Bloody quacks

[Quiney]

I had an appointment with the Heart Failure consultant 2 weeks ago. He dropped one of my meds, replacing it with another that is relatively new but has better outcomes.
I was prescribed it for 2 weeks with BP and blood tests at the end of the period to check tolerance and then up the dosage by 50%. I had organised the test myself and had a phone consultation with the quack yesterday to confirm if all was ok and get new prescription.
After a bit of questioning, she confirmed all was OK with my results BUT she had never heard of this drug and would have to go away and read-up about it before prescribing it to me!
Later in the day I went roud to the surgery to see where things were up to. Reception tells me that if I only ordered it that morning it wouldn't be available till Friday. NO! explained what had gone on. She phoned round then said it was done but still in with the quack, come back at 6pm. Another no, and she reluctantly went in and got the script.
They don't make life easy!

 

[derek kelly]

I used to order mine online direct from Weldricks pharmacy, they always cocked up either one of mine or Bev's.
Their website went down & when they got it up & running they cancelled the order online service.
Since then I call into the surgery & write them out & put them in a box in the surgery waiting room.
Guess what? They still manage to cock them up

 

[Stevebrooke]

I had an appointment with the Heart Failure consultant 2 weeks ago. He dropped one of my meds, replacing it with another that is relatively new but has better outcomes.
I was prescribed it for 2 weeks with BP and blood tests at the end of the period to check tolerance and then up the dosage by 50%. I had organised the test myself and had a phone consultation with the quack yesterday to confirm if all was ok and get new prescription.
After a bit of questioning, she confirmed all was OK with my results BUT she had never heard of this drug and would have to go away and read-up about it before prescribing it to me!
Later in the day I went roud to the surgery to see where things were up to. Reception tells me that if I only ordered it that morning it wouldn't be available till Friday. NO! explained what had gone on. She phoned round then said it was done but still in with the quack, come back at 6pm. Another no, and she reluctantly went in and got the script.
They don't make life easy!

Surely if a Consultant puts the meds on your prescription then your GP has to carry out their instruction, not go away and read up about it to decide whether or not they can give you it.

 

[Lee337]

I got put on new meds for diabetes by a consultant who gave me a prescription for 14 days supply, which I got filled later that day. Two days later i got a phonecall from my GP saying my new prescription is ready for collection at the surgery dispensary. They know I've already got a supply from the hospital but thought they'd sort out a supply as soon as they got a letter from the consultant.

I guess it depends which NHS area you live in. With the number of health issues I've had since a bout of sepsis in Nov 16, the only problem was when the hospital cancelled an appointment while I was in the waiting room as there was a burst water main cutting off the water supply to the hospital.

Aside from that, I can't fault them.

 

[Quiney]

Surely if a Consultant puts the meds on your prescription then your GP has to carry out their instruction, not go away and read up about it to decide whether or not they can give you it.

That was my thoughts. Bit of a failure by one of my senior GPs. Should have been yes thats fine, hmmm not heard of this drug, better have a read-up on it later.

 

[andyBeaker]

Surely if a Consultant puts the meds on your prescription then your GP has to carry out their instruction, not go away and read up about it to decide whether or not they can give you it.

Look at it another way - if the prescription passes through the gp I would think it reasonable for the gp to understand what is going on. I would regard that as being professional.

 

[Quiney]

The GP had a letter from the consultant on file, explaining the reason for the change in meds. There was also a copy of the hospital pescription on my file that I had lodged with them. The GP should have had a quick scan of my file prior to telephoning me, seen the 'new to her' meds and perhaps looked it up prior to speaking with me, so that she would appear professional to me.

 

[andyBeaker]

The GP had a letter from the consultant on file, explaining the reason for the change in meds. There was also a copy of the hospital pescription on my file that I had lodged with them. The GP should have had a quick scan of my file prior to telephoning me, seen the 'new to her' meds and perhaps looked it up prior to speaking with me, so that she would appear professional to me.

I see what you are saying. But the gp has a duty of care that surely cannot be overridden by a consultant?

In reality she probably just hadn't had time to do the job the way she would have ideally wished.

Blooming gp surgeries - always full of sick people!

 

[Quiney]

I see what you are saying. But the gp has a duty of care that surely cannot be overridden by a consultant?

In reality she probably just hadn't had time to do the job the way she would have ideally wished.

Blooming gp surgeries - always full of sick people!

Thats why I opt for a telephone consultation.

 

[Stevebrooke]

I see what you are saying. But the gp has a duty of care that surely cannot be overridden by a consultant?

In reality she probably just hadn't had time to do the job the way she would have ideally wished.

Blooming gp surgeries - always full of sick people!

Consultant outranks GP. Consultant also outranks Registrar. Many years ago we took our son privately to see a consultant and got a diagnosis. The Consultant wanted to see him on the NHS at Huddersfield RI but Wakefield wouldn't agree and we ended up seeing a Registrar at Pinderfields Hospital who would not diagnose the condition that the Consultant had done. We made a formal complaint after finding out that the initial appointment at a hospital should be with a consultant and were then seen by another Consultant who agreed with the original diagnosis and our son was treated on the basis of that diagnosis. The Registrar sat in on that consultation and was not impressed at being overruled.

A GP should always carry out a Consultant or Registrar's instructions.

As a caveat I am writing this from many and varied experiences with GPs and hospitals during my time in HM Prison Service, from my own family dealings, and from information given to me by my dear old mum who was a doctor's receptionist for as long as I can remember.

 

[andyBeaker]

Consultant outranks GP. Consultant also outranks Registrar. Many years ago we took our son privately to see a consultant and got a diagnosis. The Consultant wanted to see him on the NHS at Huddersfield RI but Wakefield wouldn't agree and we ended up seeing a Registrar at Pinderfields Hospital who would not diagnose the condition that the Consultant had done. We made a formal complaint after finding out that the initial appointment at a hospital should be with a consultant and were then seen by another Consultant who agreed with the original diagnosis and our son was treated on the basis of that diagnosis. The Registrar sat in on that consultation and was not impressed at being overruled.

A GP should always carry out a Consultant or Registrar's instructions.

As a caveat I am writing this from many and varied experiences with GPs and hospitals during my time in HM Prison Service, from my own family dealings, and from information given to me by my dear old mum who was a doctor's receptionist for as long as I can remember.

I find this all odd and confusing. If the consultant is 'God' why is the gp involved at all?

Why can't the consultant issue prescriptions/medication?

If I were a GP I wouldn't issue anything unless I was sure about it - why would I want to put my name against someone else's diagnosis/treatment?

Confused.

 

[Quiney]

I find this all odd and confusing. If the consultant is 'God' why is the gp involved at all?

Why can't the consultant issue prescriptions/medication?

If I were a GP I wouldn't issue anything unless I was sure about it - why would I want to put my name against someone else's diagnosis/treatment?

Confused.

The GP has a fairly road knowledge but cannot have the in-depth knowledge of a consultant.
The one I am seeing deals ONLY with heart failure. The drug he has prescribed has only been approved by NICE in the last year.
The GP has to hold their hands up when dealing with complicated conditions, but also learn from them. Likewise the consultant would probably be of little use with pregnancy, lumbago, mumps/measles etc.
Heart consultants have prescribed ALL of my meds, but the local surgery (signed by a GP) provide my ongoing repeat meds.

 

[andyBeaker]

The GP has a fairly road knowledge but cannot have the in-depth knowledge of a consultant.
The one I am seeing deals ONLY with heart failure. The drug he has prescribed has only been approved by NICE in the last year.
The GP has to hold their hands up when dealing with complicated conditions, but also learn from them. Likewise the consultant would probably be of little use with pregnancy, lumbago, mumps/measles etc.
Heart consultants have prescribed ALL of my meds, but the local surgery (signed by a GP) provide my ongoing repeat meds.

To me the key point is your last sentence.

If the gp is signing off then they have a duty of care and moral and professional responsibility.

If not, why include them in the process??

Not quite the same responsibility, but I wouldn't sign off on a policy/strategy document at work simply as a consultant had designed it - the buck stoped with me.

 

[Quiney]

To me the key point is your last sentence.

If the gp is signing off then they have a duty of care and moral and professional responsibility.

If not, why include them in the process??

Not quite the same responsibility, but I wouldn't sign off on a policy/strategy document at work simply as a consultant had designed it - the buck stoped with me.

Don't forget money also features in this problem.

When discharged from hospital you only get a weeks worth of meds, just sufficient for you to contact your GP and get them to set-up the ongoing repeat script, at their cost. They will have had no contact with the hospital and consultants during this process, probably not even knowing that you were ill, but because you are registered with them, they end-up with the ongoing costs. There is clearly some (unknown to us) agreement between these professionals.

 

[Stevebrooke]

To me the key point is your last sentence.

If the gp is signing off then they have a duty of care and moral and professional responsibility.

If not, why include them in the process??

Not quite the same responsibility, but I wouldn't sign off on a policy/strategy document at work simply as a consultant had designed it - the buck stoped with me.

I think you are having trouble with the word ‘consultant’. In the medical world it is a highly qualified specialist. In the rest of society it is just a job title someone gives themselves because they are in an advisory role.

 

[andyBeaker]

I think you are having trouble with the word ‘consultant’. In the medical world it is a highly qualified specialist. In the rest of society it is just a job title someone gives themselves because they are in an advisory role.

The concept in my example remains valid.

The point is that if you put your name to something you have to have ownership and responsibly/duty of care.

If the gp has 'signed off' on medication/treatment that are a screw up they are culpable. Can't just blame the consultant.

 

[Squag1]

Friend got script from hospital.
Pharmacist said "...don't make that any more"