere.

Prettyinblue · 22/09/2015 23:00

As a nutter I'm far more concerned about the lack of GPs with a mn speciality than the Ops obviously tongue in cheek use of the word nutter.

FrancesHB · 22/09/2015 23:00

I am a GP with personal experience of mental health problems (there are a lot of us about). I also have a special interest in mental health, partly for that reason. I don't declare it as a special interest as I can only barely manage the vast quantities of patients with distressing mental health issues coming though the door at the moment. I get ten minutes, which is nowhere (nowhere!) near enough. This way, I see ten to twenty-five patients with MH problems a day, which is sort of doable, interspersed with patients with other issues who tend to be easier emotionally to cope with (not always, but perhaps I am more sensitive to MH issues given my history).

I know psychiatry is having a similar recruitment crisis as GPs, but at least psychs get 30-45 minutes to see a patient.

fastdaytears · 22/09/2015 23:03

As a nutter I'm far more concerned about the lack of GPs with a mn speciality than the Ops obviously tongue in cheek use of the word nutter.

I think actually loads of GPs on MN (though when they have the time I'm not sure! Not much sitting around between patients).

But I agree, not offended by nutter. I should probably be standing up for other people who might be but I think the OP is pretty symapthetic somehow.

EnthusiasmDisturbed · 22/09/2015 23:04

because the area of Mental Health is so wide they cant just have an interest in it as something on the side that they also know about its too complex

FrancesHB · 22/09/2015 23:05

Health Education England has now included mental health as one of their priority areas - with a special focus on dementia and perinatal mental health. Which is good. But there are not enough funded training posts in secondary care psychiatry for all GP trainees to get a hospital post in psych although you can learn a lot from good quality mental health training in primary care (GP practice). About half of our trainees get 6 months in psychiatry in a 100% psych hospital/community job.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 22/09/2015 23:07

I joke about my mental health, or lack thereof, and I can see that the use of the word was tongue-in-cheek, but I do think there are better terms.

Wolpertinger · 22/09/2015 23:07

There may well be a GP with an interest in mental health that theother GPs will refer to but they haven't put it on the website for fear of them being swamped with worried well people, when they actually want their expertise for the people they know have real issues.

Or, given there is a massive recruitment crisis in GP, they were just delighted to appoint any GP whatsoever.

ilovesooty · 22/09/2015 23:07

I don't think any of ours list it either. The wonderful GP without whom I'd probably not be alive today lists his specialisms as diabetes and skin complaints.

Baconyum · 22/09/2015 23:15

Tongue in cheek or not, I still don't appreciate being called a 'nutter' we still experience a huge amount of stigma as it is! Try getting a job after being signed off for mental illness!

I think it's right not to mark out a particular GP as a specialist in the area or even 2-3 in a large practice as GP's are human too and I don't think it would be wise for them to mainly be dealing with patients who are mentally ill as that would be too wearing on them emotionally meaning they wouldn't be able to provide the best service to patients.

However, what is worrying is the lack of interest in this area displayed on the website as representative of the surgery's ethos. There are numerous charities and support lines that could be listed and I would hope that they're more involved with local mh services than merely 'have links to the area cpn' frankly I hope given that there's a large GP surgery and so a large population being served, there's more than one cpn!

I would politely point out that the website gives the impression they're not particularly interested as a practice in supporting patients experiencing mh problems.

FrancesHB · 22/09/2015 23:18

Baconyum - if you were a patient in my practice, we'd bite your hand off if you offered to make our website a bit more mental-health friendly. We'd invite you on to our patient participation group to see if we could push through some MH friendly strategy (our PPG only want to talk/ fundraise/ educate about diseases that they suffer from, at the expense of all the others).

That would probably feel much more constructive than raising a complaint.