To say new GP was vile towards me?

[chattoaspanishgirl]

I couldn't see my regular GP so I had to visit what's called a locum Dr, I think they're GP's that are temporarily there.

Anyway, I went in because I needed some more Naproxen and mine is due to run out. I ended up going in my wheelchair because I physically cannot walk at the moment. I can't even use my crutches. I have to be helped in and out of the shower, I can't lift my arms up to put a jumper on... you get the idea.

I remember the conversion word for word. I came away feeling pathetic and useless.

He beamed at me and said "Helloo!"

Then he said "Oh no, what happened, why are you in a wheelchair? Had a fall?"

I said no, it's just my joints are incredibly stiff and I have muscle weakness. I can't walk.

He laughed and said of course you can! Have you tried ibuprofen?

I said yes, that didn't help. And no, I can't walk. I then went on to say I'd come for more Naproxen but it's on observation since it can cause stomach ulcers, and I have been coming in every so often to see my GP after a few repeats.

He said he wasn't sure I needed it, but he'd hand it over if I was certain I hadn't tried anything else to manage it

He then saw I was on tramadol and very vocally said "Tramadol!"

I said yes, for pain. He said I can't see why they've given you this. For Fibromyalgia? No no no. I think this needs reviewing.

I could quite literally feel myself welling up with tears. That medication is also under review but it's the only thing that takes the edge of some days, when things are simply unbearable.

Long story short, I came away with my prescription feeling pathetic and useless. As I went to leave, he said "should I open the door or will you stand and do it yourself? "

He had a lot of so called 'banter'

AIBU to feel so cross, or am I being sensitive? I really can never tell these days. I pass so much judgement it usually never phases me. But this feels like outright belittlement.

I just don't know what to think

or he read the notes and saw nothing about a wheelchair?!

Awwwlook
I think you may be onto something there. Was it a doc McSuffins stethoscope perhaps?

He was unprofessional and rude. Definitely report.

Questioning your medication, fair enough...at a push. Making a comment about you getting out of your wheelchair to open the door yourself is inexcusable. What a dickhead. Definitely complain.

Presumably a regular wheelchair user would be flagged up/mentioned intheir medical notes, if to mention that they may need help or accessible clinic and as he didn't see any such notes he did not expect a patient in wheelchair. it would make sense that she had a fall as a wheelchair is a pretty extreme aid for someone with such limited or no mobility and if she wasn't prescribed one or has it noted on her medical notes then i dont see why a new doctor would be wrong to ask that?

I do agree with this. We and OP have no idea what is written in her notes, he may have read her notes and been genuinely surprised to see her in the wheelchair. Although I do agree that he could have been more tactful and less rude. I would report him on his manner alone.

Why on earth would a wheelchair be an extreme aid? They're quite common you know...

As for "banter", joking about not breaking the speed limit on your way out of the surgery might have qualified as that (albeit very tired and unoriginal). He was just being an insensitive twit.

I think this might have the sticky finger marks of a patient review within the practice. Someone at the meeting has said "in my opinion chatto is a malingerer", and this GP has either taken that stance from the beginning of your consultation, or there is mistaken identity and the remarks were actually relevant to someone else.

Just a look at your list of your meds indicates you experience chronic pain and compromised mobility, so get on the Practice Manager and start a complaint if it turns out it is warranted.

I hope your condition improves, OP.

Presumably a regular wheelchair user would be flagged up/mentioned intheir medical notes,

The OP is diagnosed with Fibro and on a pain management regime. That much we know was in the notes. A doctor should know that its not unusual for fibro patients to need accessibility aids including wheelchairs when having a bad patch so either he hadn't read the notes or he doesn't know enough about fibro to treat it.

I hope you got your drugs ?

Look poor poor behaviour . Worth putting in some feedback if you think it’s worth it

I think feedback as a better term than compliant as it’s irieantes towards helping them improve and is leas contentious

Onwards

well if she is on these medication which are addictive and strong, repeatedly and she is still ending up using a wheelchair then surely its right to review them as they cant be working then?? also there are people who fake their illness to continue getting these saleable drugs (and i am not saying op is one of them!!! but it does happen. doctors must see a lot and are humans with a huge burden).

op complain or let it go. i think you are being too sensitive from reading it BUT do what you want about him .. i wasn't there and if you are hurt by it then you are hurt by it.

I think it is the downside of seeing a locum. My Gp is wonderful and is aware that I only go to the Dr's when something is "wrong"
A couple of years ago I was in a bad way with sores and blisters in my mouth, it was so bad I was surviving on Slimfast as eating was too painful. GP was on holiday so I saw a locum, who completely dismissed me saying "I don't want to see your mouth , go and see a dentist" waving me away with her hand at the same time.
There was no sympathy or polite suggestion there. I got out of the surgery and burst into tears as she had been so short and rude with me.
Incidentally my Dentist said he didn't know what it was and suggested I go to the Doctor!

OP, there is a medication you can take to help your stomach, Lansoprazole. Has that ever been suggested?

And definitely write to the Practice Manager. Awful attitude

well if she is on these medication which are addictive and strong, repeatedly and she is still ending up using a wheelchair then surely its right to review them as they cant be working then??

You do understand that chronic conditions are by definition managed and not cured?

There is also a lot of rubbish talked about addiction - yes if badly managed there are some drugs which can be an issue but far less than is often assumed (I'm talking specifically about chronic conditions here).

The person to review them is the doctor with the full history not some random locum who plainly knows nothing about the OPs condition.

Questioning why the Op was in a wheelchair, stops at the bit when he asked if she’d had a fall, surely? Suggesting that a patient you’ve never met before doesn’t need the wheelchair and should take some ibuprofen goes a bit further than that.

I wonder whether the issue is really that he doesn’t believe in fibromyalgia.

Chocolate, in the real world it isn’t always possible. Maybe half the appointments I’ve had in the last 3 years have been with my regular GP. The rest have been with an assortment of GP registrars, locus and other GPs who aren’t mine. I can only think of one occasion when one of those has come anywhere close to being as rude as the OPs locum. And that includes appointments where they’ve questioned my meds.

Questioning why the Op was in a wheelchair, stops at the bit when he asked if she’d had a fall, surely? Suggesting that a patient you’ve never met before doesn’t need the wheelchair and should take some ibuprofen goes a bit further than that.

OP, I wonder what your regular GP has put in your notes to make the locum not take you seriously????? I assume he will have scanned your record and the notes from your previous visits before calling you in.

Sorry to hear about your experience, this Dr was rude, unprofessional and extremely insensitive - definitely speak to the practice manager as PPs have suggested, he should never have spoken to you in that manner (whether he was trying to have banter or not)

well if she is on these medication which are addictive and strong, repeatedly and she is still ending up using a wheelchair then surely its right to review them as they cant be working then??

Do you work for the dwp?

Being a rude cunt is no respecter of class, education or background - this GP demonstrates that. I understand why this has got you so upset, and I've had a good number of similar experiences over the years.

I've found a good number of healthcare professionals quite simply don't believe fibromyalgia exists, still more believe that the use of a wheelchair is completely unnecessary for someone living with such a diagnosis. However, regardless of this fact, that does not excuse treating a patient with anything less than respect, courtesy and diplomacy.

My own GP practice is stacked pretty much 2-to-1 against fibromyalgia, and almost 100% when you're young and require painkillers - they almost instantly label you as a malingerer or as having drug-seeking behaviour. Somehow they seem to think that pain is a preserve of the old and that those of us under 40 shouldn't accept our limitations.

@ChocolateWombat so would it have been ok for the doctor to ask a patient with visual impairment if they'd like to read something by themselves or should he do it?

Even if you can argue confusion and interpretation on his previous demeanour and questioning,his last statement to OP was not ok,joke or not.

Haggis Shhhh hahahahahaha

Well the GP certainly didn't .

What an arsehole!
Why not tell him he will soon be out of a job, in fact fuck it why not shut the whole practice.
In future all patients with genuine physical complaints will simply 'man up'. Mind over matter and all that ... 🤔

Definitely speak to the practice manager.

I have no problem in thinking he may well have been insensitive and possibly rude or inappropriate - but it is hard to know, even when hearing quotes of individual sentences out of context.

A number of people in wheelchairs do stand for short periods, and possibly opening a door, might be one of them. Asking if someone can stand to do a task or needs help isn't in itself rude. If Op had said she was unable to walk at all and was in the chair all the time and needed help to get in and out of it, then it would seem a rather odd question, but we don't know that conversation had happened or exactly what Op had said about her wheelchair use.

It might have been a very genuine question, or it might have been unintentionally insensitive, or intended to be rude....it's not possible for us to know really.

And so, as I often find on MN, we get a short report of an incident, with a question about whether someone was unreasonable, or unfair or vile or whatever......and people leap in and say they were treated terribly,many sound very very sure about it. They call for complaints, one has even called on this thread for something which should influence their 5 year re-registration. I just think people are often too quick to jump to judgements on scant information, and quick to condemn people and not consider the bigger picture, or think about how someone else might tell the story from a slightly different viewpoint or what the reasons behind what happened were.

I am sorry Op came out of the Drs feeling crap. I am sorry she is ill and in the wheelchair at the moment and sorry that she was unable to see her regular Dr today. Seeing a Locum who didn't know her and her background condition or medication didn't help her continuity of care, and she certainly found the Locum challenging and unhelpful and it made her uncomfortable. I couldn't say I could make a judgement entirely accurately as to whether he was rude and unprofessional or not, because I'd need more information than we have. Others seem to be very certain with the little information we have.

And I just wonder if the Dr wrote a report of that meeting what he would say happened and was said. Perhaps most of the words quoted would be the same, but perhaps other details about what he read on the computer or didn't see would come up, or comments about what Op was like or said, or about what he thought about when reading her notes and seeing the diagnosis and medication, or her answers to questions or demeanour. I suspect we might hear different elements of the story.....and would he be lying or exaggerating or whatever if he was simply telling a story of what happened and not being asked to justify himself....well no, he would be reporting the events of the day, in the same way the Op reported the events of the day.

Again, I am not saying the Dr was right and clearly the Op left feeling upset. All I am saying is that often things are not as simple as we feel or as they seem in a short story. Every day, things happen where people are rude and unprofessional and people are right to complain. And every day, people feel aggrieved about things, where actually there wasn't really any rudeness or unprofessionally but they have felt upset for a variety of reasons. Both things happen every day.

I hope the Op feel a bit better now. And I hope she is able to think about what happened (because only she was there and will be able to picture the whole thing - what was said, how she felt as she went in, what other things might or might not have influenced how she felt and reacted and remembered) and decide if this is something where the Dr was unprofessional and rude and she needs to complain (and fair enough if that's her conclusion - I'm not saying don't complain at all) or if because of all the difficult circumstances in her life at the moment and issues of seeing a Dr she hadn't seen before, these contributed to her feeling crap (and I'm not saying that this should be her conclusion - just it's worth considering).

I've often had dealings with people where I've left feeling absolutely rubbish. Sometimes, their behaviour has really had very little to do with how I've felt - it was because of other issues going on in my life, because I wasn't feeling great when I went in, and particularly because I heard things in a certain negative way, not because they were said in that way. And other times, on reflection, people have been rude and horrible to me and they were entirely responsible for making me feel horrible and ruining my day. Both happen.

I work in healthcare alongside GPs, being a locum doesn't mean you can't get a substantive post! There is a shortage of GPs nationally so many practices have to rely on them.

Agree he's right that the medication needs reviewing. I think doctors that carry on prescribing things like benzodiazepines, opiates, antidepressants, zopiclone etc are being a bit lazy and irresponsible.

People stay on these drugs for years and years, and there are lots of serious issues associated with long term use. They're not supposed to be used in this way.

Have you been referred to a pain mgmt team with a psychologist or any physio at all? Fibro is poorly understood but a multimodal approach is known to be more effective than just meds.

Make a formal complaint.

I’m on morphine, have been for over a decade, and I’ve encountered many idiots like this, who think that meeting me for five minutes means they know more about my health and history than GPs and consultants I’ve been seeing for years.