To take this further? GP negligence

[Lavenduhhh]

In brief: 10 months ago I took my DC for a GP appt to gain a referral for an ongoing, debilitating issue. Was told wait list 6-12mths. Fine. Called today to see where we are on the list as it's become a more immediate/urgent concern. GP hasn't done referral. Not an admin error, GP forgot.

Am actually devastated. Lodged a full formal complaint with them and also the ICB. Considering MP and press - unsure why, I don't want attention, I want recognition for the fact this is disgusting. My child has actively declined during this last 10 month period. To me, it amounts of negligence.

I'm actually so upset I can't sleep. My child is medically complex and always has been. Advocating for them medically and educationally for over a decade has damn near killed me.

Should I take this further? If so, how? We will almost definitely end up going private for the referral and my DPs might part-fund. It shouldn't come to this. The GP in question is very senior.

Called today to see where we are on the list as it's become a more immediate/urgent concern. My child has actively declined during this last 10 month period.

This bit jumped out at me.
OP I would take your child back to the GP to be examined so the “new” referral can be based on your child’s current medical condition. Clinics all triage referrals based on medical urgency and your child’s health now may mean they can under an Urgent referral pathway rather than Routine

This is why I left healthcare, the stress was too great. Having patients say stuff like this, threatening to drag you through the papers on top of juggling countless patients got too much.

OP, just raise the complaint within the practice and ask if anything further can be done.

I'm in the UK and have no issue seeing GP same day, it's just not a problem here.

A&E is as you describe. My longest time in A&E was I think for 4 hours, but that's included x-rays and treatment for a broken bone. My parent went in recently and was given a bed and treatment started within about 30 minutes.

Waiting lists are long sometimes and referrals do have to be checked, but overall I found it to be excellent.

Unless the GP has form for being useless, I'd try and find the grace to assume it was a genuine mistake and judge them on how they rectify it, assuming it has no serious, lasting impact on your child's health.

Easier said than done, I'm sure.

Unfortunately a few years back my former GP and some of their staff burned through all my grace and patience over a period of about six months. I won't go into details suffice to say that they fucked up everything from admin to medical, repeatedly, to the point that I was speaking to various people there daily trying to sort things out. I'd got to the point of giving up when a GP cocked-up and left me seriously unwell.

I wrote a frank and brutal letter of complaint detailing the whole saga (about two thousand words), sent it to them and told them it was going to the Heath Authority, PHSO, MP, newspapers, local Facebook page the lot the next day. Full Karen!

Everything was sorted and I received a full apology from the lead partner that afternoon.

It wasn't about causing them trouble, it was about holding them to account.

This is wrong. There used to be a rule (certainly in cancer care) that if you paid for a drug that wasn’t available on the NHS, you had to pay for everything else too. Thankfully, they got rid of that.

Rightly or wrongly, it’s entirely possible to pay to be seen more quickly and then get referred back to the NHS list. I’ve done in twice in the last 12 months - once for me, once for DS. Queue jumping wouldn’t be a thing if healthcare in the UK was a bit less of a fucking clown show.

As for the OP, I am sorry this happened. It’s not good enough, and the number of times it has happened to me (in different GP surgeries) suggests it’s far from unusual. I would be extremely firm and persistent with the surgery and request everything they are doing to rectify their error and restore your DC’s place on the list to be sent to you in writing. From a legal perspective, it doesn’t tick all the boxes for negligence, but a private business doing this kind of thing would not last long.

It’s disappointing to see special pleading from GP’s posted on here. I have practiced law for 25 years and have never been underworked during that time - it’s part and parcel of being a professional on whom people rely. Of course I have made errors and occasionally they have had adverse consequences for my clients. My first instinct has never been to bleat and wail about how it only happened because I was overworked and under pressure - on what planet is that the patient’s problem? GP’s are being asked to do their actual job - nothing more - for which they are bizarrely well-remunerated. As for blaming “the system” - you are the system, for goodness sake. The OP’s DC has been disadvantaged by an error for which their GP is entirely responsible, and should be doing her level best to fix - it’s that simple.

Thank you for all your replies. Here's my thinking this morning:

• Push the surgery to complete the referral - a new more urgent referral.

• have emailed my local MP (for all the good it may/may not do)

• decided against going to the press (which I was unlikely to do anyway)

• made a commitment to be as dogged with all 'routine' referrals for DC as I am with anything more urgent/anything with the council (where I actively expect them to be useless in the first place).

I've never had any issues with this surgery and been with them 20 years. Had no reason to think I had to push them the same way I have to push educational authorities. I've learned my lesson. And yes I have empathy with the workload/human error, I get it, doesn't mean I should roll over though when it's my child.

Deeply appreciate all the replies, it's helped me mentally more than you'll know.

I didn't mean to give incorrect information. This is what I was told when I enquired about my own care. I was told it is not possible to transfer between the two.
But this obviously differs been Doctors/Surgeons/hospitals.

I’d be slightly careful about going in too hard sure I have read about GP practices binning awkward patients.

I think this is the right approach.
Having worked in the public sector I know very well that when an MP intervenes things are made to happen.
Going public might lose any remaining goodwill from the GP.
If your attitude is " this is very upsetting and disappointing, what can you do to help " I think the GP may respond much more positively than threats.

As a patient with complex medical history I never ever assume anyone will do what they say.
I keep detailed contemporaneous notes of every contact and I follow up to make sure they do what they say. I can go back years and see that I spoke to Drx, time and date and what was said. I'm not a difficult patient, I have never complained about anyone or anything but it's my way of having some control and has proved really useful over the years.

Ok well whatever the amount is, it is your child’s health and if they have deteriorated so much then it shouldn’t really be a question. Not ideal but if you have the money pay it and get your child the help they need even if it has to come from somewhere else.

I still think you haven’t handled this well and getting angry isn’t the first port of call

I am a GP and would be devastated if this happened.
GP’s are human and practice systems aren’t perfect and errors happen.
Can you make an appointment with practice manager and talk about your concerns.
With a delayed referral that I think is my fault I would phone /see patient, apologise profusely, phone the appropriate medical specialty and ask them to take delay into account.
Where I work about 95% of my referrals for paediatric developmental /mental health assessment are declined and about 60% of general paediatric assessments … it’s absolutely appalling.
Best wihses.

Have you never made a mistake OP? What about when you are stressed, exhausted and overworked? I think it’s just a case of human error.

Oh, the irony of your username.

It sad state of affairs. Out gp practise always now advises patients to keep checking as so many things are getting missed or lost in the system

Always write to your MP about this sort of thing, in my experience, an MPs House of Commons headed paper manages to cut through a lot of bureaucracy and stimulates action!

Did that make you feel good? Sticking the knife in to a worried parent of a child with complex health needs? Gross behaviour.

YANBU to be upset about this but YABU if you think complaining to the press and MP will get you up the hospital waiting list. By all means complain to your GP practice so they can look at procedures and make any changes to try to stop it happening again. Your GP can put in another referral through as urgent, however the speciality consultant at the hospital will triage it and make an appointment accordingly. GPs cannot pull strings as where you are placed on the waiting list quite rightly has to be down to medical decision making for it to be fair on everyone. Getting the press and your MP involved I don’t think would do any good as the GPs can’t be shamed into making this right as all they can do and will do is out another referral in. If your daughter deteriorated since in the last 10 months I don’t understand why you haven’t taken her or at least phoned the GP to ask if they could change the original referral to urgent.