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News & Views
How Questioning Your GP Could Leave You Out In The Cold
Date: 20/10/11
From time to time, I receive angry emails from
readers telling me that I'm too hard on mainstream medicine.
When it comes to my attacks on Big Pharma's greed and, all too often, complete disregard for people's health and safety, I'm guilty as charged.
However, I'd be the first to acknowledge that there are numerous good, hard-working and caring doctors out there who put the welfare of their patients first at all times.
But unfortunately, there are also a few bad apples lurking at the bottom of the barrel.
Flat battery
Imagine your elderly mother is terminally ill. Everything indicates that her condition is irreversible and she only has a week or two to live. Despite this, she still needs frequent visits from a specialist to monitor her condition just in case there has been any change... at the very least, to ensure that she is comfortable and not in any pain.
Part of her treatment requires the use of a small battery operated medical device that provides a steady flow of medication. You are her primary caregiver and a qualified nurse. You are at her side night and day, and realise that the device she is carrying has a low battery, so you replace it. No harm is done... the device works fine and you're left feeling like you've done your bit to make things easier for your mother and the hospital staff... Or at least, that's what you think.
A few days pass and you notice that the specialist has not paid your mother a visit. You make enquiries about the reason for this, and are told that your mother was struck off the specialist's visiting list BECAUSE YOU CHANGED THE BATTERY OF THE DEVICE!
That's it! No warning or explanation from the hospital or the specialist and your mother is left in utter distress a week before she passes away.
Sadly, this really happened! And it's not an isolated incident either.
Falling on deaf ears
The above mentioned scenario was one of many cases that came to light in a recent investigation conducted by the Department of Health, who found that often whole families are told to find a new doctor after raising a complaint or questioning the treatment they received... One woman dared to dispute the relevance of a particular vaccination her doctor wanted to give her baby. Without further ado she and her baby were removed from the doctor's practice list, and told to go elsehwere.
Ombudsman Ann Abraham, who deals with complaints relating to doctors' and other medical practises, said: "What's really worrying about these cases is far too often GPs [doctors] don't seem to be aware of what their [National Health Service] NHS contracts require of them. Their contracts require them to give a warning before people are removed unless the circumstances are exceptional."
If you ask me, the doctors in question are too busy trying to cover their own backs, and the result is that minor disputes over unanswered telephone calls or mix-ups over appointment times are escalated into some form of absurd punishment!
People should be able to complain about their doctors and they should certainly be allowed to question the treatment options presented to them, when they feel they are inappropriate. I certainly do! I have, on more than one occasion, refused medicine from my doctor... like statins, for instance, and getting the winter flu jab... I don't think it is in my best interest to take these medicines because I am concerned about their safety and side-effects.
The truth is, logging a complaint with the ombudsman doesn't seem to help much either. In 2010, 15,186 complaints were presented to the NHS ombudsman, and 9,547 were referred back to the local health authority because patients had not completed the complaints procedure... That's it. You make a complaint and are led into a cul de sac and fall victim to a beaurocracy of red tape.
Worse still, when patients were unhappy with how their complaint had been dealt with, over a third cited that either a poor explanation was given or that there was a lack of acknowledgement of a mistake that had been made... Not only that, but according to Joyce Robins, co-director of Patient Concern, the ombudsman investigates only a pathetic 2 per cent of complaints reaching her office.
Come on! We all know that things can go wrong in a doctor's surgery, and when it happens, patients are entitled to be dealt with in a straightforward and respectful fashion.
And they still wonder why people have lost their faith in the National Health Service...
Sources:
'GPs striking off patients 'with no warning' published online 18.10.11, bbc.co.uk
Back to topWhen it comes to my attacks on Big Pharma's greed and, all too often, complete disregard for people's health and safety, I'm guilty as charged.
However, I'd be the first to acknowledge that there are numerous good, hard-working and caring doctors out there who put the welfare of their patients first at all times.
But unfortunately, there are also a few bad apples lurking at the bottom of the barrel.
Flat battery
Imagine your elderly mother is terminally ill. Everything indicates that her condition is irreversible and she only has a week or two to live. Despite this, she still needs frequent visits from a specialist to monitor her condition just in case there has been any change... at the very least, to ensure that she is comfortable and not in any pain.
Part of her treatment requires the use of a small battery operated medical device that provides a steady flow of medication. You are her primary caregiver and a qualified nurse. You are at her side night and day, and realise that the device she is carrying has a low battery, so you replace it. No harm is done... the device works fine and you're left feeling like you've done your bit to make things easier for your mother and the hospital staff... Or at least, that's what you think.
A few days pass and you notice that the specialist has not paid your mother a visit. You make enquiries about the reason for this, and are told that your mother was struck off the specialist's visiting list BECAUSE YOU CHANGED THE BATTERY OF THE DEVICE!
That's it! No warning or explanation from the hospital or the specialist and your mother is left in utter distress a week before she passes away.
Sadly, this really happened! And it's not an isolated incident either.
Falling on deaf ears
The above mentioned scenario was one of many cases that came to light in a recent investigation conducted by the Department of Health, who found that often whole families are told to find a new doctor after raising a complaint or questioning the treatment they received... One woman dared to dispute the relevance of a particular vaccination her doctor wanted to give her baby. Without further ado she and her baby were removed from the doctor's practice list, and told to go elsehwere.
Ombudsman Ann Abraham, who deals with complaints relating to doctors' and other medical practises, said: "What's really worrying about these cases is far too often GPs [doctors] don't seem to be aware of what their [National Health Service] NHS contracts require of them. Their contracts require them to give a warning before people are removed unless the circumstances are exceptional."
If you ask me, the doctors in question are too busy trying to cover their own backs, and the result is that minor disputes over unanswered telephone calls or mix-ups over appointment times are escalated into some form of absurd punishment!
People should be able to complain about their doctors and they should certainly be allowed to question the treatment options presented to them, when they feel they are inappropriate. I certainly do! I have, on more than one occasion, refused medicine from my doctor... like statins, for instance, and getting the winter flu jab... I don't think it is in my best interest to take these medicines because I am concerned about their safety and side-effects.
The truth is, logging a complaint with the ombudsman doesn't seem to help much either. In 2010, 15,186 complaints were presented to the NHS ombudsman, and 9,547 were referred back to the local health authority because patients had not completed the complaints procedure... That's it. You make a complaint and are led into a cul de sac and fall victim to a beaurocracy of red tape.
Worse still, when patients were unhappy with how their complaint had been dealt with, over a third cited that either a poor explanation was given or that there was a lack of acknowledgement of a mistake that had been made... Not only that, but according to Joyce Robins, co-director of Patient Concern, the ombudsman investigates only a pathetic 2 per cent of complaints reaching her office.
Come on! We all know that things can go wrong in a doctor's surgery, and when it happens, patients are entitled to be dealt with in a straightforward and respectful fashion.
And they still wonder why people have lost their faith in the National Health Service...
Sources:
'GPs striking off patients 'with no warning' published online 18.10.11, bbc.co.uk
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