To think that the doctor should not have fobbed my mother off?

[MrsSchadenfreude]

My mother’s GP clinic has been a nightmare since lockdown and has only been seeing people face to face in extremis. For months, my 89 year old mother has been asking for an in person appointment, due to ongoing pains in her chest and difficulty breathing. Her GP repeatedly fobbed her off, telling her that it was a pulled muscle.

She finally got an in person appointment with him, where he gave her a cursory examination, said he was “sticking by his opinion that she had a pulled muscle” and dismissed her breathlessness as an allergy. Told her to take paracetamol and antihistamine. She got no better, had yet another telephone consultation with another doctor, who agreed to send her for an x ray. The x ray showed up fluid on the lungs, she was admitted to hospital to have it drained and was told this morning that she has lung cancer and it is terminal; they will only be offering her palliative care.

I am not saying that the outcome would have been any different, but if she hadn’t been fobbed off for so long, they could have drained her chest sooner and at least improved her breathing and made her more comfortable.

We had the same issue with the same practice 20 years ago with my Dad, who was told his symptoms were all in his mind. Another doctor ordered blood tests, he was bluelighted to hospital due to high calcium levels in the blood and never came out, as he had terminal lung cancer. We complained and to the GMC and had our complaint dismissed. I just feel that history is repeating itself, and there will be no apology from the surgery.

I’m very sorry to hear this, OP. YOur parents haven’t had the standard of care they should have received. I think it’s definitely worth another complaint. Look after yourself too. Sending you much sympathy, and I hope your mother has the gentlest possible death.

That's appalling. I'm so sorry

If you have the strength in you, I think another complaint would be appropriate.

That's completely out of order, I'm so sorry. This sounds awful but I hope you can take some comfort from the fact that it's unlikely an early diagnosis would have changed the outcome, but as you say, your mother could have had support in the meantime. Is she now getting support? Aside from the pleural tap, there are other things like oxygen she could have just now and she will need more care as the disease progresses. It might be worth to speak to Macmillan, as they will know what you should should able to expect. If your mother stays at home you'll have to be on top of the surgery to make sure she gets what she needs.

That's terrible, I would register a complaint. It won't help you or your mother but it may help the next person. So sorry for you and your family.

Absolutely appalling. I would complain too.

OP I’m so sorry and you are definitely not being unreasonable. The level of care within the NHS is beyond terrible at the moment in my experience. The number of people I now know who have died or are dying from treatable conditions is unbelievable.

unfortunately for that reason I don’t think any complaint would do a thing. I have a sister who works in general practice, they are under insane amounts of pressure. The ones who care are leaving, and a lot of the ones left are completely jaded, overworked, and cannot offer any real care.

I don’t think complaining would do any good. ☹️

Complaining won't help your mum but it can get them to look at their processes. It can get the dr to really consider their practice, if they are that disillusionedthen perhaps its no longer the job for them, that alone is worth it.

There was a similar event at a local GP. The patient involved actually died less than a week later, so no question that there could have been any other outcome. But the GP was suspended and had to have a period of retraining, I suppose you’d call it, before being reinstated. I guess that lessens the likelihood of it happening again for both the GP involved and the colleagues at the practice. And that was a very good GP, that I have known and trusted for years - she made an error in her diagnosis but she was not at any point dismissive or rude to the patient in question (the case was reported on in some detail locally).
So, as PP says, it won’t help your Mum but it might help someone else in the future. Sorry about your Mum OP.

So sorry this happened to you. Absolutely complain, the practice manager, to the CCG, the the CQC, to your parents MP, complain widely and loudly.

It won't take your mum's treatment away but it may offer you some catharsis to help process it and it could well trigger improvements in the system going forwards.

She has been treated terribly. My Dad was the same. He got so poorly we called an ambulance. They went mad at the GP who had refused to come out to him. He ended up having a lung removed.

Firstly, I am so, so sorry OP. That is absolutely disgusting treatment from the GP. You and your mother must be in bits over the real diagnosis.
Please do as Signeduptosimplyreplytothis suggests and complain loudly and widely. This gp needs reviewing/suspending before he/she 'diagnoses' anyone else in the same unprofessional manner. If nobody complains how will the practice manager etc know something is amiss with this gp/ the practice as a whole.Please also include details of your last complaint with your ddad. You may even want to seek legal advice too although I understand your mind will be pretty much all encompassed on your dm at the moment . Am sending prayers to you both 🙏

This is heartbreaking

Complain to NHS England. If you are not happy with their response refer it to the ombudsman

You poor thing. Your poor mother.

Sending so much love