Aibu to think this GP was wrong to give antibiotic?

[Cheeeeislifenow]

My 13 year old ds, has a cold he has asd and should add has a liking for the dramatic's. He was "dying". Husband booked him a GP appointment I didn't feel it was necessary to be honest but went with it. I should add, he had no temperature,no lethargy, just a cough not even complaining of a headache.
So I brought him to Gp I also wanted to get his bloods done because I thought he might need Iron.
She examined him and said she couldn't see anything physically wrong with him. She asked me what I thought I said I think it's a cold but he may need Iron. She said okay we'll go with that and we will give you an antibiotic just in case. I said should he take that now, she said yes in case it turns into something.
My son told her he was feeling tired, before I knew it she suggested he should go to A and E!
I asked why would he need A and E, she said she will give me a referral letter to go later if I decide I want to.
Our A and E here in Ireland is MASSIVELY over crowded, our nurses are going on strike for 24 hours tomorrow?
Aibu to think she was being ridiculous in A offering an antibiotic, just in case and to offer to send him to A and E for a sore throat and no other symptoms!

I had been planning to bring him anyway to get his iron levels checked and saw it as an opportunity for a general wellness check up.
The following is on his letter, looks a. Bit pale and has a cough.

Action taken:bloods taken for iron levels.
500mg amoxicillin

I am not suggesting I know better than her. I am definitely suggesting that she needs to inform patients more.
I did ask I was told "no sign of infection"
The antibiotics is "just in case"
And the a and e letter is "if he feels worse"
I already knew in my mind I would wait at least one day before starting the prescription.
I am not a doctor no but ai am relying on the doctor to be clear and she was not.

And I was going to email my GP surgery with feedback, which they ask for so no I am not "wasting" anymore time

She probably made the dx on the basis of the appearance of his throat, just as doctors commonly did for decades before the rapid test became available.

Do not question her professional judgment on this. It's really not on and will get you a reputation in the office.

If your son was really over egging things but she couldn’t determine what was wrong, she was just erring on the side of caution- better from the doctors point of view to give the antibiotics than your son being admitted to A&E with sepsis from an unknown unchecked infection (worst case scenario obviously).

@missconduct
Then she should have said hhhhmm looks like strep starting. But she said and I quote" no sign of infection". And the antibiotics were "just in case".
Surely she should be telling the patient if she suspect something.
And quite frankly if questioning a doctor's pinion by getting a second opinion makes you unpopular on the office, I frankly couldn't give a shit. They have thousands of patients, I doubt me asking for a second opinion, will make me the talk over the water cooler.

You are totally right to question doctors and not follow advice blindly!

GPS are very risk averse - if something happened to your son and she had just sent him home she could be struck off for negligence. So her treatment plan is not just about what she thinks is wrong, but about the worst case scenario.

I always ask doctors what they’d do if it was their own family. I also tell them my philosophy is to avoid drugs unless absolutely necessary.
That usually encourages a less risk averse approach.

I feel sorry for doctors - they are in a tough position.

And what is your feedback going to be exactly?

" I brought my son to an appointment which I didn't think he needed but I did so to keep my husband happy. When I got there, knowing nothing at all about the situation, I disagreed with what the doctor advised. She should have 'informed me more'."

Maybe you should have informed her that your son was coming the old solider and apologised for wasting her time.

And who do you think will have to waste time with your 'feedback' because someone will.

Of course if you are not happy with a doctor's manner or feel a doctor has been negligent, then complain, leave feedback, but to argue the toss over a treatment plan, when you have no medical training is bull headed arrogance. You just don't like anti-biotics being handed out and who are you exactly?

You have even dismissed posters who have suggested why the doctor acted as they did, in your rush to complain.

There is, at the moment, a very silly movement which seeks to dismiss any professional skill- a type of, 'we're all experts now'. We have seen it happening in schools for years and now it is turning its empty bellow to medical staff.

Empty vessels make the most noise and you, alas, are a prime example of this.

I shall engage no further with you because you want to be taken as much heed of as the doctor and nothing will disabuse you of the idea that should happen.

I would have read the situation totally differently and assumed the anti booties and referral were given because the GP suspected something and wanted to A. start treatment asap and B. investigate further.

Will complaining get you off paying?

Correction:

I brought my son to the GP as he was feeling unwell with a cold but as I have explained numerous times had been planning to get his iron levels checked anyway as he has not been to a GP in two years.
My point is she should have told me what she suspected or her suspicion was.. when I asked. Was told he has "no infection".
Is a diagnosis too much to expect when you receive treatment?
When she said about a and e she gave no Indication of why he might need to go. When I asked it was a vague "if he feels worse" . If she thought sepsis was a risk she could have said, look out for a temp etc

No it won't weezil it's already paid for what exactly are you implying?

My son told her he was feeling tired, before I knew it she suggested he should go to A and E!

She also said he could go to A and E if I feel he needs to.

Which was it, OP? Suggested he should go to A&E or pointed out could go to A&E if...?

My DS has ASD. He doesn't present with illnesses in the same way that other kids do.

I would be guided by the doctor and ask them to clarify at the time if I was unsure, like most adults would

How severe is his ASD? We are advised to have a lower threshold for treating patients with communication difficulties as the history can be misleading either way. It's well known that patients with such conditions are more likely to have adverse health outcomes so we are being encouraged to treat with a lower threshold than we might otherwise.
Also, the newer scoring systems for giving abx for painful throat take into account patient's perceived pain. So if he was exaggerating his symptoms as you suggest this may have tipped the balance.

The GP also may have misinterpreted your expectations. While they should, in theory, explore them for every patient / parent, as well as fully explaining their prescribing decisions, in reality when you're running late, have had three parents shout at you for quite reasonably not giving antibiotics etc you do loose the will to live a little bit. It shouldn't be like that but I'm afraid it just is sometimes, we're only human.

I think some posters are being a bit unkind suggesting you should never question your GP - of course you can. As I said before, we're only human. Though I'd suggest it would be more productive to do it politely face to face rather than on mumsnet or via email later.

As above, is it possible the GP was listening to your DS and not to you? This is good practice to ensure the voices of child patients ae heard, especially with respect to how they feel, e.g. pain, suffering, emotional pain, stress, etc. I notice this when we are in hospital with DD, she is shy and won’t speak up so sometimes I speak for her and the doctors/nurses continue to address her and try to get an answer from her (rightly so).

Wow we didn't get antibiotics when my 2 year old had significant breathing problems! I got a shrug and an "It's probably just a cold". Despite that the last time she had breathing problems and they said it was "just a cold" she ended up in hospital. Where are these GPs who give antibiotics?
Perhaps she has had a near miss recently where she missed an infection so is being over cautious?