I feel mortified about this going to my GP. Would you feel the same or am I upset over nothing?

[Unisu]

A couple of weeks ago I was very unwell on holiday. I called a private GP through my insurance and they diagnosed the problem and then refused to prescribe antibiotics as I had mentioned having a fever. They then said I needed to be checked in person and go to a walk in. I explained that the nearest walk in was nearly two hours away and I had a baby with me. The temperature was a symptom of the illness thay had themselves just diagnosed (and it was what I had suspected prior to the call as well). They appeared to then latch on to the temperature being potentially high and refused to prescribe the antibiotics and said these would be prescribed at a walk in but better to double check my temperature there.

I was feeling so rubbish by this point and couldn’t drive ten minutes let alone two hours. I said I didn’t think this was reasonable and given the nature of the illness it is actually standard practice to prescribe the medication when 1 out of 3 symptoms show… I had all three. They agreed with that but said they still wanted a walk-in.

Anyway in essence we disagreed and I said I wasn’t happy with this and that if I became more unwell quickly then I would be referring to this conversation in future. I recognise this was a bit of a shitty thing to say but I was despairing and also confused by their insistence they had diagnosed the issue but still wanted me to go to a walk in when very far from one.

Yesterday it came to my attention that the letter had gone to my GP explaining the private appointment I had had… and in it there was the suspected diagnosis, but this doctor had also said I was interrupting, insisting on treatment and they had to conclude the call because of this! This was simply not true. I did express I wanted the treatment but I was not interrupting and the impression given is that I was unpleasant. Aside from the comment above I was perfectly nice and listened entirely and was totally respectful.

I feel really upset by this. I always make a huge effort to be polite and decent to people in all contexts and I feel awful that this correspondence is now with my GP for all to see. Would you feel the same? Would you do anything about it?

@Barnbrack they didn’t mention sepsis to me on the phone but did in the letter. I think given the background it was obviously highly unlikely to be sepsis especially as the temperature spike was fleeting and I hadn’t had a temperature for over 48 hours by the time I had the phone call. That said, it’s the fact that it’s been characterised as me essentially being an absolute arse which wasn’t the case.

Don’t worry about what your own GP thinks about the tone of the letter as they’ll be busy and won’t be concerned about non medical things. If you’ve unhappy with the private GP you can review them on TrustPilot or Google Reviews and voice your concerns there.

I had similar with notes from a telephone consultation with a pain management specialist going to my GP. They had lost me in the system for a year while I was on the waiting list for spinal injections. In the letter to my GP, it said that I had become very frustrated and had ended the call abruptly (i.e put the phone down on them) which wasn't true. I was a bit annoyed about it, but that lasted a few minutes. I filed the letter away and went on with my day.

Your GP won't even have read it..just the secretaries to make sure there are no actions to be taken at their end.

Well you did threaten them so not that surprising.

I work at a GP surgery the GP probably won't see it. It will be processed by reception, then coded by the coding team and added to the record. We may check to see if you have gone on to receive treatment and if you haven't call you. But it's not something we would necessarily ask the GP to look at.

Does your GP do electronic forms? Our surgery does them for admin as well as medical matters. I'd submit my version of events on an admin form and this will then also be on my medical records. I'd also conplain to the insurance company.

I totally understand why you are upset and have every right to be.
In your position, I would explain to the GP that the information is inaccurate and you are upset by this.
Take care

Come back later today and reread your OP.

It’s pretty clear from the way you describe the situation yourself that you were insistent and not willing to take their advice.

Not taking the professional advice is an important thing to record for notes for future in case there are complications.

I care a lot about what people think … it’s a bit of a character flaw, so I was always going to obsess over something like this.

@Unisu

I have an absolutely great GP but don’t see him often so a letter to him would upset me too. I would think about writing to him and dropping it into the surgery - explaining what you have said here. You could say that it’s making you anxious to be viewed in this way. Your GP might not even reply (or even be bothered) but it might make you feel a bit better. I know other people might say it’s OTT and the GP won’t see it (I believe my GP would see it - he is so brilliantly thorough) - but it would help me and then I could forget about it.

Your GP definitely won't have read it, if it's any consolation. An admin team field all the letters and only forward to a healthcare professional if they need some kind of action. It might be seen in the future if you get repeat symptoms and the Doctor is trying to establish a history - but as someone who reads lots of these letters every day, I wouldn't be concerned. It's clear the Doctor was trying to cover their back in case you complained about your lack of treatment. I wouldn't read too much into it (but can understand why you're annoyed).

You're arguing with a stranger who is telling you they have protocols, safety against sepsis is WHY they have protocols, unlikely doesn't mean you didn't tick their boxes for possible so not suitable for phone antibiotics. You are wrong. Why can't you accept that?

I agree with that.

If this is standard practice, what's the point of paying for a private GP when they just send you back to the NHS? I'm not in the UK but had been trying to get my elderly parents to get private medical because the NHS is so bad, but it sounds like there's not much point!

Conversely they couldn't be sure it wouldn't develop into sepsis.

You were ignoring the clear medical advice being given to you and therefore this might well be "arse" category if the worst case scenario had happened.

At that point in time they could not be sure ot wouldn't though. You were making it clear to them you were not going to follow their advice and attempted to persuade them to give you AB anyway.

I would just file it under oh well now it hasn't happened.

🙄🙄

Please don’t go to your GP about this, you feel aggrieved because you didn’t get what you wanted by the private service. Unfortunately that’s how it works, you do as they request of you don’t get the meds. No reason to take up the time of an NHS GP. Let it go

Errm, the NHS is on its knees and this letter will get filed, at best a GP will scan it for the relevant medical info, and genuinely no one cares about whether you interrupted a healthcare professional on a call.

I honestly can’t believe you are getting worked up about this. I hate to use this phrase, but really, get over yourself.

Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it.
You might have been snappier on the phone than you remember but that would have been because you were poorly, stressed, had a baby with you and weren’t being listened to… not because you’re an unkind person.
If your GP knows you well, they’d probably think that was out of character for you and you must have been poorly and stressed at the time.

And for what it’s worth, I think it’s a good thing if you are insistent on receiving appropriate medical care.

Bless you. I'm the same and I totally get you.

If it makes you feel better , truthfully, as someone said up thread it'll be lucky to ever be looked at again. It'll be filed by admin unless there's something for the Dr to action.

You could email and dispute the contents of the letter. But they can't legally get rid of the letter or change it now. If you saw the volume of the letters they got , you'd feel a little better. They'll skim read the last line looking for actionable tasks ( I know as I'm an HCP who writes letters that nobody reads 🤣)

It would help me

So you would waste a GPs time on something so trivial? Do you live in Virgin River?

OP please dont do this. Aside from the fact that for most GPs you will look like a loon, its such a terrible waste of their time and resource. Manage your hurt/anger/outrage yourself and move on.

Op unless there's a chance you was very rude then dont apologise for advocating for yourself at a time you was very unwell and not in the best circumstances to get to the walk in. The letter didnt need explain you was rude, you're telling me that they've never encountered a stressed patient before? With regards to your GP seeing the letter dont give it a 2nd thought , I doubt your gp will.

Why would your GP give a shit, quite frankly? They probably didn't even read the letter and probably wouldn't be able to pick you out of a line up given how many patients they see daily.

Also you were rude, understandable given you were ill but the private GP was following protocol and covering his back. End of discussion. If you can't accept that then that is your issue. I hope you managed to get your antibiotics.

I don't think iv ever had a letter from any medical professionals that is 100% correct. Iv also had multiple letters saying how difficult i am but they conveniently leave out what they did wrong. I think you need to let it go gps deal with 100s of letters everyday and are fully aware of the egos some drs have they know its just oneside of a story