Do You Trust Your GP’s Practice?
Regular readers of my blog will know that I have been suffering from high blood pressure since Christmas. This has resulted in two incidents of me being hospitalised, and on the second occasion this resulted in me having a stroke, which, as I have written, was a very scary and frightening experience.
My open question is, could it all have been avoided?
I think it could have been had my GP’s practice just taken a bit more time to monitor me properly, instead of giving me a tablet and sending me on my way, because quite honestly it wasn’t good enough, and I feel let down by my GP.
I’m more than aware that the NHS and GP practices are under pressure and severely under-funded, and GP’s maybe simply don’t get the time to give every patient their full attention, but for all of that GP’s are hardly underpaid with an average annual salary of around 55k-80k, and quite often much more. So in my humble opinion with such large salaries, I think GP’s should be working longer hours and taking more time with patients to justify the massive wages. Will they do this though? Highly unlikely.
My faith and confidence in my GP practice has been severely dented, and the final straw came just a few days ago. I went for a blood pressure check with a nurse, and yes my blood pressure was better than it was when I had a stroke, but it was still high, and a particular medication that had been prescribed to me a week earlier was having adverse effects on me.
I explained all my concerns to the practice nurse, she disappeared to see the doctor and met me in the reception a few moments later. Basically I was told to carry on with the medications, keep an eye on my blood pressure at home and if I had any problems just ring for telephone advice. I said, “So no need for an appointment to have my blood pressure checked?” To which she replied no. I asked about the medication and the reply was just keep taking them. My immediate thought was really, that’s it? Send me on my way again.
To avoid arguing with the nurse in the reception area, I simply walked out voicing my disgust and disappointment at the treatment I was receiving. I had a shocking panic attack, because I am still struggling to process everything that has happened to me, and at this particular time I’m looking for support, and understanding, not being sent away. There really was no thought to my mental state which quite honestly is very fragile at the moment.
About 30 minutes after I left the surgery I received a phone call from the doctors receptionist to offer me a cancelled appointment with a doctor the following morning.
Somebody must have noticed I was in need of help, advice and reassurance. I didn’t believe for one minute it was a cancelled appointment. I think because I had, had a stroke due to the fact that my high blood pressure had not been properly controlled and resulted in a stroke, I’m fairly convinced they didn’t want it happening again.
This experience of my GP’s practice has left me thinking what next? It’s also given me very little confidence in doctors. The following morning my faith had been very slightly repaired with the doctor I saw. She explained all the medications to me and changed the one that was obviously disagreeing with me.
I was also told to make an appointment for a blood pressure check in two weeks time, with the nurse.
The thing is, all I wanted was some reassurance and a little bit of time to explain everything to me, not a hospital or doctors number. I’m an intelligent human being that has had a stroke, that has severely messed with my head and I am struggling to process everything. So help me to understand, to help myself, don’t palm me off with tablets and send me on my way.
Another recent issure is that Viagra Connect has been billed as a game changer for erectile dysfunction sufferers who are too embarrassed to go to their GP as it is now available over the counter without prescription. Media coverage has failed to address the limitations of this service so Assured Pharmacy have broken down 6 common misconceptions of Viagra Connect in the infographic
Have you had any issues with your GP’s practices good or bad? I would love to hear.
3 Comments
Kelly Keegan
April 18, 2018 at 6:53 am
This really strikes a chord with me. I have mental health problems and have often felt like it’s just a tick box procedure rather than any sense of attentiveness. I used to leave shaken and in tears, confused as to how to move forward.
I’m really lucky though, my GP here, I used to live in Manchester, is so great at making time for me, she leaves long slots and really seems to care. I feel a bit more reassured every time I see her.
Thank you for your honesty. Take care.
Enda Sheppard
April 18, 2018 at 10:01 am
Sorry to hear of your experiences with your doctor and health service, and how little is beibng done to allay your fears, and talk to you about the impact on your mental health. In Ireland, we do not fare any better when it comes to dealing with a vastly underfunded health service (which pays enormous amounts of money to administrative staff who obviously don’t work in the medical area directly —pen pushers, but very well paid pen pushers, and lots of them!). Your medication should be sorted as a matter of urgency and “keep taking the tablets and self-monitor” is hardly reassuring. And good you are using your well read blog to talk about these matters. Good luck
Chickenruby
April 26, 2018 at 11:21 am
Back in the late 90s and early to mid 2000’s I had some serious health issues that resulted in 3 x 2 week + stays in hospital. Each time my gp has been amazing, with both the care before being hospitalized and the after care. The first 2 times we lived in a very small village, the 3rd in a medium sized town. A lot has changed though since we left the UK and when I was taken ill in the UK last year I was dismissed by the same practice that had gone above and beyond for my father before and after his death. I returned to Dubai where I was diagnosed with pneumonia (which I’d told them I’d had previously and symptoms were similar) and they ignored my high wbc count, which I’m now seeing an oncologist for and waiting for medical approval for bone marrow testing in Dubai. I’m dreading returning to the UK in a few years and my husband and I have said we will have private cover as we don’t feel we can rely on the NHS anymore. Glad to hear your gp rethought their desicion and made the appointment, sorry you didn’t get the reassurance and support you needed.