how do I complain about a doctor I saw privately?

[silkcushion]

DD (11 weeks) has eczema so we were referred to a dermatologist privately, Nhs was going to take a long time and she seemed distressed.

The night before the appointment she suddenly developed a severe rash and we took her to A&E. Was admitted to children's ward where we stayed overnight and were released yesterday late afternoon after being given medication to get symptoms under control.

Went to dermatology appointment but he wasn't interested in what had happened the night before (despite it being her skin). Said he would treat the eczema. Didn't take full medical history and prescribed something we had tried but made it worse. I pointed this out and he said "oh right I didn't hear you say that". He then said he was going on holiday for a fortnight that evening so would pass us to his colleague the following week.

In the NHS we saw 8 different doctors (kept being escalated up cos they didn't know what was causing it). Every single one of them (all rushed off their feet) took time to find out a full history, looked at pictures of her sudden rashes (taken for the dermatologist but he refused to look at them) and said they were more useful than verbal description. They all made an effort to answer our questions and concerns. A senior paediatrician came out of clinic and up on to the ward to see her. She also said although she was part time if we were worried or if this happened again her secretary could track her down and call her in.

Why am I paying £150 for a dermatologist who couldn't have cared less? And what can I do about it? He's self employed I suppose - will cancel the appointment he booked with his colleague.

That's the problem with private medicine, it's motivated by money.
How long is the NHS wait? It should be down to 18 weeks soon.
Not sure how to complain, did you book through a company such as BUPA?

NHS wait isn't now a problem cos of the emergency admission to hospital we have jumped the queue. Senior paed dr is going to check up on her in a few weeks and refer to dermatology if necessary then.

Was going to book through private health care but discovered that dd isn't covered by company scheme until I return from mat leave (1st Feb). As we didn't want to delay we said we'd pay for it ourselves - company will pay for any further treatment.

little bump

try the Healthcare Commission. If they can't help directly, I think they will be able to point you in the right direction. Healthcare Commission

thanks pinkteddy

the General Medical Council should be able to help you Here

GMC is a good bet, if that's his normal behaviour/level of service, they may have had other complaints already.

Some doctors don't seem to give a toss do they? We were fast tracked by our GP (only cos we kept pesturing her for a referral, she was clueless) to a Dermatologist about DS skin. The Dermatologist is very good and said if his eczema is really bad I can phone the clinic (they run once a week) and take him there as long as I don't mind waiting.

I would contact the CMC as others have suggested - he sounds like he was thinking about his holiday rather than your DD's eczema .

If he works at one of the big chains, like the Nuffield or BUPA, they have their own complaints procedures - you should have been given a leaflet about the hospital including this info. Healthcare Comm may well be helpful too.

I've found the best thing to do is ask your Paed who he will be referring you to (NHS) and telephone their secretary.

Ask Secretary when consultants private days are/where they are and make an appointment with an NHS specialist on his private list.

Then you can be reassured that the person you are seeing is qualified and regulated by the NHS, so all training and medical knowledge will be up to date. He may than shift you onto his NHS list for the future appts (this happened to me with an Endocrinologist).

thanks all for advice. I have rung the hospital who seemed very surprised. His secretary has asked me to put the complaint in writing. She said although he was going on holiday he is not flying away til the end of next week and she said she would give him my letter before he went. I guess that means he will take it seriously. She apologised and said she was sure he would be horrified.

We'll see if he is horrified enough to reduce his fee