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Grumbles by email, and some answers |
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Since we have made ourselves more available through the medium of email, we have found we are getting many more grumbles about various aspects of our service that arrive by email. It is quite easy to knock off a quick email when you are feeling disgruntled, when you would not go to the greater trouble of writing a letter about it! We want to enter into the spirit of the new electronic communication age, so as an experiment we will place some grumbles on this page with their responses. We might all benefit from this. They will be altered and anonymous, of course, so there is no chance of identification. We should point out now, that serious complaints must be by conventional letter and posted to the practice manager (Mrs Michelle Broutta). (more information here) We guess that many of the originators probably have second thoughts about their wisdom the next day (when it is too late). Some emailers appear to have been "tired and emotional" when they wrote and sent them. It is usually worth reflecting for while before complaining. Sometimes when you have cooled down you can see that people were not being unreasonable after all. We will reply in a way that helps people understand how to use our service better, because most of the complaints arise out of misunderstanding. Dear Michelle I like the new Online system for ordering repeat prescriptions, but I have had a problem. On the screen there is a box for making comments that I used recently but my request was ignored, much to my annoyance. Dear Patient We think this box is likely to cause problems such as you have experienced. It is not appropriate to make requests of a doctor using this method since almost all medical issues require a dialogue, and we cannot reply. We would prefer the box not to be there but we are not responsible for it. The intention is for you to be able to make comments that we can act on or not, at our discretion. You should NEVER assume that we will act on something you have mentioned in this way. *********************************************************** Dear Michelle Every time I send an email for a repeat prescription it takes longer than the time you state before it is ready. Dear Patient This is because you are using the wrong address. Only patient.prescriptions@gp-c84048.nhs.uk goes directly to the prescription department. All other address such as repeatprescriptions@etc.etc will go to another department that does not collect emails so regularly. Hence the delay Dear Michelle My mother came out of hospital having been seriously ill and none of the doctors even came near her. Dear Patient We all miss the days of courtesy and good manners, and kindly benevolent GPs who pop in to check on the sick as they are on their way to the golf course. Sadly the ground rules have all changed without people realising. Communications have improved so much, and efficiency drives have removed spare time to the extent that we now rely on people knowing that if they have a problem all they have to do is ask if we can help. By and large we find that this results in a better distribution of health care among the needy, rather than simply benefiting those who live on the road to the golf club. If you think your mother needs medical attention let us know. I am afraid it is unlikely we will know her needs otherwise. Dear Michelle I find the piped music in the waiting room very annoying Dear patient This was introduced after a patient survey showed that this one of the things most desired in the waiting area. It is unfortunately not a thing one can compromise over. If a majority come to dislike it we shall turn it off. It also helps to drown the private consultation conversations which can otherwise sometimes be overheard by those with sharp hearing. One thing we could do for those who dislike it is change it occasionally to something they disliked least. There must be SOME music that would please you surely. Suggestions welcome. Dear Michelle Would you please tell Dr X that my father is much worse than he was and I am extremely worried about him. Dear Patient's son You will by now have received our standard email telling you we cannot accept medical issues by email and to contact us by phone so we can help you. Dealing with medical problems requires some kind of communication between the person who is ill and the person who is trying to advise them. This has to be two way, so the person trying to help can ask the necessary questions as well as be told the problem. Sending an email may make you feel that you have done something, but it cannot help us to help the patient. So for the foreseeable future we will not be conducting consultations by email, and any such emails will be sent back with an explanation. Dear Michelle I don't see why I have to include all the details of every drug when I order my repeats by email. It is very tedious. Why can't I just say "repeat all my usual pills" Dear Patient We have to insist on this because otherwise mistakes would sooner or later me made, and we cannot take that risk Dear Michelle I phoned up for an afternoon appointment with my doctor and was told that my doctor never saw patients in the afternoon. I had to make an inconvenient morning appointment and later discovered I could have had an appointment at 4-30pm Dear Patient Oops! Sorry! The main consulting times for doctors by appointment is 8-30 to 11am and 4-30pm to 6-30pm. We call them morning surgery and evening surgery. There are what we call afternoon surgeries but these are for antenatals, minor operations, medical examinations and the scores of other things that we have to do, but not usually regular appointments. Some people refer to the evening surgery as afternoon (as you did) and it all gets confusing. We should have realised what you meant. If you ask what a doctor's consulting hours are you will get the correct answer every time. You can understand perhaps that when we get home at 7pm for our meal, we say we have finished 'evening' surgery, not 'afternoon' surgery. Dear Michelle I saw my specialist recently and afterwards he wrote to my GP recommending a change to my medication, but I never heard anything from you. I only discovered this much later on. It's your fault my treatment change was delayed. Dear Patient If your specialist wanted you to change treatment straight away, he could have written you a prescription there and then and given it to you. Why didn't he do that you think? Could it be because a change of medication could have affected other treatments you have, or other illness you suffer from, or side effects your GP would want to warn you about? Quite possibly I would think. What did you think we would do? Put a prescription in the post? Phone you at home where you might not want your family to know you are getting medical treatment? The NHS system works like this: your GP refers you to a specialist for his advice about your problem. The specialist either deals with the problem or recommends a course of action for your GP to take, usually in a letter. You go to your GP to find out what the specialist recommends. Your GP prescribes the treatment. In our experience specialists tell patients that they are recommending a change of treatment and that they should see their GP. It is quite usual in the rush and confusion of outpatients to not remember everything you are told. The lesson here is to make sure you know the next step before you leave, and if you are not sure later, see your GP to go through the report. If you think there is something that could be dealt with over the phone, ring and leave a message asking your GP to phone back about it.
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