I really don't know what to do for the best.
My partner has been under the same GP for years. To start with DP thought the GP was great, he was young, enthusiastic and DP felt he was really listened to. Years have passed and the GP is now one of the partners at the surgery.
DP had a motorbike accident in his early 20s. He broke many bones in his body including his knee. He has suffered pain in his knee ever since and, with age, this has become much worse. Around 15 years ago the GP started prescribing Co-codamol for the pain, DP has been taking it ever since. DP also suffers from anxiety and depression, he has been on the same antidepressants for years also.
A couple of years ago DP went to the GP with a bulge in his lower abdomen, he was in a fair bit of pain. The GP said that he couldn't feel anything but finally agreed to refer DP to the local hospital. When DP was seen at the hospital the consultant was concerned enough to mark his case as urgent because the hernia was so progressed he was worried about strangulation. DP was operated on within three weeks.
A while later DP complained of pain in one of his legs. The GP again was dismissive but DP was finally diagnosed (by a different GP in the surgery) as having cellulitis and was prescribed antibiotics, the pain was still there and so he was given a second course. DP still felt pain but again the GP was dismissive.
DP struggled on but after about a year his hip became very painful. He again went to the GP who reluctantly sent him to the cottage hospital. The x-rays showed that there was an issue with the hip and DP started on cortisone injections in the hip. The first injection worked fantastically but the relief was shortlived. The second injection did nothing to help. DP again went to the GP and had an appointment where a young female trainee doctor sat in. DP came back from the appointment in absolute pieces. DP says that the doctor basically said that DP was a pain-killer addict and DP felt humiliated. His mental health nosedived, it was awful seeing him in that state, he could barely motivate himself to get out of bed for weeks. His mood slowly improved, he went back to work, even though he was in significant pain. He refused to go back to the GP because of the way the last appointment had made him feel.
Finally I persuaded DP to see a female doctor at the surgery that I had found particularly empathetic, she referred DP to the hospital. The pain continued to increase, by now DP needed crutches to walk. He reluctantly went back to the doctor and they agreed to write to the hospital to see if it could be expedited. Nothing happened. DP rang the doctors every month or so, finally an appointment came through. By now DP was more or less bedridden because the pain was excruciating. DP was finally diagnosed stronger pain relief (the surgery wouldn't send anyone out to see him but then prescribed oramorph and later on tramadol over the phone). Each time he needs a repeat prescription he has to ring the surgery and is made to feel like an addict trying to get free drugs.
At the hospital they x-rayed the hip again. As the doctor looked at the x-ray, called in a colleague for a second opinion and said that the difference between the x-ray at the cottage hospital and the x-ray they had just taken showed a massive deterioration which should not have happened in that time frame. The doctor referred DP for urgent tests and said that the consultant would do the hip replacement himself. We got a phone call on the way home for the hospital to book the CT scan. Over the next month DP had blood tests, bone density scan and a MRI scan. Every one we saw commented on how much pain DP was obviously in and were very sympathetic. Still the GP surgery have refused to put his painkillers on repeat so he needs to ring up each time and plead his case. This has massively affected his mental health as he feels like he is marked as an addict and not believed.
We got the results about a couple of weeks ago. DP has been diagnosed with Avascular Necrosis. The blood supply to his hip had been cut off some how and the bone has basically died. His hip joint has crumbled, he is now mostly bedridden, occupational health has given him a wheelchair, crutches, a raised toilet seat etc. DP is having his first operation this week where they are taking samples to see if there is an infection that has caused the necrosis and to clean out the socket. After that, assuming there is no infection to treat, he needs at the very minimum, a full hip replacement. The muscles in his legs have withered away, he has been told he is going to need a shedload of physio after the operations to be able to walk again, let alone do anything else. DP is 51.
DP still has to ring the surgery each time he needs more painkillers and it really affects his mood, his depression and anxiety has worsened considerably.
It really feels that DP's GP has made a judgement that DP is some sort of addict when all he is doing is trying to control the pain he is in. I feel that the GP has allowed his opinion of DP to cloud his judgement and this has meant that DP didn't get the treatment he needed until things got to breaking point both physically and mentally and, even now, DP is still having to constantly justify himself.
DP is worried that if we complain about the GPs attitude that it will only get worse, I think that something needs to be said. DP is the shell of the person he used to be. I am willing to do the complaining for him so he doesn't have that extra stress. WIBU to complain? If so is it the practice manager we speak to? To complicate things I think the GP is the head guy.
Sorry it is so long!!