complaint to NHS England

[Lauras87]

well i did it finally, after spending a lot of time over the weekend writing down whats gone wrong at the hands of my doctors since being diagnosed.

i emailed NHS Englands complaints department after speaking to a lovely advisor this morning.

my god, i feel sorry for who ever opens it & reads it as its a very long email :S

the GMC are interested in my GP who sends everyone to A&E with high blood sugars (during illness) or trace amount of ketones

i just hope something good comes out of it.

 

[Northerner]

I hope someone takes it all very seriously and that things can be put right Laura - good luck! 🙂

 

[Lauras87]

I hope someone takes it all very seriously and that things can be put right Laura - good luck! 🙂

me too, i have hand ache from all that typing! 🙄

 

[Northerner]

me too, i have hand ache from all that typing! 🙄

Imagine if it had been the olden days and you'd had to write it all out by hand and then find a postbox! 😱 😉

 

[LeeLee]

Bet you feel better for getting it all out in the open! Well done for bothering, and not just putting up with poor treatment.

Have you been given any guidance on how to look for another GP? The reason for asking is that some doctors have been known to expel patients who complain from their lists. They apparently are allowed to do that without giving a reason (or at least used to be). I tell you this so that you can be prepared - not to cause you undue worry.

 

[Lauras87]

Imagine if it had been the olden days and you'd had to write it all out by hand and then find a postbox! 😱 😉

i'm glad as i have edited & added bits in

Bet you feel better for getting it all out in the open! Well done for bothering, and not just putting up with poor treatment.

Have you been given any guidance on how to look for another GP? The reason for asking is that some doctors have been known to expel patients who complain from their lists. They apparently are allowed to do that without giving a reason (or at least used to be). I tell you this so that you can be prepared - not to cause you undue worry.

i did ask if they can kick me out due to complaining & was told they arent allowed but am prepared for it happening anyway even tho there are numerous complaints on my medical notes.

but if they do, i will make a very good case & take it further as the surgery i want to be at wont have me as i am 1/2 a mile out of the catchment area

 

[LeeLee]

but if they do, i will make a very good case & take it further as the surgery i want to be at wont have me as i am 1/2 a mile out of the catchment area

You can appeal on that point - I did when I moved to just outside an excellent GP practice's catchment area. A letter to the practice manager explaining my circumstances was enough and they allowed me to remain on the list. Worth a shot, you have nothing to lose!

 

[Mark T]

You can appeal on that point - I did when I moved to just outside an excellent GP practice's catchment area. A letter to the practice manager explaining my circumstances was enough and they allowed me to remain on the list. Worth a shot, you have nothing to lose!

Maybe the Essex gp's are a bit more flexible - we are also just outside of our gp's catchment area and we haven't had any issues.

But yes, I would challenge not being let in the other surgery as 0.5 mile is nothing.

 

[Lauras87]

Update

I had to complain to my surgery about 8 weeks ago (after complaining to nhs England).

It turns out my previous complains have disappeared from my notes so the new practice manager has taken all my complaints to the partners meeting.

3 weeks later & supposedly the "diabetic" gp is meant to be ringing me shortly (she has no clue about T1, LADA or MODY) but specializes in T2 so I'm looking forward to her ringing.

I've not heard anything from nhs England sadly but hoping for a positive result somewhere along the lines

 

[pav]

Same thing happened to me, I put several complaints into my GP's practice and low and behold there's no record of them. 😡

Put new complaints in, received an answer saying they have changed their procedures so the problem won't happen again. A few week later the same problem happened again, a fresh complaint was put in as the problem effectively delayed treatment. Several weeks later the answer was a lemon as they decided to reverse their new procedures and go back to the original ones that don't work. 😡

 

[Lauras87]

Same thing happened to me, I put several complaints into my GP's practice and low and behold there's no record of them. 😡

Put new complaints in, received an answer saying they have changed their procedures so the problem won't happen again. A few week later the same problem happened again, a fresh complaint was put in as the problem effectively delayed treatment. Several weeks later the answer was a lemon as they decided to reverse their new procedures and go back to the original ones that don't work. 😡

That's rubbish Pav!! I wish the doctors would listen instead of counting how much medication costs that you've asked for

 

[Cleo]

I had to complain to my surgery about 8 weeks ago (after complaining to nhs England).

I've not heard anything from nhs England sadly but hoping for a positive result somewhere along the lines

I hope you hear from them soon Laura. The whole system is one big slow bureaucratic machine, I'm sure they will get back to you , but it will probably take some time 🙂

 

[pav]

That's rubbish Pav!! I wish the doctors would listen instead of counting how much medication costs that you've asked for

It is rubbish its been hard enough to try and sort out the day to day needs from some doctors. For the past couple of weeks been on the phone most days to 111 and GP's. At the moment its not me that needs the medical attention (will have to sort that bit out later). Response has been varied from no help what's so ever to one saying call an ambulance out (strange I thought) 😱. The 999 response was no its not a 999 call even though a doctor said it was, 😱 another call back to 111. 😱

Now finally made contact with a couple of what I call decent doctors who are trying to solve what's going on. For myself not had much sleep during this time. Times dates and happenings have got blurred into what's happened, which makes it impossible to put down on a letter to try and get things sorted out.

 

[yorksman]

i emailed NHS Englands complaints department after speaking to a lovely advisor this morning.

Don't hold your breath. My wife works in blood sciences and from time to time has filed 'Clinical Incident Reports'. They tend to be clinical or nursing staff not following procedure with the result that patients have been transfused or nearly transfused with the wrong blood or discharged from the hospital before tests have been completed on the patient or surgeons have operated on patients when no blood could be matched for the operation etc. All of these are potentially fatal.

The result invariably is that someone has a word with the offender who may then be required to go on some awareness course.

 

[Lauras87]

my god!! a reply!!!

i finally have got a reply from my GP *faints*



Thank you for your email. I am sorry to hear you have had difficulties obtaining your medication. Emma has passed this onto me as the lead GP for diabetes in the practice. I have carefully reviewed your notes.
As you may be aware, the PCT in recent years were aiming to reduce the amount of diabetic test strips prescribed to type 2 diabetics who did not need to be testing their blood sugar regularly. It is difficult for me to comment on all the occasions that you have had trouble obtaining your prescriptions as I do not have enough details but it may be that the aim to reduce inappropriate prescribing of test strips to type 2 diabetics has caused confusion for the reception staff.
All of the doctors at the surgery are aware of the requirement for type 1 diabetics to regularly check blood sugars and the importance of ensuring you have all the medication and equipment you need.
I have thought about how to prevent you or other type 1 diabetics from having problems obtaining medication in the future. At our next in-house training session, I plan to give a short presentation to the reception and administrative staff on the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes and the importance of medication and blood sugar testing in type 1 diabetes.
Although type 1 diabetics should have most of their diabetes care at the hospital we do advise an annual check at the surgery. This is to ensure you are having all the diabetic checks recommended, for example diabetic foot check. It is also a good opportunity to review the repeat medication list and ensure you are getting the correct medication and quantities for your needs. This also should help prevent problems obtaining medication.
I do have an interest in diabetes and have the Certificate in Diabetes Care from Warwick University. This does mainly cover care of type 2 diabetics but part of the course covered type 1 diabetes including insulin pumps.
GP's, even those with an interest in diabetes, do not tend to deal with insulin pumps as it is a specialised area and is far better dealt with by Diabetic Specialist Nurses and consultants at the hospital who are dealing with insulin pumps and insulin on a daily basis. ***
I am hoping that the problems you have had obtaining medications and testing equipment have been resolved since your appointment with me at the surgery and we discussed your repeat prescriptions and the quantities you need.
If at any point your insulin changes or you have any queries about quantities of medication or testing equipment please make an appointment with myself either in surgery or a telephone appointment. If there is an urgent problem please ask to speak to the doctor on call and the reception staff will arrange for the doctor to phone you back.
If you have any further concerns or queries about diabetes care in the practice please feel free to contact us again .

*** note the old practice manager said that noone had a clue about pumps & i couldnt be dealt with at the doctors diabetes/complication wise

 

[Northerner]

Sounds like it should clear up the problems if properly implemented. And - bonus - some more people will get to learn about the differences between insulin and non-insulin treated diabetes 🙂

Glad to see that things finally appear to be getting sorted Laura! 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Brill result on paper Laura!

Dear Dr Bloggs

Thank you so much for taking my comments seriously, and the time to reply to me fully and make plans to correct the situation.

Now - when is that meeting you were talking about?

Yours etc

 

[AlisonM]

Well finally! And a sensible answer too. Let's hope that puts an end to your prescription difficulties.

 

[m1dnc]

What a woefully inadequate reply. "I am sorry to hear of your difficulties" is not the same as "I am sorry for the difficulties that you have suffered because of the poor training of the Practice's staff" - which is the implication of the rest of his reply. Why is it that nobody seems capable of making a proper apology these days? The fear of litigation is hardly applicable in this case.

 

[Lauras87]

TW. - I'd love to be a fly on the wall during the presentation as most of the gp's at the surgery talk utter (male cow dangly bits) when it comes to diabetes.

M1dnc - sorry for all the stress & lack of care would of been nice especially given I've just been denied test strips & lancets today......
But my gp notes state my occupation as law so really you'd think they'd know better

Alison & Alan - I can only hope

Let's hope her certificate in diabetes is as good as she says.....