To think that we should cut doctors a little slack sometimes...?

[Latitia]

Now I'm not talking about doctors who are outright rude and obstructive. I know they're out there and there will always be people in every profession who don't act in an appropriate manner.

I'm talking more about not shouting and making a fuss when the doc is 30 mins late (could have been dealing with a child who can't tell them what's wrong or an emergency), or because they don't agree with your 'google diagnosis' and refuse to prescribe the medication you think you need etc etc.

I was in the kitchen at work the other afternoon and some colleagues were making comments such as 'what do docs even do in between patients anyway, faff around?' Etc. I just find it all a bit mad. My father is a gp, and whilst he is clearly a very good one, the abuse he receives is heartbreaking. Bricks through his windows for not prescribing tramadol, screamed at because he's running 20 mins late due to an emergency, hate mail because he cancelled his surgery because his car was entirely snowed in and tailbacks of 30 miles. He gets this almost every day.

Do our doctors maybe deserve a little more than this? Or am I being too soft simply because he's my father and I hate to hear of people abusing him...

You’re not wrong

Tbf we should try a bit of empathy when dealing with everyone but yes GPs have a hard job and for the most part they do it well,

It depends.

When they are 20 mins late and I'm the 2nd appointment of the day then I find myself being to myself.

But that is no excuse for people being abusive or rude.

I think there's some people who think anyone in public services exists to bend to their every demand.

The people who are arsey with drs are probably also the ones who think that their 'birthing experience' trumps medical experience, their googling is more accurate than medical degrees, parents' evenings should be arranged to suit them etc.

You are absolutely right Laitita it can be a v thankless job at times. And a definite reason why we are so short of GPs!

He ought to change surgery!

You’d be banned for this sort of behaviour at my surgery!

YANBU

Doctors are only human. Years ago our lovely lovely family GP made a prescribing error that wasn't possible for the pharmacist to pick up on. The effect was my young, fit & healthy husband almost dying.

He needed over 30 units of blood products and a massive surgery to survive.

Our GP was mortified and offered to resign. He is a brilliant GP and like all of us is human. I am a HCP & have made a mistake at work. I will probably make more at some point.

We are only human.

I agree, and not just doctors but anything NHS.

We had to take our baby to A&E recently. Yes we had to wait a while but the care he recieved was amazing. People are so quick to complain.

Agree we should cut them some slack- absolutely. I think of the people in the world who have no access to any health care- don't think they would complain about a 20 minute wait somehow!

Only thing I will say is that most people who earn as much as a GP do have to take some abuse sometimes (doesn't make it OK but just playing devils advocate).

I for one am extremely thankful for my GP and for the NHS as a whole, do not begrudge my taxes at all because of the wonderful NHS.

@gamerwidow absolutely. Empathy is certainly something many people lack.

@MaisyPops I can understand why you would think that, however often first thing in the morning is when doctors have to deal with urgent phone calls and may have had to squeeze someone in who is desperate for help. The last people who want to run late are the doctors! Have you ever gone in to your gp practice when they're running late and seen that slight wince on the docs face when they're bracing them self for the reaction?

@shakeyourcaboose absolutely! I live it through my dad! It's heartbreaking. At work 10-12 hours a day. And they want docs to work weekends! Good lord...

@QuiteLikely5 if only it were that easy. My uncle is also a gp and trust me, this happens everywhere. It's a tough job!

@AgathaMystery absolutely. Terrible mistake to make. Well done to you for being empathetic. That's a very good characteristic to have.

@moita yes, nurses too! Healthcare workers, carers etc. I agree!

@Aw12345 i agree other than the wage point. Nobody should expect that abuse. It seems like a huge amount of money but ask most docs and they will tell you it isn't worth the 70 hour weeks. Hence why so many are leaving. I wouldn't turn that wage down, but money isn't everything and people should be respected regardless of their income.

People definitely need to be more understanding. Unfortunately we seem to live in a world where people only think if themselves, bugger you I'm alright type of attitude. I've noticed it more and more in everything.

However the doc that ran in late (by about 15 mins, I was first appt and saw her run in to the surgery) then proceeded to tell me off to asking abour a minor ailment, as well as the reason I was there, right got my back up.

What really irritates me is the people who are like: “the doctor told me it was just a cold. What a waste of my time, I could do their job better than them.”

The doctors I know are very, very intelligent. But people who left school with 2 GCSEs and an STD could do the job, apparently, the just choose not to 🙄

I completely agree with you but I also think it's time ALL doctors realised they have to speak to all people as their equals. Also when their admin/reception staff are rude and/or unhelpful that they deal with the issues.

I don't mind waiting half an hour. I do mind the absence of an apology. I do mind phones not being answered for up to 20 minutes and prescription cock ups. I know those cock ups happen but it shpuldn't be every other or every time and I'd like GP surgeries to undestand that others have stressful professional jobs too and if GP staff mess up then those staff should be dropping off prescriptions, etc, in their own time to deal with the cock-ups rather than expecting me to go out of my way to collect something that should have been ready days before but wasn't.

I think respect is a two way street and GP surgeries need to appreciate that. Having said that what your father has suffered is bang out of order and I don't condone that sort of behaviour.

Dizzylin - people wanting 2-3 problems solving in 10 minutes is why doctors run late. YABU

I was well within the 10 mins otherwise I wouldn't have asked. I understand they have limited time to see people what annoyed me was her attitude when the reason she was running late was because she was late for work.

@Dizzylin I can't really comment re whether this was reasonable or not without knowing what the minor ailment was, however I can see how this could be frustrating for docs too!

Running 15 minutes late could also be for a number of things. I can assure you it was very unlikely they were sat with their feet up sipping tea!

@RaindropsAndSparkles of course. And as I said there are exceptions. Some people are genuinely quite rude and doctors are not exempt from this. I'm talking about as a whole however. It's very common for docs to be abused without good reason.

I’m a GP and I earn very little after paying for childcare and indemnity and tax etc. Last week I was blocked from leaving the car park to collect my toddler because a patient decided the private letter I had provided wasn’t good enough from them and refused to move their car until it was changed. I can end up running late even for the very first patient if I’ve had a phone call about a death certificate needed urgently as soon as I walk through the door, as happened recently.

I've just finished reading "The is Going to Hurt" by Adam Kay. A very informative read, and I agree, the pay isn't actually as much as people think it is, especially for a junior doctor.

What about when the patientvarrives two mins late full of apologies and due to a 90 min commute with a cancelled train and the receptionist barks "it's up to the doctor if they'll see ya". You sit down and realise surgery is running 20 mins late and there are three people ahead of you anyway.

Why is that an acceptable way to bark, heavy handedly, at the patient who is waiting for a service provided free only at the point of delivery.

I have no problem with waiting. I have no problem with appointments being cancelled or rescheduled.

I do have problems with GPs who fob off women, myself included, with severe gynae symptoms for so long that it takes an average of 9 years to get an endometriosis diagnosis. I have problems with patients with chronic illness being treated like shite. I definitely have a problem with the GP who decided I didn’t need the medication I’d been on for years, prescribed by specialists, landing me in hospital.

I’ve seen some wonderful GPs, one of whom literally saved my life. I’ve seen many others who haven’t looked me in the eye, have refused to do even simple things to massively improve my quality of life or rule out other issues. I’ve seen doctors whose only interest is in getting me off painkillers but have no interest in helping me improve my pain. Sadly I’ve seen many who seem to forget they’re dealing with human beings who are desperate for help and not taking that seriously enough.

I’ve never once been abusive to a doctor though, and I would never be.

YANBU

Most GPs work bloody hard and I don't envy them one bit!

@Surpriseeggsforbreakfast how awful. My father was violently threatened recently for simply doing his job. Just horrendous.

After his insurance, childcare costs, outgoings (he has his own surgery) he's not on as much as you would expect! I think people think docs earn £100k plus! Just not the case. The wage is good don't get me wrong but it's not worth the abuse and anxiety for many....

@RaindropsAndSparkles as I stated before, if it is genuinely rude behaviour then of course it isn't excusable. For the most part however it isn't.

@FancyNewBeesly sorry you've been through this. Don't get me wrong, I've written to the gmc before! It was for very good reason and had my father not have been a gp I could have gone blind. As I said, I wasn't referring the this kind of behaviour in my post. Of course some doctors do things which are inexcusable, which is why PALS and the GMC/CQC exist!

My GP is brilliant. Yeah he runs late sometimes, but we live in a town with a high elderly population so it happens. But he is really thorough and interested in his patients.

@Dizzylin, I've had our GP out for a home visit first thing when we phoned about our newborn baby. The GP decided that a home visit was necessary and came straight out. I'm sure he would have had appointments that morning that would then be running very late through no fault of his own. If you'd have seen him returning to the surgery after seeing us you might have thought him just simply late. Of course I'm sure sometimes GPs are just late due to disorganisation, but there could always be another explanation.