How to complain about a private consulation I had (medical)

[girlfriend44]

Please help what is the right channel if anyone knows?

Dont want to say too much as outing but something crazy happened. I went to see a private doctor/consultant a few weeks ago, as I didnt want to wait on the NHS.
All good and I paid at the time. I was told that a report would be typed up and sent on by email, when the secretary had done the notes. Seemed Ok.They said the next few days.

Nothing came so I emailed, they fobbed me off and its quite obvious they cant be bothered to write it up for me. I need it and I paid for it and they also said I could show the report to my employer (health matters).
They now wont answer emails.

How do i report them? Can I get my money back I paid on debit card for the appointment. Should I tell them Im going to report them and levave bad reviews. New to me, so how to handle. Paid but got nothing in writing to say ive been and what the findings and recommendations were?
Feeling Crazy. How do i take it further. I know you can complain about NHS but where do i go now as its a private practice!!

It's likely they probably haven't had time, it took nearly a month to get my letters when I went private. I would send a follow up email requesting an update and remind them that's it part of the service you have paid for.

How many weeks ago? I would give it a month. Who told you a few days? If it was the dr he perhaps doesn't know how many the secretaries have in the queue

Did your employer request this?

Depending which private healthcare provider e.g. Circle, BUPA etc , they should all have a complaints procedure on their website which you can follow.

“Nothing came so I emailed, they fobbed me off and its quite obvious they cant be bothered to write it up for me.”

Can you be clearer about this?
If you paid for a service that included a written report, then I doubt very much that they can’t be bothered to do it!
But I can well believe they are either behind writing it, or miscommunicated the lead time to you.

Does fobbing you off mean:

• now refusing to write it
• just not committing to when

Because those are 2 different complaints, with potentially different actions.

Have you phoned them for an update?

Not looking like im going to get it,
the consultant told me his secretary would write up notes and send it on to me via email. He said a few days. its not circle or bupa by the way.

no but the doctor said i could show my employer if i wanted too.

Write; but you’re still not answering the question!
Why are you saying it’s not looking like you’re going to get it?
Nobody has actually said to you, “we don’t issue written reports”.
The issue is you’re just not getting it as quickly as you expected?

What does “they fobbed me off” actually mean? What was the wording of this “fobbing off” in the reply to your chasing email?

What did they say when you chased it?

This happened to me recently. Can you contact someone more senior at the hospital? I eventuially got a response when I sent a more strongly worded emial and copied someone else in at the department I was seen in.

Sympathy. I just spent £40 getting a private consultant to identify a skin blemish. He did a report saying idk, maybe cancerous, maybe not.

Thanks im unable to go into too ,much detail at the moment. Does anyone know who complain too, for instace can i claim on my debit card for a refund.

I know there is a complaint section for the NHS if you arent happy is there one for private people to be looked into?

Can’t you just ring the secretary to chase it up? You would have been given contact details at the time of booking.

Phone the hospital / consulting rooms where you saw the doctor and ask to speak to the general manager. Explain you have seen the doctor and have been waiting for the report but not yet received it and can he look into it for you.

Most consultants use the medical secretaries employed by the private hospital consulting rooms so the general manager is their top boss.

I know from personal contacts in our neck of the woods that there is a shortage for medical secretaries resulting in delays for letter and report typing up, appointments being made etc.

Keep chasing the secretary

You're not going to get a refund. Phone them.

For the third time of asking - have they refused to give you a written report?

If you can’t go into that much detail, you are wasting your time posting 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you booked a service that contractually included a written report which they are refusing to now provide, then a charge back and / or their complaints procedure might be appropriate.

If the contract includes a report but no time line was guaranteed then you potentially can only wait and chase at this point.

I understand that you don’t want to tell us whether it’s a boob job or an ingrowing toe nail, but to get advice you do need to tell us what has actually happened!

You are quite vague with the details - is "a few weeks ago" two weeks ago, in which case their turnaround time for a non urgent matter might be seen as reasonable, or is it more like three months ago?

Put in writing that you paid $XXX on B date for a consultation on C date and that your understanding at the time was the fee would include the consultation and a written report issued by D date, if you were given a clear timeline. E weeks have passed since your consultation, you have not received the report and they have not been forthcoming as to when you can expect it when you have contacted them by phone/e mail on F,G,H dates. Ask them when you can expect to receive the report. If you have a leaflet or any sort of written contract regarding the service you paid for, refer to it in your letter.

Depending on their response, or lack of, you can move forward. I wouldn't just send email as if the person whose account it is is away it may just sit there. I would send a hard copy with signature on delivery.

If it was a private hospital, the complaint procedures will be on their website.

Private medical companies are all different companies. Of course there isn't one place to complain about ALL private consultations. You consultation could have been in literally anything, no one here is going to be able to tell you how to make a complaint.

I would expect to receive my letter several weeks after consultation. 'A few days' probably isn't accurate, no matter what the doctor said. It has to be typed up by a medical secretary usually.

I've done quite a few private appointments I've never waited longer than a week for the follow up letter that detailed what was discussed and is sent to my gp.

What timescales are you talking about? How many times have you emailed to chase?

I see private consultants fairly regularly (I'm not a malingerer I promise!) and the letters can take anything from a couple of days to a couple of months.

I chased one that hadn't come through after 8 weeks and it was finally sent. It also varies according to the system consultants use. My regular consultant dictates his, doesn't check them (as is quite clear on occasions...) and they take up to a week. I have another friend who's a consultant and she checks hers after they've been typed up and before they go out. Plus you might need to factor in holidays of medical staff and secretaries.

Private consultants are registered with the GMC but I doubt they'd be too interested in a late letter.

What sort of consultation was it? An osteopath or physiotherapist, or a medical doctor (cannot think of the correct terminology but you know what I mean).