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?

They rarely read the letters themselves anyway - the admin do and then flag anything the gp needs to see. And then that is not always actioned anyway so very unlikely they will even know unless you raise it!

File a complaint against the doctor with the practice.

Honestly, it's not the end of the world. Feel the annoyance and embarrassment surely, but any further worrying or trying to take action isn't going to change letter.

Then maybe listen to the advice of a professional and understand the protocols they are following. You sound conceited.

I totally get you feeling upset at perceived malignment. But. GPs are super busy and will only skim read letters. Plus, they understand that people are stressed in these situations and not always as calm and reasonable as usual, they are not going to think anything negative about you cos of the letter and realistically wont remember it.

You can ask for the voice recording and make a request to have your notes corrected if they are factually inaccurate.
Also you should not have been expected to drive two hours unwell that’s unreasonable and poor advise.

I would write a complaint to the private GP including my version of events (as you have written above) and cc the GP.

Sorry this has happened.

When I went into hospital to be induced it was written into my notes that I was over emotional and struggling. I had actually expressed irritation that the consultant had been in and told me he wanted to do a c section the next day and then the midwife said you can’t believe them it’ll be a different doctor in the morning and he could do something entirely different. I refused to eat breakfast and they implied in notes I was problematic. I was second in for a section as thankfully I hadn’t eaten that morning. If patients are aware their notes are arse covering exercises rather than patient care then people in the field must be aware too.

That's a daft thing to say. I live in a very remote area and would have the same distance to go to a F2F.

If you were pissed off and interrupting I am not surprised!!! It sounds so shit try not to worry about it you weren’t in the wrong

I do get this, I get how it would niggle you. It would niggle me too! If I had the energy, I may ask for the letter to be removed from my record or amended / added to, to reflect a true account. I work in the NHS and have had patients ring up and complain about inaccuracies in letters, and it has been (I think rather than the letter being deleted, it was noted on the record the patient had contacted, and then amended and re-sent so it was like 2 letters if that makes sense.
PP's are right, your GP won't worry about it one bit - but it does reflect you, and you shouldn't have records on there saying you refused treatment if you actually didn't, or did not explain the context (ie patient declined due to the risks involved with driving 2 hours with a small baby while feeling unwell.
I am not a GP but I can access my patients full health records, and I often read up well, including GP / consultant letters (as their info is often most concise) before I see them and I do note and prepare myself if it looks like they might be tricky!
I'd approach the private sector GP people though, not your own GP. Get them to amend it and resend it.

Private doctors refer back to NHS All
the time. I wouldn’t stress over the letter

Cynically, I think they may have sent the letter to cover their back for not prescribing the antibiotics

Ah. Gp letter makes a lot of sense now.

Last time a private GP wrote to my GP, my GP didn't even read the letter.

I would write to your GP and say what you have put here. They will have to file the two letters together. It is a serious matter to be misrepresented like that, and having myself encountered dishonesty by a travel insurer, I am pretty sure they wrote this to cover their backs should you complain. i would follow up the letter with a visit to your GP so that you can explain it in person too, but getting a written rebuttal to put with their letter is the most imporetant.

There was no inaccuracy

OP was argumentative, threatened the doctor and ignored medical advice

She continues to insist she was right, even after several actual medical professionals have said she was wrong

People complain about arse covering but then also complain when something goes dreadfully wrong due to a telephone diagnosis and lack of face to face assessment and care. Protocols exist to balance benefit and risk; driving two hours with a baby is inconvenient but so is losing your job or having a death on your conscience because you allowed a patient to convince you not to follow an established care pathway because it was inconvenient for them

Except you were demanding antibiotics and refusing to follow what you were told. You were also rude!

Really don’t worry OP, this is not going to affect your GP’s opinion of you one iota. They won’t read anything negative into it. They know how it can be and how the wrong impression can be received. A huge part of their job is reading inaccurate and misleading letters from other medics.

I wouldn't worry about what the GP thinks about the letter. Did you get the antibiotics or did you get better without them?
I know sometimes it's unavoidable getting ill, but it does make me think it's worth wearing a high quality mask in the run up to a holiday and whilst travelling there (if going on a plane or train). It's horrible being ill on holiday on so many levels. Obviously I don't know if that would have prevented your illness (and of course you ay have worn a mask too) so that's just a general observation
I hope you're ok now

You’re a people pleaser like me who doesn’t like conflict. I’ve realised as I’ve gotten older that sometimes you just have to let stuff go. Your GP may ask you about it but I’d say it’s unlikely as the fact they thought you were a bit shirty is of no clinical relevance. They probably drew attention to it to cover their own arses, make it seem like they couldn’t complete the consultation because you were difficult, not because they were clearly remiss in their duties. Don’t give it another thought, your GP won’t.

Doesn’t sound to me as if you were shitty at any kind of level that needs worrying about. Did you get treated in the end?

This.
If you insisted on a prescription when really you should have gone to be seen in person... the prescriber takes the risk of you deteriorating and questions being asked of them
They are quite rightly covering their backs.

You have insurance for these very circumstances and they didn’t give you the appropriate treatment you needed. You had every right to be annoyed. Your GP will likely of read it and thought why didn’t they give the antibiotics, so the insurance people have made this up/ played on it to try and make themselves look better. I wouldn’t worry one bit. Your GP knows you. If it makes you feel better, you could email the insurance company with a complaint.