I live in a rural area. I've been told I can't move surgeries as I live outside all my nearest surgeries catchment areas.

[Daz75]

I am new on here. I don't understand why I can't change surgeries. How are you supposed to get a second opinion or move surgeries like I would like to in my case because I am traumatised by being left in pain. Please could anyone advise or help on this matter?.....

[Bananas5]

As you said...you have to be in the catchment area to be allowed into a surgery.

You are traumatised by being left in pain...do you want to expand? Why are you left in pain?

x

[Daz75 in reply to Bananas5]

Hi,

I have a degenerative disease of my lumbar spine. My injury happened in 2011 and as you would expect I have had seen every kind of Doctor and had all treatments to try and fix my back. As it was left I had seen the pain clinics on many occasions who gave me a perscription with a maintenance dose to control my pain. Due to being a big fella I am on a high dose of medication. At the moment and for a while I have been in pain, sometimes chronic pain which has left me house bound. I have been back to my Doctors many times in distress due to my pain. Being in pain and being stressed only exacerbates the pain in my back which leaves me traumatised. Since my old Doctor has retired things just havent been the same. Its now common practice for Doctors only to perscribe up to 120 mg Morphine a day. Whats the point in sending you to pain clinics for specialist input into pain control if they are not going to honour the clinics decision and perscribe it to you. I cannot answer questions on behalf of my Doctors but I am in pain, and being stuck between four walls all day isnt doing me much good. This is not good for my Mental Health. Thats why I feel traumatised and feel helpless.

[Bananas5 in reply to Daz75]

OK now I understand your condition.

My David broke his back way back in the '80s. Over the years his spine has degenerated from the coccyx up and neck down. Pain clinics have looked after all these years..3 as we moved.

He started with acupuncture some 20 years ago with great success. Spine blocks, Oxycontin, Fentanyl patches have all helped although nothing much for depression

Now he has come off all pain meds and is trying Auricular Acupuncture for Chronic Pain and Insomnia . His first date, a month ago, proved very good in treating both ends of his spine.

He can never be pain free by the nature of 2 diseases but together with very gentle exercise, swimming and me nagging he is getting some life.

Maybe this could help you? Sadly there is no magic cure and often second opinions no help either

x

[Daz75 in reply to Bananas5]

Hi

I am pleased to hear about the progress your David has made and I wish him nothing but the best for the future.

With respect, you don't know me and certainly don't have any idea or understanding with regards to my condition. What I have been through and what I am going through at this moment.

Firstly, In this day and age no-one should be in pain definately not left in pain when it has a seriously adverse effect on my day to day activities and my life as a whole. Secondly, second opinions are sometimes crucial in decision making, just looking back in history will tell you that. x

[Bananas5 in reply to Daz75]

You are right. I don't know anything about you or have the slightest understanding about you. No one on this forum does. However that is why you and other members post questions and look for answers..and that we try to do.

I was using 35 years of experience, not only with my husband, but also myself and many many years of working with people with chronic pain. I also worked with Pain Concern (who run this forum) when we lived in Scotland. They are based in Edinburgh

I totally agree no one should be left in pain...that is where pain clinics and there excellent team come in. It is the consultant who tells you which drugs you need and your GP must adhere to this without question. If he doesn't then you have to report him. It is also that pain consultant who can provide a second opinion

It is your right to ignore any suggestions of help and/or advice but please don't insult me

x

[Daz75 in reply to Bananas5]

Hi,

First of all I never insulted you in any way and nor would I so why on earth did you say that. I always remain decent and professional at all times which is extremely hard when your in chronic pain. I just gave you my opinion. Please don't patronise me speak to me like a human being we'll get on just fine. Due to your experience I would be very grateful if you could help me. I have exhausted the Pain Clinic Specialists which was brought up in my Tribunal. I have even had a Specialist review on my medication. Through trial and error they devised my pain meds and kept me on a maintenance dose, which was increased when I had a flare up then I would reduce on my own fruition back to the maintenance dose. I had a very trusting relationship with my Doctor and my Doctor before that. Unfortunately when he retired it all when out the window I have been in pain and felt isolated ever since. Being honest, getting up every morning (thats if I manage to sleep much) being sometimes in chronic pain I know is effecting my mental health..

[Bananas5 in reply to Daz75]

I am more than happy to help if I can.

Do you want to send me a PM rather than chat on here?

X

[cyberbarn]

I am sorry that you feel traumatised by what has happened. Sadly too many people get into this situation where a surgery won't let a patient move or get a second opinion.

First of all, who told you you couldn't change surgeries? This is important, because under the NHS you can register at a surgery outside your catchment area, but it is voluntary, so the outside surgery doesn't have to accept you.

nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-se...

So if it is your surgery saying you can't change surgeries, it might be because they hold that attitude that you are 'doctor shopping' or are a 'problem patient' and they are trying to stop you moving. However, if you have approached the other surgeries and they have said no, then they are allowed to do that. Have you checked each surgery's catchment area map? They have two boundaries, an inner one where they are compelled to accept the patient and the outer one where they can choose to accept the patient. It is hard in rural areas as sometimes these boundaries don't overlap, making it very difficult for a patient to choose a suitable surgery.

If you still can't change surgeries, then the next step would be to contact your Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). They are responsible for GP surgeries and they are also responsible for making sure that everyone has a GP surgery to go too. They might be able to sort something out.

Additionally, or maybe even before you go to the CCG you might want to ring up your local Healthwatch. They are independent, and not only should be able to advise you on what to do, they also have to collect information about GP surgeries and other health settings locally. If they get a lot of complaints about a particular setting then they have statutory powers to investigate. you can find your local Healthwatch from this page:

healthwatch.co.uk/your-loca...

I know how difficult this is, I live in a rural area too. I wanted to move away from the original surgery I was registered at, and my first choice refused to have me so I had to move to my second choice. That actually worked out well as we ended up with one of those brilliant doctors who is always running late but also always listens to their patients and works really hard for them. He retired and the surgery was taken over by another one, so I needed to move again. This time the first choice one accepted me and we are now much happier as we are being listened to. This of course means we are now catching up with four years of lack of referrals and we are very busy with all the extra appointments. But it is sad when it comes to this and a GP refuses to treat their patients with compassion. I hope you can get this sorted out.

[Daz75 in reply to cyberbarn]

Hi,

It was actually Health Watch that told me I was outside all the catchment areas.

My situation is unique in the fact that I contacted the closest G.P Surgery to me and they wrote back to me telling me I was outside the catchment area. The second closest I actually contacted by phone and spoke to the Manager, she seemed lovely but yet again told me I was outside the catchment area. But what she did say that she would look into the situation for me and get back to me. Unfortunately she didn't. So I then called that surgery back and spoke to a Secretary who very polite. When I asked about wanting to join, she abruptly said "yes" they have people at that surgery, from my village she knew this as she was looking at the board in front of her. You can imagine how I felt. I am a disabled 44 year old Male that suffers with pain every day of my life, in fact I dont have a life so I will come back to your point of "doctor shopping" or are a "problem patient". I have never been a problem I have always respected the fact that I am in a doctors surgery in the capacity as a patient. I am curious by nature especially when it comes to my health.

The fact that a Doctors surgery would treat their patients in such a way is not just horrific but discriminatory in nature. Also, have my medical records been discussed without my permission.

I thank you for your insightful message but as you can probably understand how I am feeling right now.

[cyberbarn in reply to Daz75]

When GPs use the term 'problem patient' what *they* mean is a patient that thinks there is something wrong with them when there isn't. It is often used against disabled people who really do have something wrong with them, but the GPs can't be bothered to deal with it. I was very involved with our GP surgery as part of their PPG and got to know the GPs very well. They were a good bunch, but when they all left and the new lot came in, it was a different story. They started telling patients they had no choice in which GP they saw, and the Senior Partner told me it was to 'stop those problem patients from going from GP to GP just because they don't like what I say to them'

This same GP told my son that he wasn't going to refer him to a consultant, but perhaps he would like some acupuncture from his friend instead. It's taken us four years and the surgery change to get the referral to the consultant that specialises in my son's condition.

So some GPs label any patient with a chronic condition a 'problem patient', even if they are the most polite patient who is chair of their PPG committee!

If you have already gone to Healthwatch the next stop will be the CCG. They should have a PALS department or similar who will deal with patient complaints and they will be able to help you sort this out. In fact, there is nothing like ringing the surgery in question and asking their practice manager which is their PALS office. They should tell you, but might also resolve the situation more quickly themselves as they don't want to be dragged before the CCG for not accepting a new patient!

[PainConcernProjects Partner Community Champion Pain Concern]

Hi Bells75. You have the right to request a change of GP out of area. They have the right to refuse but they should explain their decision to you clearly and this should be reasonable. This NHS doc outlines this;

nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-se...

If they have not been clear why they refused, request a reason for refusal. It may be worth seeking advice from the Citizens Advice, your CCG or NHS England this article under 'Problems with registering' may help;

citizensadvice.org.uk/healt...

Hope this helps and wish you luck.

On behalf of Pain Concern

[Daz75 in reply to PainConcernProjects]

Hi,

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

I contacted a new G.P surgery that was second furthest (mine being closest) away from mine. I spoke to a Secretary and she told me to put it in writing. I wrote to surgery. I then received a letter back saying I was outside their catchment area. I then contacted the next furthest G.P. I spoke to the Manager who was very polite but yet again she told me I was outside their catchment area but she did say say that she would look into it for me and contact me back. Unfortunately she didn't contact me so I called the surgery back to speak to her. I spoke to the Secretary who was also very polite but she told me the Manager was not in that day. I explained the situation to her and to my astonishment she said "Yes" we do take patients from my village, she was adornment as she was looking at the patient board which she said was right in front of her. She also knew that they did take patients. I just thanked her for her time and put the phone down. I feel very concerned regarding my issue and on reflection I do not feel that this is a error or mistake How on earth could it be??

- I am concerned that this has been discussed before I called. I am disabled and if I have been discussed then this has an element of discrimination.

- I am even more concerned that my personal medical information could have been divulged without my permission which breaches fundamentally everything rule in the book. I am not going to persue this issue as I am not well enough to put myself through the stress.

I would be very grateful If you could give me you opinion on this matter.

Regards

Darren

[bantam12]

We are also very rural and outside all surgery catchment areas even the one we are registered with but as we have been patients with them for over 20 years they allowed us to stay on when we moved but if they did chuck us out I know none of the others would take us.