So upset!

[angel68]

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing good (or even just ok!)

I have just returned from an appointment with my health centre, they couldnt give me my own GP so i had a locum. I have been called for jury duty next week and i really cant face it! i am so run down and sore plus my bowels have been playing up so the thought of being in a court and needin to run to the loo isnt pleasant!!

I asked if he would give me a note to excuse me and explained why...He was so rude! told me that he would not give me a note as Endometriosis is not an relevant health issue to be excused and that he would not put his name to something that could have him charged with contempt of court!!?? I tried to explain my bowel problem and how it was stuck to my pelvis area causing pain and toilet issues, he offered me fybrogel!!! i asked him to please look at my notes as it was all there, letters from my gyna and previous treatments etc....he glanced at it and said "as i dont know you, you need to see your own GP" By this time i was in tears and i still am, i have so had enough of feeling like a hypocondriac! I am to weak to keep fighting people with this, sorry to rant but so sick of being in pain and being dismissed...as we all are i know!

Anyway he was a young locum, so just goes to show nothing new is being taught with regard to endo at med school sadly!

Thanks for listening ladies, really needed to speak to someone who understands.

Love, Angela.xx

[squidgy]

Hi Angela,

Firstly no need apologise for your rant! You have every right to and it is totally understandable. Also having a rant can be therapeutic!

Secondly, I am so sorry to hear about the rubbish experience you have just had at your dr's! That is disgraceful! I am not surprised that you are so upset! You did so well arguing your case to him and fighting! Go you! I would have been in tears and just walked out.

Can you try get an appointment with your GP as an emergency? Explain why really need see them as suffering and relates to Jury service which is supposed to start next week. I would also complain to the surgery about the Locum's attitude, how he made you feel and what was the point of seeing him if all he gonna end up with is "as I don't know you, you need see your own GP!"

Please don't give up fighting, you are doing so well and being so strong and brave x

I have never been called for Jury service (as of yet) so I am not to sure of it. However, is there a number on the letter you can ring to ask someone there about stepping down due to endo?

Sorry to hear you are suffering badly physically too at the moment. I hope it settles for you soon.

Best wishes xxx

[Hidden]

Hi, I agree with squidgy you shouldn't be apologising for anything report him to the practice if no joy then go on to the pct. If you have a look at the gov.uk website search for jury service and read section 3.

Call the relevant people the number will be on the letter calling you for service and tell them you are not well enough and are having a problem getting to see the GP at the health clinic. Have you got letters from Gynae at home regarding endo ? that may be enough evidence. You are allowed access to your notes from the gp not sure if you can have copies though, they might charge.

I was called for jury service but we moving so I was exempt.

If I was you I would get a second opinion/appointment with a GP asap ask for an emergency appointment if receptionist wants details tell her it personal, you need help and support not to brushed off ( he has no idea what you are going through, don't take his remarks personally put it down to his ignorance).

I know I have repeated some of what squidgy said but it is what I would do.

I hope you feel better soon. X

[angel68 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Kari & Squidgy, really appreciate your support!

I have tried to get another appointment with my own GP but the receptionist said he's full all week, they wont give me an emergency appointment unless i discuss with the nurse over the phone first to see if she thinks its an emergency!

i have letters from my gynae regarding my last lap so i may ask the court can i use these...thanks i hadnt really thought of that!

I really feel i need to report him, he made me feel that i was a fraud! I have been attending the same practice since i was a child and have been given painkillers since the age of 12 for period pain!...He had been running late this morning as i had to wait so he had not even looked at my notes or he would have saw stage 4 Endo with bowel stuck to tubes along with chocolate cysts on both ovaries and infertility!!

I ended up in tears whilst he told me he didnt know me so he was not putting his name to anything!...what??

Thanks so much girls, i feel ready to complain now and not run away under the duvet thinking it must be my fault!

Angela,xxx

[Impatient]

You should not be under the influence of strong drugs while courts are requiring you to make rational judgements on things you have seen and heard in court. Never mind the pain aspect and other endo symptoms.

Absolutely you should be excused from Jury service. It would far more costly to have to halt or abandon a trial because of forseable illness than to excuse you in the first place.

If you are on precribed meds for the endo, pain killers or anything else, then you do have a valid reason and should phone the GP surgery and speak to the practise manager. He or She will hopefully consult your own GP and get a letter ready and signed which you can collect from them.

If they still refuse to sign you off then call the courts service and explain to them that you can prove you are on prescription meds which cause extreme fatigue, drowsyness and whatever else that could impeed your ability to commit to being a juror and you have diagnosed endo and do not know from one day to the next how painful it can be or what strength of meds will be required and how that will affect you if you had to concentrate for long periods in a court room.

Unfortunately being excused this time doesn't prevent you being called again in the near future. that's the way the Jury service works.

[Duckybun]

Oh Angela, my blood is boiling reading abou what that awful locus said to you. I would absolutely make a complaint, further to making a complaint to your surgery's practice manager I would also complain to your local health authority and ask that t be looked into as that is the most disgusting unprofessional treatment of a patient! My blood pressure has considerably notched up... I can only dread to think of how many young women he will treat over the course of his career who will remain undiagnosed and untreated for this debilitating condition because of his poor education.... What a shame our medical schools are still churning out such wassocks....

Hope you're feeling a little better than earlier, as everyone has already said you should absolutely not have to serve jury duty, if I were you I would call your clinic in the morning and ask to speak to the practice manager urgently regarding a locums inappropriate behaviour and ask her to write the letter or get one of the other GPS in the practice to do it for you.

X

Ducky

[Duckybun in reply to Duckybun]

This really got my goat... So I went onthe gmc website, the general medical council, you should have a read and decide whether or not you want to complain higher up than your surgery. Doctors should not be allowed to speak to any patient in this manner, it is thoroughly disgusting, I trained in Glasgow in med school many years ago and although I had to give up a future in medicine due to ill health, I would deeply love to have been inthe profession when I finally got my diagnosis so I could start making a fuss about how poorly we are listened to... Please everyone who is reading dont take any more cr@p off doctors who shod know better!! Complain and raise some awareness!!!!

Here's the link....

gmc-uk.org/concerns/index.asp

[figgy]

Hi

The contempt of court issue comes from a direction made my the senior presiding judge Lord Leveson in 2008 which was sent to all doctors to prevent the issue of medical certificates being given to defendants to get them out of attending court to face their charges when for example a broken wrist might prevent them from working but not from attending court so I think he may have got a little mixed up.

You can ask for Jury Service to be delayed but of course that will not prevent you having to attend at a later date. I would suggest you telephone the court and speak to the officer dealing with the Jury and ask for advice, they may be able to advise you as to what the procedure is should you need to go to the toilet during the court session which would put your mind at rest or that you really need something from your doctor because of your medication, or alternatively ensure you are on a short case.

Please don't panic it will put you in even more pain I am sure you will find the court understanding.

Regards

Figgy xx

[Hidden]

Hi angel,

I hope you are feeling better today, you are entitled to have a good rant and cry, and having a site like this where there lots of love and support and where you can let off steam is great! Good luck, the ladies have given you lots of advice/support I hope it all goes well, be strong and positive. x

[angel68]

Thanks everyone for all your help and support! I sat down last night and typed up a letter to the senior partner of my practice complaining about the horrendous way i was treated and the effect that had on me! I called the court to explain my condition and also to say i was on strong medication at times (thanks Impatient, totally forgot about my meds!) They were actually fine about it but still need written evidence from my GP, i explained i couldnt see him till Tuesday and they seemed ok to wait till then! (relief!)

I handed the letter in to the surgery this morning! Will wait and see how that goes although im not holding my breath for an apology but would not like to see this man getting away with treating other women and girls like this!

Another thing i noticed, there are 5 surgeries within the one health centre in my area and this week is Endometriosis awareness week, yet there is NO info on the condition available in any form! Lots on Diabetes, prostate cancer, cervical cancer (smears) ovarian cancer, alcohol related diseases, smoking related disease, obesity! everything but Endo, nothing to suggest that maybe period pain is not normal!....I asked about putting up some posters from Endo UK and was told it needs to go through the practice manager then on to the senior partner, & if they feel its a relevant health concern then that would be fine!! What year is this again??

Sometimes when i say i have Endometriosis people look at me as if i made that name up!

Thank goodness for this forum and all the amazing people on it! x

Angela. :)xx