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What to do about GP

R

roblpm

Member
Messages
6
Hi

Diagnosed 4 months ago. So far found this site and others, read Dr Bernstains book etc and on a low carb diet.

HBA1C has gone from 7.8 to 5.3
Weight from 102kg to 89kg
BP from 140/?? to 120/76
Choleterol down.

So GP is helpful at very first meeting. Gave me a printout of all my blood results (about 20 results all together, liver, kidneys etc etc)

Second meeting (ie after I have reduced all my numbers) she is helpful though gave me a lecture about how our "physiology" is not adapted to low carb diets. No printout as the new system cant do it!!

So when I get home I get a bit irritated and write a very polite letter asking for a test strip prescription, a print out of my blood results and pointing out that the scottish guideline for diabetes management say that a low carb option can be offered as an option and that it is safe for up to 6 months (http://www.sign.ac.uk/guidelines/fulltext/116/index.html).

So send that off and a prescription duly arrives, however the receptionist calls me and tells me I cant have a printout of my blood test results as their new system cant do it. I say that it is part of my medical records and that I am entitled to it. She says I cant have it. So end up talking to the GP who basically tells me that none of her other patients have asked for it, she is too busy "saving lives" to figure out how to make the new system do it and that "they may not be giving me the sort of service I require" ie maybe look for another practice. She ends up saying that my records will be available and I will have to pay for them (I pointed out the maximum is £10! http://www.hris.org.uk/patient-information/information-about-health-rights/your-health-records/how-can-i-see-my-health-records/). This also made her very angry!!

Anyway now I have calmed down what do I do!!??!!

Find another GP? (Already been through 2 others due to my wife falling out with 2 previous ones!!)
Forget the GPs all together, get blood tests done privately and get on with it myself?!
Stay at the GP and ignore it all.
Complain formally.

UPDATE!! While I am typing this the receptionist calls and they are ready for me and I have to pay £7.50!! Anyway I will go and pick them up and I bet it is just the hba1c result!!

Anyway I suppose stay put. But this is ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Regards,

Rob

PS I am only 43 so I dont really want to go on the drugs!!
 
This sounds like absolute nonsense; she can't figure out how to print a record? Does her computer have a printer? I bet it does; what an attitude!

I've never seen a GP or consultant or nurse who wouldn't just print the things out there and then in their office.

Its strikes me that your GP is freaking out a bit at 'non-standard' behaviour which implies a rather dull/closed mind in light of the results you've delivered.

Is there anyone else in the practice you could go to who may know how to find the 'print' button on their computer? If all else fails get them to put the results on screen press 'ctrl' 'prt scr' and copy to a word document.

Best

Dillinger
 
roblpm said:
Hi

Diagnosed 4 months ago. So far found this site and others, read Dr Bernstains book etc and on a low carb diet.

HBA1C has gone from 7.8 to 5.3
Weight from 102kg to 89kg
BP from 140/?? to 120/76
Choleterol down.

So GP is helpful at very first meeting. Gave me a printout of all my blood results (about 20 results all together, liver, kidneys etc etc)

Second meeting (ie after I have reduced all my numbers) she is helpful though gave me a lecture about how our "physiology" is not adapted to low carb diets. No printout as the new system cant do it!!

So when I get home I get a bit irritated and write a very polite letter asking for a test strip prescription, a print out of my blood results and pointing out that the scottish guideline for diabetes management say that a low carb option can be offered as an option and that it is safe for up to 6 months (http://www.sign.ac.uk/guidelines/fullte ... index.html).

So send that off and a prescription duly arrives, however the receptionist calls me and tells me I cant have a printout of my blood test results as their new system cant do it. I say that it is part of my medical records and that I am entitled to it. She says I cant have it. So end up talking to the GP who basically tells me that none of her other patients have asked for it, she is too busy "saving lives" to figure out how to make the new system do it and that "they may not be giving me the sort of service I require" ie maybe look for another practice. She ends up saying that my records will be available and I will have to pay for them (I pointed out the maximum is £10! http://www.hris.org.uk/patient-informat ... h-records/). This also made her very angry!!

Anyway now I have calmed down what do I do!!??!!

Find another GP? (Already been through 2 others due to my wife falling out with 2 previous ones!!)
Forget the GPs all together, get blood tests done privately and get on with it myself?!
Stay at the GP and ignore it all.
Complain formally.

UPDATE!! While I am typing this the receptionist calls and they are ready for me and I have to pay £7.50!! Anyway I will go and pick them up and I bet it is just the hba1c result!!

Anyway I suppose stay put. But this is ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Regards,

Rob

PS I am only 43 so I dont really want to go on the drugs!!
Click to expand...

Hello Rob ... and well done in getting your BG down to 5.3 :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

As for your GP ... I don't blame you for being angry - join the club ... 'busy saving lives' ... WHAT? Does he or she have a Saviour Complex or what? Pullleeeeeeeeeease! :shock:

Some NHS staff sure have their own unique ways of making patients feel very very very small whilst making themselves seem very very very IMPORTANT PEOPLE. Don't fall for it. Stick with the GP for now, try not to get yourself agitated. Some of them are a bunch of numpties but we're not supposed to know that. But for now you need a GP. So don't do anything rash just yet while you're feeling agitated. You're priority is YOU.

If you don't have a meter, get yourself one, the Codefree from Amazon is regularly recommended on here because it's cheap and so are the strips at £7 for 50 from Amazon too. Keep testing, keep eating as you're eating if that's what's lowering your BG and in the meantime look around for another GP practice that is a bit more patient orientated (good luck with that :? but it's worth a try).

We don't go to our GP to be made to FEEL WORSE or BELITTLED, we are entitled to respect from the NHS every bit as much as they expect it from us and if we don't get it we can complain. Personally, I wouldn't bother putting yourself through any more stress than necessary by going down that route. First things first - meter, test, eat, keep your own BG records, trust yourself, change your doctor when you're less stressed, send letter of complaint about previous GP.

And best of luck to you! :)
 
Dillinger said:
This sounds like absolute nonsense; she can't figure out how to print a record? Does her computer have a printer? I bet it does; what an attitude!

I've never seen a GP or consultant or nurse who wouldn't just print the things out there and then in their office.

Its strikes me that your GP is freaking out a bit at 'non-standard' behaviour which implies a rather dull/closed mind in light of the results you've delivered.

Is there anyone else in the practice you could go to who may know how to find the 'print' button on their computer? If all else fails get them to put the results on screen press 'ctrl' 'prt scr' and copy to a word document.

Best

Dillinger
Click to expand...

Listen ... I recently spent 20 minutes standing at the Reception desk at my GP surgery, waiting for the receptionist to finish making an appoinment for a patient. She's worked there for years, she's about as much use as a chocolate teapot and she hasn't a bloody clue how to use the system ... but she knows how to "uuuhm and ahhh' a lot and sound as if she knows what she's doing.

It was getting on for the 20 minute mark when she suddenly shrieked with laughter and said to the patient on the other end of the phone "Ha ha ha haaaaa! No wonder I couldn't make an appointment for you, Mr X ... you're not our patient! Haa haaa haaa!" After that, she put the phone down abruptly without even saying goodbye to the poor man who'd patiently sat at the other end of the phone for over 15 minutes by now and then she promptly got up and said to me, "Just going to make a coffee, I'm shattered." This wasn't some young girl fresh out of school. I'm talking of a woman in her late 40's early 50's here who should definitely know better, be much better trained and have the relevant people skills to handle patients with the respect they deserve.

That is the God's honest truth.

How the hell that woman keeps her job I don't know and every time I see her on Reception I cringe because I know she's just someone who's done a short course in reception skills, has been given a dark blue uniform and fancies herself as 'professional'. Sorry to sound so bitter, twisted and nasty - but well ... it's how I feel about people like that. :x
 
Complain to the practise manager, as far as I am aware they cannot withhold your results and as a patient you have every right to see them.

Good luck!
 
What is the difference between God and a GP ?

God knows that he is not a GP !

Superchip
 
Hi Rob, I may be reading your first post wrongly but I noticed you put up a link to a Scottish Guideline and I assume you are therefore in Scotland and wondered if you could use the 'My Diabetes My Way' website to access your Diabetes records.

http://www.mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/diabetes/patientleaflet.asp

How does it work?
Once you have enrolled, My Diabetes My Way takes information from your NHS diabetes record, collected from computer systems related to diabetes care such as:
Your GP computer record
Your hospital clinic computer record
Other computer systems relevant to diabetes, such as the national retinopathy screening system
Click to expand...
 
Dont pay for a blood test report Take a large piece of paper and a pen into the surgery and ask the receptionist for your HbA1c and then for your cholesterol result write these on your paper very slowly and carefully then ask for any other results that you know you have had then ask the receptionist if she can see any more results you have had make sure you write slowly and carefully and if she doesnt get fed up this time you will certainly get the next lot of results fairly quickly
CAROL
 
Dillinger said:
This sounds like absolute nonsense; she can't figure out how to print a record? Does her computer have a printer? I bet it does; what an attitude!

I've never seen a GP or consultant or nurse who wouldn't just print the things out there and then in their office.

Its strikes me that your GP is freaking out a bit at 'non-standard' behaviour which implies a rather dull/closed mind in light of the results you've delivered.

Is there anyone else in the practice you could go to who may know how to find the 'print' button on their computer? If all else fails get them to put the results on screen press 'ctrl' 'prt scr' and copy to a word document.

Best

Dillinger
Click to expand...

I agree with Al, it does seem more like she couldn't be bothered than anything else. My GP just prints them there and then when I ask, although he did give me a very strange look, then explained no one had asked him to do that before. Our practice has a few different Doctors, but I only ever see one about my diabetes. It might be worth seeing another Doctor within the practice if you can, otherwise, I would just gather up the facts, like being entitled to a print out, and face her in a firm but friendly way, gives her no reason to label you a troublesome patient that way.

Good luck.
 
Hi Rob. :)

Hope things work out ok.

Crazy how some people treat Patients.

I am sure you will do everything thats best for your family.

Also when you go to the pay £7.50. Take a cheap bunch of flowers for the reception with a lovely smile :D , look at your records then offer to pay with credit card. ( now see what happens )

Good Luck

Roy. :)
 
Well thankyou for all your kind words!!

I am now £7.50 out of pocket and the proud possessor of a set of my results!! All of them!! I think she got a bit worried after the phone call as I was called back by the receptionist and told I could pick them up straight away. Amazingly the yobviously figured out how to print them out!

Dillinger - I think you are right about her not being able to deal with a non standard request, in retrospect she was so stressed that I wonder if she is having problems!!

GraceK - Got a meter the first day I thought I had trouble and have been doing experiments ever since! Ate my first bread for 3 months last night (a wholemeal pitta) and went to 8.8 for a short time. Am enjoying the experimental side of it!! Can't agree more about the GP and stress. She is supposed to be helping me not stressing me out!

Noblehead - Luckily before the call with the GP I had looked up the scottish health information site which tells you how to get your records. If I hadnt had I might have backed down.

Superchip - Loved the joke, which I told to my wife who is actually a doctor who gave it all up as she thought it was all rubbish!

Catza - Yes I am in Scotland and have applied for the online thing. The only downside is that I dont think its going to have all my results on it and my liver is slightly up at the moment. Anyway I'm sure that will confuse my gp practice when they get that through too!

Carol - This is what my GP was suggesting! However as much as its a great idea I want to keep a file of my results over time so i can go back over them!!

Anyway I cant be bothered to mover GP surgeries at the moment so round 1 to me I think! It will be interesting to see how my next appointment goes!
 
izzzi said:
Hi Rob. :)

Hope things work out ok.

Crazy how some people treat Patients.

I am sure you will do everything thats best for your family.

Also when you go to the pay £7.50. Take a cheap bunch of flowers for the reception with a lovely smile :D , look at your records then offer to pay with credit card. ( now see what happens )

Good Luck

Roy. :)
Click to expand...


Hilarious - I got there, they dont take cards, and had trouble finding change for my £20 note!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Have had a few days to think about it now. I think I do want to change gp. Does anyone know of a good gp in South Edinburgh. We should make a list of the good ones and name and shame the bad ones!
 
What my GP's receptionist does is just give me the numbers. No prints. I take notes. She reads them. Or mails them to me.

I do have the prints eventually though, normally I get those all combined when I see my endo.

I believe we're not allowed to name and shame named medical professionals, nor officially recommend them by name. But maybe someone feels like sending you a PM should they know of one.
 
After a lot of hesitation, I have just recently changed my GP surgery.

I found the hardest part was to find out whether the one I was considering changing to would be any better, or better in some ways and worse in others. In your case, you are getting strips, for example.

The new surgery readily gave me a double appointment with the doctor to discuss my issues aand I have now changed. Time will tell if it was a good move!

I changed because I disagreed with my old doctors attitude (Dr is right - patients are laymen and know nothing! - take these pills) but, after reading your post, I realised that I've struggled for years with a very poor set of reception staff (4 of them, all set in their ways, and all educated that drs are very important people and patients aren't). My new surgery (about the same size) has one very, very efficient receptionist and some technology and, so far seems much better. (I can make an appointment on-line, and check in when I reach the surgery on an Ipad like screen).

I like the idea of some kind of register as long as it is positive and isn't used to denegrate those with different opinions. Perhaps it could be based on answers to a standardised questionnaire. Haven't thought about it too much (and would need to "neutralise") but:

- Do you feel that self testing of BG levels can be benficial to some T2 patients?
- Are you happy to accept that a patient may wish to decline certain recommended treatments (e.g. Statins)?
- Do you accept that some patients can achieve reduced HbA1c levels by adopting dietry measures, especially lowering carb intake?
 
Sounds to me that you have the sister of the receptionist at my surgery! Don't know how your GP is when you see him/her, but we have had a couple of new docs join the practice here in Wales. I have never had a problem with my GP over my diabetes but it was because I was having a lot of trouble with my right hand, and it is almost useless and the doctor that I try and see every time was on holiday for a month, so I took a chance and asked this doc if he could have a look at it. Well, grudgingly he did, then said that the ulna nerve is trapped somewhere in the elbow area. I said that I can hardly use that hand, as it is very weak, and it is making life a bit of a problem as it is my primary hand. I was told by someone who calls himself a doctor "You will just have to learn to use your left hand"!! I swore than I will never see that GP again.
Sorry it is not diabetes related, I was just trying to say how we get treated here.
I would stick it out for the moment, and maybe down the road a bit, try and find another GP who will treat you better - good luck!!
 
Hi, I never thought of asking for a print out, I normally take a scrap of paper with me and copy the results down, then transfer them to a spreadsheet when I get home. I will give it a go next time!
 
My surgery has a results service... you log in with your email address and password, and request the results of a recent test... you have to state what the test was and the date of the test... you then get an email later when they've bothered to log on and realise someone's actually using the software... all the email tells you is to log on again to see the result of your test...

the test results are either:

"Satisfactory" or believe it or not

"Not satisfactory"...

apparently, they're not allowed to give the actual numbers out via this service... something to do with the data protection act... (well that's their usual cop-out for not doing anything). Madness...

So I still have to trudge in and badger the practice for an appointment to see the nurse/doctor to actually get the numbers...
 
I feel sorry for all of you, I have only seen the nurse practioner since I was diagnosed. I see her twice a year and she is brilliant, we go through all of my results and discuss what we need to do. She praises me if I improve and gives me hell if I slip. During my winter appt (normally late Oct) she gives me my Flu jab as well.
I would not change her for the world. Receptionists, the surgery has recently changed and they are an improvement over the previous ones but could still do with some extra training on customer/patient service.
When I go next I am going to register for online appointment booking.
 
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