The problem…
“I LEFT MY GP surgery fit to burst last week. I had to wait for over two weeks to get a face-to-face appointment to see my local GP about the constant cramping in my legs. Before this, I did have a telephone consultation with another GP, but they were unable to help at all without seeing me.”
“I know that these are challenging times, but after speaking to the doctor for about a minute, the phone rang. Yes, you guessed it – it was an emergency call that they had to take. After sitting and waiting for what seemed an eternity, the doctor said: ‘I m not sure what’s wrong with you. They then suggested that I should ‘change my diet and exercise more! The conversation ended with: ‘If anything changes, make another appointment, I must get on.’”
“He made me feel guilty for wasting his time with what he obviously thinks is a trivial problem, but it’s not unimportant to me. Before this pain started, I was out walking every day. Now I’m in almost constant pain, can hardly move, and find it hard to sleep at night.”
“I know they’re busy dealing with this virus and everything, but the numbers are going down, so surely he could spare me some attention? I feel worse now than I did before seeing a doctor!”
The Solution
“It is unfortunate when one patient has to overhear a telephone conversation between a doctor and another patient – that does sound frustrating. And you are in pain and struggling to sleep, which must in itself be impacting you.”
“But remember, this isn’t all the doctor’s fault. These are challenging times for GP practices, and most doctors are under tremendous pressure to cope. Even in non-Covid times, they have to deal with a demanding workload. Some manage better than others, but please remember they are only human.”
“I don’t know what caused the doctor to be so off-hand with you; perhaps the call was a difficult one, or he was having a bad day, or maybe that’s just his usual manner! Nonetheless, you do deserve to feel you’ve had a proper conversation about your symptoms – so make another appointment. You don’t necessarily have to see the same doctor – you could ask to see a different one if you think that would help.”
“Don’t leave the surgery until you’ve fully explained your problem and got a satisfactory reply – the doctor may still not have answers for you but should be able to make sensible suggestions. ‘Diet and exercise’ might indeed be helpful – but you at least need advice on what diet and what exercise that is, as the wrong ones could make things worse.”
“If they do give you advice and your pain continues after following it, don’t give up. Ask to speak to them – or an alternative doctor – again. Yes, they’re busy right now and probably can’t cope with trivial matters that could be easily self-managed, but constant pain does not fall into that category. You need medical help and advice, and you shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for asking for it.”
