complaints

[piccadilly]

hope this is the right site, but where do i complain to about a gps practice? i'm fedup with being fobbed off by lazy useless gps at my local health centre, i can never see the one that i want and get these useless clowns instead

[scotman]

I imagine it would be your local Health Authority(or whatever they are called today) for general complaints about a practice. If you are serious about specific GPs then ultimately it is the General Medical Council.

[tiggerblue10]

http://www.gmc-uk.org/concerns/index.asp

[tiggerblue10]

If you feel like you're being fobbed off then ask them to refer you to specialist in whatever it is you feel isn't being dealt with correctly.

[piccadilly]

thankyou i will bear this in mind

[jackthehat]

Are you disatisfied with the front-line staff or the medics ?

If it is the receptionists, etc, you really need to speak to the Practice Manager.

[Sqad]

<<<<< lazy useless gps at my local health centre, i can never see the one that i want and get these useless clowns instead<<<<

To which "useless clowns" are your referring?

[Bbbananas]

Speaking from the 'other side of the fence' - we are often fed up with rude ignorant demanding selfish whingeing patients who want a Private service from an NHS Practice.....

(Start with a letter for the attention of the Practice Manager. She/He will then inform you where and how to take things further, if your complaint cannot be managed satisfactorily at that level).

[Sqad]

salla...good morning my darling.........and well said.

[Bbbananas]

I've had a few days off sqad and hassle with my car.

Well, someone had to say it - these complaints work both ways don't they??!! My girls get pee'd off with patients treating them like dirt and being unnecessarily rude to them. There are some 'lazy useless clowns' in surgeries, hospitals and clinics, but in my 26 year experience of the NHS - in surgeries, hospitals and clinics - the vast majority of GPs and consultants are very knowledgeable caring souls who try to do their best in sometimes difficult circumstances. (Yup, also GPs these days have it 'cushy' compared to the old days of night visits and weekends on call... but that's another story).

[tiggerblue10]

It could also be that you're not being told what you want to hear. If several GPs have come to the same conclusion then maybe they could be right.

[ladyalex]

When I wrote a letter of complaint to my surgery's Practice Manager I didn't get a reply.
That was in October 2010 and I'm still waiting....

[woofgang]

well didn't you follow it up...at least check they had received it?

[ladyalex]

They had certainly received it, I hand delivered it.

Didn't feel there was a lot of point in following it up as when I thought about the complaint, I doubted that they would or could actually do anything about it.
It was about not being able to book an appointment with the GP of my choice. Last three times I tried to do this I was advised that all of her appointments were booked for the next 2 weeks, so I would have to phone back in two weeks time and they would see if there was an appointment then. I really do not think that this is a satisfactory arrangement. Not getting an appointment for 2 weeks is bad enough , but not even being able to book one for 2 weeks and then with no guarantee of getting one is just too bad.
However, the GP in question is part-time, so has limited appointment spaces.
My letter was really to bring the problem with the system to their attention, but it would have at least been courteous of them to reply.

[Bbbananas]

We always reply to our letters of complaint (not that there are than many, thankfully!)

Better to nip these things in the bud... ;-)

[puma86]

I love my GP, he's great. Always sorts my probs first time :o)
lol.........just thought i'd share

[ladyalex]

Do you mean the letters, sallabananas or the complaints ?

[Bbbananas]

Both lady - whether the complaint is a telephone one, a verbal one or a written one we always reply or respond one way or another. We have a complaints form that patients are given to complete if that is what they so wish, and they are ALL dealt with as quickly as possible.

[joko]

i have had a few terrible gps over the years, most are ok though

but if you feel genuinely like they are not doing their job properly then make a complaint to the surgery
too many mistakes are made because people are afraid to speak up

and yes is works both ways, some patients are undoubtedly rude, but doesnt mean gps or doctors are above reproach or immune to lackadaisical behaviour

[ladyalex]

Glad to hear it.

Perhaps I will follow my complaint up.
I must say that the care at my surgery is excellent. I have no issues at all with any of the Drs or reception staff. I am sure that the receptionists who told me about phoning back in 2 weeks were simply 'following orders'.
If I need an on-the-day appointment I can almost always get one. Emergency appointments are always available. However, if I want continuity of care after having been seen once by a Dr then I am scuppered if it happens to be this part time GP.
I don't know how they would fix the system, but it seems just plain wrong to me.

[Sqad]

ladyalex....this is socialised medicine.......the doctor needs time off, holidays and sometimes he is even sick, so continuity of service, although desirable, is not always possible. The popular doctors, for whatever reason, have long waiting lists and so if you want to see the popular one....you have to wait.

In hospitals it is exactly the same, the Consultant can´t see all the patients at his clinic and so "dishes" the case notes out to his juniors.
If a GP or Hospital doctor was paid for each patient he saw and each operation that he did, then the doctor would be more likely to see "his" patients, but that is not the way it works. The NHS will guarantee that you see "A" doctor, but cannot guarantee the quality.

Now if you want continuation of care ...... same doctor.....always the Consultant and not his junior, then you have to go Private.