GP surgery phoned wrong person but made out me and DH are liars

[nextwed14]

I had a couple of missed calls from my GP surgery today which was odd as I haven't contacted them at all recently. They called again at 5pm and they asked to speak to my son when I explained he was at school they said his dad had contacted them and booked a phone appt for 1130 but they couldn't get hold of his dad on the number given so they were contacting me.

I said that it wasn't my husband who called and that my son is well and at an after school club. They had my sons name and dob and said that they definitely had a call regarding him this morning. I double checked with my DH and he hadn't called so I called the surgery back and said we definitely hadn't contacted them. DH then phoned to say he hadn't contacted them and receptionist said that he definitely called them this morning and an appointment was given but my DH didn't answer his phone. They made out that myself and my husband were liars and that we were wasting NHS resources by now deciding that there was no problem. They must have muddled my son up with someone else but I don't know how as his name is quite unusual and I dont think there would be 2 people with the same name and DOB. I don't know if I should take it further or just leave it. Who ever did phone has obviously not had an appt for their child as they had the totally wrong contact details for them

Doubt he would give his Dad’s number if that were the case 😐

I got a phone call from a dental hospital today to arrange oral surgery for removal of a wisdom tooth as requested by my GP. Deeply confusing as my wisdom teeth haven't even grown in yet, had no idea what was going on. I also had all kinds of weird additions to my maternal notes - I'd had two abortions and a miscarriage none of which is true. Don’t understand how this happens!

Not overly familiar. I always assumed that secondaries have extracurricular activities. So I was surprised that previous poster was questioning the fact that 16yo was in after school club.

Sounds like they have you muddled with someone else. I have a slightly unusual name and when I was an undergraduate there was another student at the university GP practice who had the same name as me and a very similar DOB. I only found out when we both had an appointment at more or less the same time on the same day.
Flag to the practice manager, who'll investigate.

I would definitely question the practice over this.

I wonder if he made the appointment himself, but it’s something a bit embarrassing.

Or a friend did it because he told them something and they felt it needed to be checked out and was hoping to persuade him after the appointment was booked.

I would tell him that if it is him that made an appointment then it’s absolutely fine and you won’t ask what it’s about. And if anytime he needs one in the future, then you’re happy to ring up for him no questions asked.

I do think it’s a case of mistaken identity but it does seem odd.

I’d see if the surgery can get the number that called them, perhaps say you’re worried about someone doing it maliciously and you’re thinking of making a report to the police (they won’t admit their fault otherwise).

The bestone I've ever had wastrying to find out who made a mistake with my dad's prescription.
The gp surgery blamed the pharmacy and vice versa. It eventually transpired it was the pharmacy.

I listened to the person serving us talking to someone on the phone and she said "Oh I'll just tell them it was a gp issue" a few seconds later she came back to us and said it a gp mistake. I said we'll if you're going to lie it might be best if you don't tell that lie where it can be heard.

Needless to say we changed pharmacies and the issues stopped.

My last gp surgery jad person with same name n dob as myself got us muddled up a lot dispite several complaints worst part was other person had serious medical issues and kept missing appointments etc and they would ring me n ask why lol

Extra curricular activities are after school clubs. Same thing. As a previous poster has said "an after school club", which could be hockey, football, drama.. is different to primary school's "after school club", which is childcare. Kinda odd when you see it laid out in black and white 😄

TBH they shouldn't actually be contacting you or his dad if he's 16. At 16 they are deemed adults in healthcare and information cannot be shared even about appointments if they don't agree. Most of us will encourage young people to tell parents/ carers but we can't if they don't give permission. They may have rung the home phone if its listed but not your mobile.

Had to comment on this as during Iockdown I suddenly began to get invitations for Covid vaccines as someone who was clinically vulnerable as well as advice to shield and not go to work.

I phoned my GP surgery to find out what was wrong with me (I panicked that there was something I didn't know) - they said nothing.

So I tried to stop the NHS from inviting me for early vaccines - thinking I'm stopping someone who is really is in need from getting it.

They just kept writing to me and texting me asking me to go for the vaccine.

In the end I spoke to my GP about it and how it seemed a real waste of NHS resources.

He looked into it and said that someone had put a code on my records to say I have Down Syndrome. I do not have Down Syndrome. He also said there is no way to get the code removed.

I don't know if that's true but in the end I gave up trying to reason with them and have had all the jabs when offered - I figured it was no worse of a misuse of NHS resources than the constant to and fro of me trying to persuade them that I don't need to jump the queue or even have the vaccine now as I don't qualify for it.

I also got offered anti-virals when I had Covid but failed the screening test over the phone - because clearly I am not clinically vulnerable!!

The difference here though is that at no point has anyone been rude to me or accused me of lying - this is what you need to complain about - mistakes happen but to blame them on the patient is really poor!

Weird things happen sometimes. My mother recently turned up at her surgery to be told she had a phone appointment. She replied that it was in person and the receptionist got quite shirty with her insisting it was over the phone. Mother asked whether flu vaccines were regularly given by phone call and the receptionist grew very quiet…

I was one told by a practice nurse that I had been in for tests a couple of months before. I hadn't. They got patients mixed up.

Mistakes happen, but it's not on to talk to me like an idiot when the mistake is pointed out.

I once had to have surgery in hospital as a teenager. I was assigned to the geriatric ward as they had the wrong birthdate down for me. I wasn't allowed to know what this birthdate was because of data protection 😱

Think I’ll request my medical records - got a copy consultant letter saying he’d met a very pleasant gentleman (I’m obviously female).
Another time, collecting a regular prescription in the GP Pharmacy - the box in the packet was a different shape so I opened it/ to find someone else’s medicine in there, on viewing the bag it wasn’t my name either- the pharmacist was still sorting payment on slow WiFi so I told her- she went white- grabbed the bag off me and shuffled off, got mine and just said this one’s yours!! No apology

Just as a word of warning, if they say the code can't be removed I would make it extremely clear that you have contacted them in writing confirming this is an incorrect code and not a diagnosis you have ever received. (I'm sure there must be a way to remove it but it's probably more complicated than they can be bothered with). Just because I know of a guy where a similar thing happened, GP records said he had COPD when he didn't and his travel insurance didn't cover him when he got pneumonia and ended up in ICU abroad. Insurers argued he had not declared the condition despite him never having any chest problems ever before.

Apologies, I'm just being thick, I was thinking of a "childcare" situation
I hope you get to the bottom of it.

Ask for the number they tried to call to speak to the “dad” and see if it’s in your DS’s phone. If they are insisting it’s your DH who gave the number then they can read it back to him surely.

A few months ago the GP surgery called and gave me an appt for my baby’s vaccinations on Thursday 22nd August at 2pm. I dutifully wrote it on my calendar whilst on the phone so I wouldn’t forget. Went to the GP for the appt and it wouldn’t let me check baby in so I went to the desk. The receptionist coldly told me I was wrong and the appt had been on Tuesday 20th August at 10am. I apologised but said I’d definitely been told it was Thurs at 2pm to which she told me I should pay more attention to getting the date right and ask the person to repeat on the phone if I wasn’t sure as vaccinations were important. Fortunately she managed to fit baby in as the vaccination clinic was on when I was there (what a coincidence given it’s only on for 3 hours twice a week!). They also clearly don’t consider them to be that important given no one phoned me when I ‘missed’ the Tuesday appt.

Just an unnecessary attitude and unwillingness to accept they may have made an error. If it was an appt for me I probably would have just apologised profusely but didn’t want to seem like a bad mum for missing the appt!

It was in my patient records that I was pregnant. I was 71 at the time!

When my DS was a baby he was the only one at the GP practice with his DOB but later another child joined (or maybe 2 or 3!). Could they have a call for a child with the same DOB and got sloppy and just put it by DOB?
I know the above because they always used to say his name as soon as I said his DOB but then after a few years they'd ask to confirm the name. They have never done this for me, DH, or DD

I requested my medical records and it says I had a kidney transplant has a child. Funny how nobody else knows about it and I've no scars.

Lol, I'd like to bet they would if it was something embarrassing.

My housing association has my DHs date of birth down as mine and apparently there is no way to change it. DH is 23 years older than me. we started renting from them in 1994 and they changed their computer system in 2016 so thats when it likely happened.

Glad somebody else had made the GDPR point here as that was one of the more significant things running through my mind. I think the OP really should flag what has happened with the Practice Manager too. I suspect that a realisation on the part of the member of staff that they’d breached GDPR is the driver for the shit the OP received over the phone.

I kept getting offered weight management classes by my GP. Just ignored it as thought prrhaps they were sending the info to all of their patients. But then one day when I went in for an appointment I saw a little pop up on the screen saying something like "high BMI, offer weight management classes". I asked the GP about it and he checked my details and someone had entered my height as 60cm so my BMI was a crazy high number!