Potential reason for complaint.. need advice!

[liz4949]

Hi all, apologies in advance as this might be a long one.

Some of you may remember my post a few months ago about my Dr insisting all my asthma problems were due to the dog I lived with (shockingly I moved house away from the dog and feel absolutely no different..). The same Dr has now discharged me back to my GP care, which I’m not happy with. I’ll summarise some of the issues that have really bothered me below- I’d appreciate advice re whether this is reason to complain or not.

- it seems like none of my medical info got passed to my new consultant when I moved back from Uni - ie no data on my hospital admissions. I was not asked to shield despite taking 5 meds a day with a history of hospital admissions etc.

- my current consultant made several mistakes in a letter she wrote to my GP about my situation - including writing that my asthma doesn’t affect my sleep (it does) and stating that I live in uni halls (I don’t), so I feel like she didn’t listen to a word I said during our phone appointment prior to this

- she discharged me before I was due to have my lung function test (I was literally in the waiting room when she called me lol) so has no real info to support her claim that my health is now “stable”. How can you discharge someone and claim they’re fine without looking at their lung function results?

- I always feel uncomfortable around GPs bc my asthma is a little odd - I usually don’t wheeze and can walk and talk even with low O2 - so I’m apprehensive about being shoved back into gp care after several bad experiences of my health problems being ignored

- honestly I’m pretty convinced that now I don’t live with a dog, my Dr assumes my health is fine when it’s really not any different than before. She started our most recent phone call saying “you feel better in this new accommodation yes?” Without giving me a chance to speak

- the only reason I think I haven’t needed any steroids or hospital admission for a year now is because I haven’t had a cold - which is because I’ve basically been voluntarily shielding. Usually as soon as I get any sort of viral infection I end up in hospital. I think it’s a bit unwise of the doctor to bin me off back to the gp without any sort of tailing off (maybe with less frequent appointments with her?) just to check I’m ok.

Sorry this is all muddled - honestly I’m really annoyed about it all and don’t feel safe or comfortable with her decision. Any help or advice would be appreciated!

[LDloveslattecoffe]

I believe you have a genuine complaint here, there are a variety of routes you can take but first route would suggest is to get in touch with your local Patient Advice and Liaisson Service (PALS) - you can find out more about how they can help by clicking this link - nhs.uk/nhs-services/hospita...

[MELNEL]

Hiya Liz 😉 I would write an email to your consultant and explain your situation and that you are not happy about her advice. I have a contact email from my nurse and secretary of my Consultant. If I have a problem I do write an email, and I always get help.

I understand that you getting frustrated with the current situation. I do have a better understanding with my consultant as my GP. Because I getting monthly injections and he calls me on regular basis to catch up.

But I believe that it will be helpful to write to her. I hope that you getting an answer to sort out your problems. Or contact the asthma helpline here in the forum for advice. Best of luck Liz you take care and stay safe 🍀🍀🍀🌺😘🌹

Oh and another thing, I have to cats and they don't trigger my asthma. I had some test done.

[Poobah]

Your complaint will have more impact if you first email the consultant highlighting the errors made in their letter; you do wake at night with asthma symptoms, continue to experience symptoms despite not having a dog, do not live in halls of residence, have been shielding and therefore have avoided virus colds etc which may have helped reduce hospital admissions, records are incomplete (state why). End by saying you look forward to a copy of the corrected letter that they send to the GP (you could copy your GP into the email so they know that you don't agree with the consultant).

If the consultant fails to correct the errors then your complaint to PALS will be easier for them to resolve. Give the consultant 4 weeks before referring it to PALS. Again, copy the GP into the PALS complaint. Wouldn't hurt for the GP to see you're confident to complain when you receive inadequate service.

[PeakyBlinder50]

I don't think you do have grounds for a complaint. It's the NHS and to be honest it's not a personal service that we should expect. I've learnt that the hard way. I've been let down I won't go into too much detail but a GP missed my sons appendicitis just dismissed him without even a physical examination and it burst that night and he ended up in intensive care (12 years old). He did survive long recovery 12 weeks (5 days in intensive care). I did PALS got nowhere completely fobbed off. Unless you are now dead or completely disabled as a result of malpractice then a complaint is not worth the paper it's written on. I complained to the GP Practice and got a letter back saying "sorry". I think you need to start again. Ask to see someone at your GP and explain you want your Asthma properly checked (you are entitled to regular check-ups) you should not be ending up in hospital if your meds e.g. steroids are used as a preventative measure. The more you don't take meds for Asthma the more damage your lungs experience over time. I would start again and book that appointment LFT's tell them you need to be checked go see your GP. You say Consultant is that Private? I see my Private asthma consultant only if I'm having issues. You can request a different Consultant it is your choice. Good luck. On the dog issue. Have they done the 10 + prick test on your arm? I had this done when I was first diagnosed and it ruled out that my asthma was allergic I'm not sure this is only for Private patients though.

[Blue-Breeze]

You can call patient experience (PALS) Speak to them. They are very knowledgeable and helpful. You can ask what you need to do. They may suggest emailing the consultant first. Although during this Pandemic everything is on hold and getting a response is even slower. You have the right to be heard even if you don't get the outcome you want. I'm going through similar and its not pleasant being doubted, mind talk takes over.

[twinkly29 in reply to Blue-Breeze]

Absolutely agree. And yes, speak to Pals. They can advise on what to do. In my experiences so far they have been really helpful.