Extremely rude doctor

[Picturesintheclouds08]

This is more of a vent than anything else.

In my GP practice you don't get a face to face, you get a phone call then a face to face if deemed necessary. That's fine, no issue with that.

You have to state what you are calling for to the receptionist so I stated stomach issues and period problems.

The doctor calls and asks how he can help.

I begin saying - I'm calling for Two things that may or may not be related.. one is a pain in my stomach, one is period pains.. he cuts me off right there and says .. I don't have time for a list of issues.

What's your stomach pain he asks - dull ache, coming and going, few centimeters to the right and below belly button, been going on few weeks. He says - it's just your bowels, it is very normal. I question that - I'm 36, never had this pain before.

Then I say - about my period - he goes - I don't have time to be talking about periods and all that, quickly give me the highlights. I could not believe the rudeness of him. Highlights - 12 days between a period, sometimes 7 weeks, extremely painful through to my back and bum - cannot physically move, blood clots, very heavy, would consider a hysterectomy it is that bad. (Took me about 30 seconds to give him that run down) Ok he says, i dont have time to deal with this today and you need to call back another day for a new appointment and request a female doctor.

I was gobsmacked at his rudeness. The phone call lasted under 5 mins. I understand they are under alot of pressure but his rudeness was terrible. I didn't realise you couldn't talk about 2 issues (that may be related) at the same appointment.

Youre not being unreasonable, by any means, BUT unfortunately such is the state of the NHS that doctors and HCPs are mandated to deal with one issue only and no more. I am sorry you had today's experience, my advice, is to get health insurance and be seen privately. It's wrong I know but its your health, I dont think things will get better. Good luck

I don’t get this either. An illnesss, serious or otherwise, might have multiple symptoms e.g bowel cancer may be associated with blood in poo, abdominal pain and change in bowel habit. If a person can only mention one of these symptoms then serious problems may be missed and time wasted when treatment should be started.

so yes, make a complaints and flag it up as much as possible. I know GPS are overworked, but sometimes we need to complain about poor treatment. I hope you are ok. X

is to get health insurance and be seen privately

Insurance is unlikely to cover what's now established as a pre-existing condition. However, when I went private via insurance, the cost of a consultation with a consultant gynaecologist was the same cost as the excess on the insurance (£200) so if the OP can afford it, it might be worth seeing one at her own cost even if she has to revert to the NHS for further treatment.

The whole point of going to a GP as opposed to systems where you can go straight to a specialist (beside the cost) is that they are supposed to look holistically at your health.
How many serious illnesses are missed because doctors won't connect the dots between different problems?
Definitely complain OP and higher up than just to that practice.

No, he's not right to get frustrated. What if the issues are connected?
I suffer from sinus problems and acid reflux, for example. My GP said they were connected. It wouldn't make sense for me to only bring up one of them to my GP, would it?

Any two issues could be linked as far as the patient knows!

That is shit - and very rude. Never heard anything like it! It makes FAR more sense to sort everything in the one call, whether it's 2 things or 5 or 6! The GPs at my GP practice chat as long as you need to, and one GP gave my DH a 'callback' at 7.15pm last week (even though they shut at 6pm/he finishes at 6pm,) because some of the calls took a while.

He was due to finish at 6pm, but worked over an hour an a half with no extra pay (that I know of,) so he could give each patient the time they needed. THAT is how to treat your patients, not 'I DON'T HAVE TIME WOMAN!!!'

Sorry you had to tolerate this @Picturesintheclouds08 Please do complain. Nothing will ever be done about it else.

He shouldn't have spoken to you like that regardless. Fair enough the policy is one app for each thing (although they could have been linked) but surely the triage system stage should have informed you of this, and that he doesn't deal with womens issues. Sadly the shit state its in often means only very urgent things get seen and ongoing conditions are often left until they escalate, but please do try and secure another appointment and email the practice manager about him.

All gps should model themselves on the gps from the bbc series, Doctors.
Not only will they diagnose your dyslexia from a simple look in your throat but they will also drop by on their way home from work and help you trace your long lost brother. Excellent service

We shouldn't expect GPs to stay on in their own time and unpaid though. Great if he chooses to do that and can as he doesn't have responsibility outside work that precludes this, but I don't think it's fair to suggest that doctors who don't so this should. The system is broken.

This

A few weeks ago similar to another pp I had an appointment and the young male dr couldn't even look me in the eye and before saying the words 'time of the month' (!!!) and before that said said 'erm...errr...erm..hmmm', so humiliated to be talking to a woman about her health.

It's a joke. Complaint time.

That is very frustrating. I think you should definitely complain. It's annoying because you were being very clear and specific about the two different types of pain to help him with the diagnosis instead of being vague about lots of different pains in the abdominal area.

Two different types of pain in a similar area doesn't necessarily mean two different medical problems - it's not like you were asking for help with a migraine and wanted to also talk about your clicking knee.

And shag a colleague in between triage calls

“I have a set of symptoms in my abdomen /leg /wherever”.
“I have a bunch of symptoms that all came on at about the same time”

Patients shouldn’t have to say these things to GP’s. I get the one problem = one appointment (due to pressures of time) BUT then you should be able to ask for, and actually get, a double appointment to address everything.

I don't agree with this though tbf. As a hcp (not a doctor mind) frequently working extra hours to get work done not only impacts on your mental health but masks the problem of lack of staff

Report him.

In light of the horrendous Martha Mills case I would complain and complain about these horrible arrogant doctors who couldn't care less about patients

Omg definitely report this man

Totally report - not only rude but unprofessional and putting the half of his patients who are female at risk by treating their medical issues as trivial and/or not something he can help with.

I managed to get taken seriously by pretty much saying "OK, tell you what? Don't bother yourself, I'll go, you're being very dismissive so I'll see myself out"
The horrible Dr practically shat herself and called me back to my seat. THEN I got the sort of appointment I'd expect from a professional.
Call them out. You deserve better.

You should definitely report this in writing to the Practice Manager. I really don't like the idea of telling the receptionist details about your problem, they are not medically qualified. What I suggest you specify is "abdominal pain" when making the appointment, then you can say what the symptoms include in the call.

Personally, I'd be concerned about appendicitis (I apologise, I haven't read through the thread, in case this has already been mentioned).

You can ring NHS 111 out of hours; they will get someone to ring you back. You might get a more courteous and intelligent response that way.

When they say only one issue at a time, it means you can't go about (say) migraine and ingrowing toenails, which are clearly unrelated. Where there is a chance they are related, as in your case, it is just ridiculous that you cannot mention all the symptoms at once which of course is necessary to support a good diagnosis.

Your meant to only have one problem per appointment . I think he was really rude though . I imagine having a very bad day and under a lot of pressure . Hopefully he will reflect on it . Perhaps you could contact practice manager about the way he spoke to you ?

Jeeeez.

I wonder if it’s the same GP I spoke to today by phone who spent half the call slagging off my previous GP and the other half arguing with me about why I should continue to take medication that clearly doesn’t agree with me!