To want to put in a formal complaint to my gp practice?

[Hellbentwellwent]

I’ve had an awful bloody day and am feeling really let down and upset. I had major gynae surgery last week, radical hysterectomy with extensive excision of deep infiltrating endometriosis, they removed my uterus, cervix, bother ovaries and tubes and a large area of my pelvic wall - not insubstantial surgery.

I was sent home with a catheter in as my bladder was traumatised in surgery. Catheter was removed on Monday and I was asked to go back to see my consultant today for a bladder scan to make sure it was fully emptying. Scan today was all good but they did a dip test and I have an infection so consultant wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic and a script for more painkillers (30/500 cocodamol) as I’ve run out and in a fair bit of pain

Husband was with me so we drove from the hospital to our gp surgery, the system is ridiculous in the first place. Because it’s a script from the hospital it needs to be taken to the gp surgery so one of their doctors can re write the script to take to the chemists. We’re in NI if that’s relevant as I know our system is different that across the water. Dh left me in the car as I was feeling shite and took the script up to reception, then called me to say the receptionist was saying it would be 48hrs before a gp could write the script.

Wtf??

For starters that bollocks because we did the same last week when I was initially released with a script for hrt, dh brought it round in the afternoon and collected it later that day.

Secondly it’s bollocks because I know they have a prescribing gp every afternoon for this purpose and for repeat prescriptions.

Thirdly is bollocks for someone who is post operative to have been seen by a surgical consultant and diagnosed with an infection be left to wait 48 fucking hours for antibiotics because a non medically trained receptionist seemed to be under the impression of it had been urgent then they’d have dispensed the antibiotic at the hospital... which she said to dh repeatedly....

I’m beyond livid.

Poor dh has been running about like a blue arsed fly trying to sort it, what if I didn’t have any help? I can’t drive for 6 weeks, I’m in pain and feeling pretty ducking vunerable.

I love our nhs and I appreciate how much pressure it’s under but the gate keeping at gp surgeries is a liability.

Anyone want to help me draft a letter of complaint to the practice manager about the level of service the receptionist provided. FWIW I’m medically trained, changed career path eons ago and think it’s beyond appalling that a receptionist with no medical training seems to think she can override the recommendation of a consultant.

Go easy on me... I’ve just had major surgery and been plunged into surgical menopause....

I'm in NI too, my GP wouldn't give it immediately but it would be left out at 5.30 the same day.

I don't know the rules in NI about prescriptions but it seems dodgy it wasn't dispensed at the hospital. That is a longer term issue to resolve.

I'm a Dr, whatever the rights and wrongs the GP surgery should have sorted you out today. Personally I would go to the surgery tomorrow morning and sit in the waiting room until the prescription is done. I would go to the desk every 10 minutes and repeat your request. Loudly if you can manage it, 'I had major surgery last week and am in pain and have an infection, please can you sort out my prescription?'. You don't need to be aggressive, just assertive if you can manage it poor thing. You must feel awful. I would think your presence in the waiting room looking awful will precipitate a response.

Regarding a complaint don't worry about it just now. I would get your husband to ask for the name of the person he spoke to yesterday. Ask for a copy of the Practice policy on emergency prescribing. Take it home and when you are feeling a bit better have a think about a complaint.

ecause it’s a script from the hospital it needs to be taken to the gp surgery so one of their doctors can re write the script to take to the chemists

you are cross with the wrong person. How dare your consultant not give you a script that can be directly cashed at the hospital or at a local pharmacist? This is possible, it may be that hospital management haven't bothered to do it. Be cross with the consultant and the management of the hospital.

Not in NI but for about 6 months I had to get repeat prescriptions for DS milk. Our GP had 48 hour wait for repeat but occasionally I hadn't realised I'd run out or I'd realised it's the weekend and the milk wouldn't have lasted. My GP managed to get the prescription rushed through.

I'm not sure if your prescription is treated the same (in the GPS eyes) as a repeat but there must be someone there who can issue you the prescription in your circumstances. I would definitely complain, if only to make them reassess their procedures.

Can I clarify for anyone referring to this as a private script (unless I missed a bit about OP going to a private hospital, but even so those scripts are for a pharmacy, not GP) that this is not a "private script" this is a non urgent outpatient hospital script.

I think the OP did say she went to a private hospital? Although I may have misunderstood the post.

The care is certainly not adequate, but I'm very surprised that a hospital consultant is unable to write neither a hospital nor community prescription for urgent medication.

The Consultant should have done a prescription themselves if they felt you needed it. Or phoned the GP and asked for the prescription request to be done urgently. They will know it takes 48 hours.

The duty GP is not a prescription writing machine for what to them is a routine prescription (the Consultant presumably didn't ring ahead to say it was urgent).

I can imagine it is frustrating in your situation though. I would get some OTC co-codamol and phone the consultants secretary first thing to get them to chase up the GP prescription as urgent, if they feel it is warranted, orr issue it themselves.

I have experience in this area. The consultant should have either written a private prescription for the community pharmacy, or phoned/faxed the GP practice himself to ask for a same day prescription.
I completely understand your frustration but it is the consultant who is at fault.
Multiple hand written requests from consultants are received daily in gp practices, so unless the consultant has contacted gp at the time of your hospital appt, it will be dealt with in the 48 hour rule.
However, I think the receptionist should have listened to the situation your husband/partner was explaining, used some common sense and asked one of the doctors to do the prescription.

Definitely not unreasonable to complain to the GP. I don't know about private hospitals in NI but I do work in one in England and I believe some insurance companies won't cover outpatient scripts (they normally only cover a certain amount of days of post-op painkillers), which means the patient would have to pay a private price. Therefore the GP would be asked to prescribe. I could be wrong though, and regardless of that the GP surgery should surely be able to do an urgent prescription on the day for a post-op patient! I've been able to get contraceptives on the day because I forgot to order a repeat in advance and that's certainly not as urgent as antibiotics!

I had an issue this year, private consultant diagnosed me (went private as NHS wait list was too long). He then sent letter to the dr surgery stating what my diagnosis was and what I needed. 3 fucking weeks they expected me to wait for my prescription! I was not impressed 😡

Hope you get sorted soon

The woman's just had half her fucking organs removed and people are arguing the toss on whether she's telling the truth?

Awful hellbent, I hope you get something sorted.

As an aside, I'm also in NI and hoping to have endo surgery next year in a private hospital with one of our only endo specialists here.....wonder if it's the same one? If so, I'd love to know how you've found him as a surgeon.

Speedy recovery

I've been lucky with my pharmacy. If you explain the situation they will issue the drugs with the prescription to follow. Even if you could show the consultants letter that should be ok as long as they know the formal prescription is to follow. Might be worth a go, they normally have your patient record anyway.

As a side note, also based in NI and recently diagnosed with Endo. I would be gratefully if you could pm me with the consultant and hospital you have seen. 2yr wait for gynae in Belfast.

Hope you are recovering ok.

Hope you get sorted out soon.

I’m really sorry for you. :( can you not take the private prescription to the pharmacy? Sorry if that’s a dim questions but most pharmacies in England will process a private prescription.

OP YANB in any way U. Can’t believe people have suggested you are!

It’s not for you to have to spend physical and mental energy negotiating hospital and GP politics. That’s something they should sort out themselves. You need your prescription and should have been given it ASAP by the GP’s practice, since the hospital didn’t provide it.

I too am currently negotiating the politics and frankly just sometimes plain utterly crappiness of the NHS on behalf of a very unwell relative. I completely understand your rage and pain

Just woke up from a nap, thank you for all your messages. Still no antibiotics, can’t go to the out of hours, we’ve two small children in the house and out of hours would need me to go over and be seen, I can’t drive and dh can’t bring me, my mums not available to babysit, she was already here most of the afternoon while dh ran about trying to chas the prescription.

singerleon I’m so sorry you had that experience, I had similar as well with my pregnancy, Again with the receptionists in the same practice

busteDreams I’m lucky that my consultant is such a good surgeon, I’ve had previous surgery with him before and had a lot of bowel involvement at the last excision so this time round he made sure there was a bowel specialist in theatre with him. Luckily they were able to mobilise it all away from the uterus and excise the modules without damaging the bowel, I feel very grateful to have had the continuity of care with him so have knew how extensive my disease was before the op. I hope you’ve recovered well now and out the other side pain free

ginyogarepeat and user9 pm me, I’m happy to share my experience in the endo path, it’s been a long and convoluted one and I’ve seen a few different folk over the years. 2 years is atrocious to have to wait for a appointment but at least there is a wait list now, there’s a endo centre in Derry that had to close its doors and cancel its lists for 6 months due to stormont not sitting and then everyone was back to scratch, that was over a year ago now but utterly appalling that it even had to happen.

Hope you’re feeling ok, OP.

I had similar with regards a prescription from a gynaecologist consultant which meant it had to be signed off by my GP (also NI).

Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the situation with the consultant, you’d like to think that the receptionist would have recognised the urgency of the situation and tried to get something sorted.

A hospital prescription has to go to the on-site hospital pharmacy - it’s usually written on it somewhere. Community pharmacies can’t dispense from them - I would advise a patient to ask their GP to issue a script (the GP can say ‘no’) or to go back to the hospital.

@RunForTheHillock - why would the consultant write a private prescription for an NHS consultation?

In England most consultants won’t have access to prescription forms that can be used in the community, I imagine the same is the case in NI.

@SteeperThanHell

I would advise a patient to ask their GP to issue a script (the GP can say ‘no’) or to go back to the hospital

For goodness sakes! What possible justification could there be for saying no? Clearly this kind of doctor has forgotten why he/she was meant to have gone into medicine in the first place. Medicine is supposed to be about helping people who are unwell, not playing bleeping politics with them! Doctors who don’t get that should get the fuck out of medicine.

OP please contact the Patient Client Council first thing tomorrow morning ... they will put formal complaint for you and also link in with your surgery tomorrow to ensure your script is prioritised.

08009170222

[email protected]

www.patientclientcouncil.hscni.net

OP I totally get this, I'm in NI and had the same thing from a hospital consultant...prescription scribbled on a pink sheet and told to drop it to the GP to be written up. Seems it's the way here.

Please complain, it should have been pushed through at your surgery as a same day prescription!

Hi

If you were given a slip to hand to your GP, this sounds like a treatment advice note for non emergency treatment and they usually say somewhere on the sheet that you can expect to collect the medication in 48hrs from your GP practice.

As other posters have said, a hospital prescription would be dispensed at the hospital.

If your consultant wanted you to have meds immediately they should have issued a prescription not a treatment advice note or contacted your GP directly to request meds by email or fax rather than relying on you to go to your practice and request it

I feel bad for receptionists as they get the grief from understandably upset patients and then grief from overworked GPs

It might be worth asking if there’s a telephone appointment free wii the duty GP if you’re struggling without the meds

Hope you feel better soon
X

@WeePinklet

A GP might say no for many reasons, eg if they think the consultant has prescribed something inappropriately or the suggested meds contain something a patient is allergic to (which a consultant might not know). If a GP issues a prescription it is in their name and on their head if something goes wrong and consultants aren’t infallible

The GP surgery is not at fault.

If you were given a prescription, where was it for? I understand that you say there was no on-site pharmacy but was it a hospital prescription/private/other?

GP's cannot (and should not) just prescribe/dispense from a hospital prescription. A GP is liable for any prescription they have signed so it is unfair to expect them to do so for a patient/situation they have had no involvement in.

I don't blame you for feeling angry and upset, but you are blaming the wrong person.