To think this is serious malpractice!

[itshouldhave]

I have just been told my ferritin level is 16 and been prescribed iron tablets after complaining about an all over itching which has started about 2 months ago.
For the last year i have been complaining about heart palpitations and out of breathlessness i’ve been to the hospital out of hours and they referred to gp who sent for an ecg which apparently came back clear.
I have yearly (or whenever i remember) bloods to check my hbc1 levels for diabetes so after this latest blood for the itchiness out of curiosity i went back and checked my 2024 bloods for hbc1 which included iron and ferritin also where my ferritin level was even lower at 15 but it was sent back as ‘normal’
so later on when i went back for the heart palpitations and exhaustion why did they never pick up that low ferritin could be causing it as the blood results were already there??
i know some gps don’t class low ferritin an issue but when someone complains about heart issues, low iron should have been checked???
i want to report this gp but need to get a better picture if this is as bad as i think it is or there is more to their judgement.

I’m don’t really understand. It was checked and you had an ecg. They have you tablets. Medicine isn’t always an exact science and can take a while to go through tests and results. You said yourself some gos don’t consider that serious. So no not serious malpractice..

I’m don’t really understand. It was checked and you had an ecg. They have you tablets. Medicine isn’t always an exact science and can take a while to go through tests and results. You said yourself some gos don’t consider that serious. So no not serious malpractice..

You were checked and got tablets.

sorry i must have not explained it well. at the time of heart complaint and sending to ecg it clearly wasn’t checked as they would have told me that low iron can often cause heart palpitations and breathlessnes. I’ve had this low ferritin since at least 2024 that i can see on my record as my previous blood test.
My issue is how long would this have gone untreated and me thinking i have a heart issue but being told everything is ok?

i got tablets now but i’ve had this low ferritin since at least 2024 but potentially longer andi paired with heart palpitations and exhaustion. My question to those knowledgable if this has been carrying on for years untreated, could this have caused long term damage?

Who does your blood tests? Is it the GP or another clinic?

Because if it's a different clinic the GP maynot be able to see them. I've had this problem before, annoyingly the NHS is not joined up. Just because you can see them doesn't mean your GP can.

Yes the records are all on my gp site done by them requested by them. There are more that i can’t see but would dread to think if my ferritin been this bad for years and i’ve been worrying about heart problems and my fatigue could have been sorted

i just don’t get why it didn’t cross their mind when i complained about my heart that this should be checked

My iron levels have always been low, I found this out when I complained about extreme fatigue during my pregnancy. I was only prescribed iron supplements when I was admitted to hospital for an unrelated reason.

I was pregnant so I’m guessing that meant I was neurotic and didn’t warrant care. Thankfully the birth was quick but the whole experience meant that I soon realised that I had to advocate for myself and I wasn’t going to accept being treated as an inconvenience.

It’s not great that it wasn’t picked up, but it’s not serious malpractice.

I don't think it's serious malpractice but I think that's worthy of a queetion because you had test results on their system and symptoms that matched up.

Send something polite and ask them why you got recommended iron this time but not last time.

Not ideal but definitely not serious malpractice, for a menstruating female 15 wouldnt be considered especially low.

It’s not malpractice, it’s the usual variations from the NHS. It happens.

If low iron just popped up in a blood test broad range for something else in 2024 I wouldn’t necessarily expect them to treat it then and there if not deemed relevant at the time and I wouldn’t expect them to check back previous blood work for a new complaint but to do new blood work and go from there (which it sounds like they did).

Rather than looking to complain and cause an issue, I would just continue with your road to recovery and maintain a good relationship with your GP

This. Also iron tablets are usually cheaper over the counter unless you take the sachets.

@Lmnop22 no they did not do a blood test when complaining about heart just ecg and was told it was normal.
I would love to carry on my journey but my faith in gps completely lost so any of their recommendations will be met wondering if i should believe it or not or if it’s enough

If you contact the practice manager they should arrange an appointment with an appropriate member of staff to look into it and/or explain; personally id not go straight to complaint but go for seeking more clarity.

I know it’s easy for me to say but everyone is human. The blood test in 2024 was to check for diabetes and was “normal” - likely checked by practise nurse for a specific issue (blood sugar).

Then you go back with a different problem which COULD result from low iron but likely has much more common causes (and more serious!) and they refer for an ECG which is probably the best thing to rule out the most serious cause and it’s normal.

Obviously in a perfect world, they would have ruled out every possibility and reflected on previous blood work etc but it’s just not possible in every case.

Try to have faith that your GP when presented with a specific issue is doing their best to diagnose and treat and is ruling out the worst case scenario first before tackling less serious alternatives.

You don't have a heart problem though. Your ECG was clear. And 16 isn't necessarily a cause for concern. They're treating you now, because you have a symptom (the itching) but it is highly unlikely that an untreated, symptomless ferritin level of 16 would lead to long-term harm.

I did present them with an issue which if they had spotted low ferritin, could have been stopped over a year ago. Yes it’s it is easy for you to say it’s not a big issue but when you are trying to work, raise a family exhausted with your heart pumping hard in your chest and everyone is telling you it’s Ok nothing is wrong then later to find out all that could have been avoided. Not sure you would feel the same.
@Lmnop22 its not really a case of in a perfect world they would rule out all scenario it’s more of a basic one that they completely overlooked and I am not medically trained but web search is telling low ferritin could cause damage to organs if left untreated long term so no really a minor mishap.
This is why i was looking for opinions of medically trained people as my findings are purely on web search.

My GPs reference range says 10+ is fine so wouldn’t even flag it up as a concern.

I’m pretty sure WHO guidelines say it should be 30+.

My result was 4, and I felt dreadful. It was only then they suggested tablets (and I went private and got an iron infusion). Looking back at my history over several years it hovered around 11-15.

Iron deficiency anaemia can cause problems, iron depletion without the anaemia unlikely to be contributing to your symptoms. In the labs where I work that ferritin would be have a suggested repeat in 4 months or around that.

Not true, this is from CKS guidelines

• In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms a diagnosis of iron deficiency.

This most definitely should have been picked up, particularly with those symptoms.

I would raise it with the the practice manager and ask that they reflect on it.

I gave you the opinion of a medically-trained person. You don't have a heart problem. Ferritin of 16 is low, but not alarmingly so, and you are now receiving treatment. You have no grounds for complaint.

Are you talking xg/mL? because those values are not low, I don't think. I am no expert, but they are higher then the minimum acceptable to be considered fit for chemo, without any treatment for low ferratin. You can go a lot lower in prechemo screening, and still be classed as "normal" I can tell you that.

I agree, you are being offered treatment because you keep coming back with symptoms for which no other cause has been found, in spite of investigations.

Not malpractice at all. That value is not outside the realms of normal and would not normally get treated