I couldn't believe it when I read this GP's article. I pity his patients.
Frightening example of Doctors attit... - Pernicious Anaemi...
Frightening example of Doctors attitude towards B12D.
Written by
charks
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I couldnt read the link as only had 2 lines ?
OK. I have copied and pasted the article. Here it is. He is writing for a medical website called pulsetoday.
Surely I cannot be the only GP who finds him/her/whatever-self sitting at work late into the evening poring over blood tests I didn’t order, done for Gawd-knows what, and which the rules of when-the-music-stops mean are my responsibility to sort out? And that these blood tests, these days, almost invariably involve borderline low B12 levels?
So it was with a feeling of utter despair that I discovered that MHRA is advocating more stringent testing of B12 in patients on metformin. Yes, I realise metformin can cause B12 deficiency, and yes I realise that can have serious consequences, but most of all I realise that such serious consequences from B12 deficiency are vanishingly rare, especially in the asymptomatic, and that all these borderline readings are driving me mad. And no, that doesn’t mean I need my own levels checked.
Basically, B12 is the new vitamin D: increasing publicity, alleged deficiency causing no or vague symptoms, indiscriminate testing, borderline levels common and treatment making sod all difference – except, with B12, rather than treatment being a pat on the head and some OTC advice as per Vit D, it often involves injections and demands from patients that they should have higher doses or more frequent jabs on account of, guess what, not feeling better.
As a very intelligent and rational neurologist said to me about the current B12 obsession – and if anyone knows the relative likelihood of functional tingliness versus subacute combined degeneration of the cord, it’s him – ‘It’s the sort of thing that makes you want to retire.’
It’s not as if the labs can even agree on the normal range. And even if they could, no one can agree on the accuracy of the test, when treatment is needed, and what they’re trying to achieve.
And now, according to the guidance, we should continue ‘periodic’ monitoring even in the absence of symptoms in metformin-poppers who are at risk. Which includes, apparently, the elderly or those on a PPI, aka ‘everyone’.
So if your mouse is hovering over a haematology path lab form and you’re thinking, ‘To B12 or not to B12’ – please don’t.
Thanks. What awful ignorance and attitude.
Clinical skills and observation seems rare these days.
Disinterest more common
I wish him/her/whatever (a description in itself which is deeply concerning from a profess practice point of view) every luck with their deficiency should they get it so that they can adopt a less high handed for a more even handed and even tempered view. Reading this I also suggest some stress management therapy!
If we were not so short of doctors, I would recommend that this one be struck off, and made to apologise to his patients, for whom he is lethal. I speak as a B12 sufferer on 20 years maximum metformin, and 3 monthly injections (not enough, of course, but the tablets seem to do nothing).
I do hope you are SI.If not please try.
Thanks jaybirdxNHM. Sorry, but what is SI?
Hi piperatpda, SI means to self-inject. If you're not getting enough B12 from your doctor and you're having neurological symptoms and getting worse you can choose to self inject. Most of us do. I buy my B12 from Germany and self-inject everyday ED. EOD means every other day.
Thanks EllaNore. I had not come across the acronym. No, not at present, but now considering it. Many thanks.
self inject. See Ellanores' reply. my delay due to laptop being silly!!!
• in reply tocharks
Wow, disgusting
Terrible attitude.Doctors do not get much training about B12.Easy to be flippant when you don't have B12 deficiencies. I was so weak before diagnosis, my GP at the time met me at the stairs & helped me up so he could administer my first b12 injection. I was so very low & the injections eventually did the job.These days I fight to get a shot.Waiting on a Blood test result before the Dr will prescribe the jab.
What a dreadful GP - am glad I don't live in Essex. No mention in his diatribe about the patient who after findings of not making the Intrinsic Factor in their stomach would receive the live-giving B12 jabs. No mention in any of the other replies either - shows a complete lack of even basic knowledge of the condition. Heaven help us! No wonder we join together for support!
you need too be in north wales they go that much on nice guidelines don't consider ppls b12 reflects different on ppl gps today ard pathetic and maybe safer too too get rid of gps put money in hospitals and go too AE for medical issues fund AE as gp srrvice as in north wales yout told by gp too go to ae and they find different too gps round and round we go
How utterly disgraceful and profoundly ignorant.
Aside from the b12 specific comments this guy generally sounds completely detached from what his job is supposed to be about, what a disgusting attitude to patient care
He is a GP led by his arrogant attitude, not by increasingly available evidence, and the needs of patients with "due" symptoms. Appalling.
If you read some of his other blogs the attitude he displays towards patients, healthcare and the future of the NHS are terrifying. Time he retired, whatever his age. The worrying thing is in this time of GP shortage they will begging him to stay!
I agree 100% doityourself. He is seriously dangerous. He has followers. He's spreading his twisted views like a black mold!
Every barrel has its bad apple. He is certainly a bad apple! ☹️Thank goodness that whilst his views are extreme and wrong and would do best to shut up and stop moaning 🙈🙉the vast majority of GPs appear to want to help but are finding it tough to do so within the current framework.
That’s why this forum is so vitally important. 🤗 We help each other to help ourselves and keep records to provide evidence of this disease, its symptoms and treatments. One day our door will open and we need to be ready! 🎬🎬
Meanwhile this stupid GP fuels me on - I just wish I could be a fly 🪰on his wall when our dawn 🌅 happens!
What a disgustingly ignorant and arrogant person😳 May they be struck down with a B12 deficiency and made to eat their words at the very least. Sounds just like one of my doctors ☹️
Such arrogance!
‘It’s the sort of thing that makes you want to retire.’
Please do
if they feel like that about their job it is precisely what they should do.
I believe this 'character' is a satirical, angsty, obstreperous version of a Doctor. But the messaging is entirely dangerous as it encourages other medical professionals to downplay the severity of severe B12 deficiency. To suggest that severe problems are rare or that borderline patients should just eat better is an insult the profession and proof as to why the NHS is a failing institution.
It must be reformed immediately
wholly agree
in my view they don't deserve any rise they all had good time cosy jobs till pandemic my gp thinks everyone has anxiety ha ha they a joke in wales
The basic issue is that the NHS is wedded to big pharma. Massive profits to be made from dosing people up to the eyeballs in drugs that can harm us, and they're paving the way to US-style, private healthcare. It defies all logic that a safe and effective vitamin has to be fought for. GPs are trained to cure ills with drugs and there's little emphasis on preventative, holistic care, and they appear uninformed about human biochemistry, what our bodies need to thrive. Terrifying
Amen!! Why study something that can't be patented? If there's no way to control the 'market' they will do anything and everything to discredit the solution, even if it saves lives. Big pharma is evil. No hyperbole here.
Absolutely. This systemic issue runs very deep indeed. People get in the way of profits, we're a means to an end.
Indeed. And with a Prime Minister who potentially capitalized on the Moderna rollout, and a former MP gaining £300,000 for crushing the healthcare system and then going on a reality TV show before only donating £10,000 to his charities, we are literally living in dystopian times.
cityam.com/rishi-sunak-refu...
Money talks. If you don't have it, more the fool you for not having it. It's your own fault if you're sick or ill.
The NHS was a socialist idea to give everyone free healthcare. But of course, it's original purpose has warped over time. Doctors and nurses are overworked, underappreciated, can't do their jobs properly, are burning out.
All while rich people get richer but apparently 'Do it to raise awareness and to show their real side'. As if ANYONE CARES about Matt Hancocks real side?
We live in a self-focused rat race. If you die, that's your own fault for being an idiot.
Beautifully put. Stark, and sad, but eloquently beautiful.
'We live in a self-focused rat race. If you die, that's your own fault for being an idiot.'
Where did the value of being human go?
agree I see no gps in future
Or maybe its going the way of the search engines - they could use AI to support diagnostics and provide a diagnostic report for a GP to consult a patient on.
It can't all be down to GP and patient fumbling through in ten minutes. Any business leader would say that is not an effective service.
Changing the system--whether its the NHS or not-- is the only hope we have, I think.
What an obnoxious uncaring GP that should most definitely retire. If a B12 deficiency/ Pernicious anemia is hovering over his head for him to have, I hope it drops on him and he gets treated the same way. Oh and his obnoxious uncaring Neurologist colleague as well, who is definitely not rational and intelligent as he describes!!
"his obnoxious uncaring Neurologist colleague as well"
Having been on the receiving end several times of words from ignorant and uncaring neurologists, I can empathise with your view.
I always felt that I wouldn't wish B12 deficiency on my worst enemy ....I'm sure others feel like that but then we know what it feels like, how it can totally change your life and they don't.
Sadly they don't understand how it changes our lives and yes I too have been on the receiving end of an uncaring Neurologist. I just thank everyone in this group for the help and support we all get and can give to each other. We all know that we are not alone in this
agree maybe he's injecting himself in north wales many gps been sacked not retired due too negligence they say they retire they don't they get sacked and as they put money into business have pension each month
What is more worrying than the doctors attitude is the publication of it in a popular mag for doctors.
Exactly, and did you notice the raft of adverts all over the page! Certainly not an unbiased platform!
what an absolute arse …. Complete arrogance of it .. this is so frustrating to read
OMG!! Why is this person a doctor? That doctors needs to retire. Better yet fired and stripped of his license! He should have never been a doctor. Wow!!! This is proof of the hell we have to battle just to survive. I want to punch this egomaniac in the face. Egotistical narcissistic!!! How dare he write such a self-absorb, selfish article about people suffering from a real condition. He's disgusting. Could you imagine having to live with this person? I would never want this person as a friend, a husband, a father, let alone a doctor. Thanks for posting this Charks. Good find. Now we really know where we stand with doctors.
"yes I realise that can have serious consequences"
Does he not realise that the consequences can be death...? Or disability...? I hope someone knows who he is and he gets fired 🤬
Casasue• in reply to
maybe daddy's paid for his fake Md money talks
How do we contact this doctor? How do we report him? How do we contact the publication that it's in? How dare they publish something like this. But thankfully now we know exactly how they feel. How do we take this doctor down? He should not be allowed to practice medicine. He is dangerous. I will find a way to report him. I'm so angry right now. This is why I/we suffer for decades because of doctors like him. I'm not going to shut my mouth. I am reporting this guy one way or another.
I would be interested to see what we can do if we are not his patients. He clearly believes he can disregard NICE guidelines.
Can you submit a comment under the article?
Unfortunately not. But his name is there.
At the bottom of this article you can contact the editor. I wrote a skathing letter to them just now. We all need to write a letter. We all need to speak up about them publishing something so irresponsible like this. I can't believe how angry I am over this article.
Please everybody we need to defend ourselves. We can't let this kind of attitude continue. This is exactly what's hurting us. Doctors like this are exactly the reason we are suffering. We cannot let them talk this way. We can't let them get away with this kind of demeaning behavior. This is how they feel about us. This is exactly how doctors feel about us This is the truth. I believe this idiot. I believe that he is not alone in how he feels. To know that when you walk through the door this is what a doctor has in his head before he's even spoken to us. We don't have a chance with doctors like him. And if we don't speak up this will continue. I'm going to find out who this doctor is and what his name is and I'm going to report him. I don't care if I'm in the United States I will not let this doctor touch another human being again. He doesn't deserve to be a doctor and patients deserve a better doctor than this. This man needs to be stopped.
This is what I wrote. It's not great, but at least I spoke up. If we all wrote to this editor, it could make a difference.
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Dear editor,
I feel extremely compelled to write to you about this article. This is the most disgusting, egotistical, narcissistic, doctor and article I have ever come across.
This doctor should never be allowed to practice medicine or be a doctor to another human being again. In fact he shouldn't even be a doctor to a dog.
How dare this egotistical, self-righteous, arrogant, SOB talk about people who have pernicious anemia and are suffering every minute of every day due to the lack of B12 knowledge of doctors like him.
This is a very dangerous doctor. If he wants to retire, do everyone a favor and do it as soon as possible!! In fact he should be fired and his license should be removed and revoked and he should never be allowed to practice medicine again.
How dare you even publish an article like that. It's an irresponsible article. This sad excuse for a human being let alone a doctor, clearly lacks knowledge and should never be a doctor. This is the most despicable, disgusting, article I have ever read by a doctor.
Clearly he lacks the empathy and the knowledge necessary to care for people. This man should never be allowed to practice medicine again. A reprehensible disgusting excuse for doctor. I am absolutely appalled and beside myself with frustration and anger after reading this irresponsible article.
I will do what I can to stop this sad excuse for a doctor before he causes serious damage.
You should be ashamed of yourselves for publishing such an article and promoting such disregard for patients that come to doctors in desperate need for answers. And this is what they get? This despicable excuse for a doctor is what someone gets when they are desperately trying to find answers? B12D/PA is a debilitating, life-threatening, life-altering condition that takes your entire life from you. You have no idea what we go through. There are some people where B12 deficiency are diet related and then there are the people whose immune systems are compromised and don't work right and those people cannot absorb B12. It has nothing to do with what they eat. Are you that f'ing stupid?
I can't believe how stupid you are for publishing an article like this and allowing such a stupid idiotic doctor like that to write something so irresponsible demeaning and just plain misinformed.
It's extremely irresponsible for you to publish something so damaging and so full of lies and misinformation. You're publication is a disgrace.
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Maybe somebody else could write something better than I did.
Hey EllaNore
I can feel the anger you experienced coming right if the page. Whilst I totally agree with your sentiment regarding the GP and the publisher, I have not got much fight in me at present. Thank you x
I'm sorry You're in a bad way to twaddletop. I have enough anger in me to speak for everybody who can't. Unfortunately I'm not good with words anymore. I let my anger get the best of me but somebody who's more intelligent somebody who's more sophisticated more calm needs to speak up. All I can do is spew out my anger and write a nasty letter. I don't know what else to do. I am so angry.
I live with that anger too. Not everyone can write well, it's not about intelligence, it's a skill, and I'm sure you have other things you do brilliantly. If my brain remembers, I'll write to them too. I've become a serial complainer anyway, so this is good practice for me 😆
Right, thank you Mixteca. I used to be so much better with my words. But I don't find them as easily these days. The more we speak up the more we get heard. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. It also gets replaced if it squeaks too much hahaha but the squeaky wheel does get the grease and the more we squeak the more we're heard. And maybe eventually somebody will make a change. But it's all about money, so we shouldn't hold our breath. Have a great day.
Brilliant letter EllaNore. Mine is v much less striking
Dear editor,
I was absolutely appalled to see an article in your magazine, allegedly by a GP, who scorns Pernicious Anaemia sufferers, and says it could in a few cases be serious. He is clearly ignorant that thousands have died from PA, and he should be struck off, to save his partients. I have been suffering from PA for three years since diagnosis, and am slowly recovering thanks to regular injections of B12. This so-called GP’s ignorance is quite ghastly, and you should be ashamed to have published such drivel.
Philip Dixon
From Professor Philip Dixon, MA, D.Phil., FSA, FRHS
That is an excellent letter Piperatpda! That's the kind of letter that I can't write. Calm and grown up and civil. Thank you so much for writing it!! I hope they get a thousand letters because of that article. I wish I knew the doctor's name. Thank you so much for taking the time to stick up for yourself and for all of us and writing that letter. I know it's very difficult for some of us to even get the words out of our head to put it down on paper and some of us can't even hold a pen. So thank you for speaking for all of us.
Amen
I wonder what PAS and Tracey Witty from B12 Info.com (formerly B12 Deficiency Info)would say about this article.
Maybe someone could send them a link to/copy of it.
PAS Contact details
pernicious-anaemia-society....
B12 Info.com
Also B12 Society in Scotland
• in reply toEllaNore
There is no mistaking how angry you are, EllaNore. Good on you for writing all of that. Strong words. I wonder if they will fall on deaf ears though. Those editors seeem to only care about the almighty dollar. It's a pity there is no provision for a comment so we could all say our piece and all the readers would know how ridiculously ignorant this "doctor" is.
EllaNore• in reply to
Well, I've never been one to hold back. I'll let other people be the calm speakers. Lolol. It turns out the doctor's name is at the bottom of the article. When I view it on my phone I can't see the whole article but if I view it on my computer I can see his name and everything he also wrote other articles in the blog. I was going to post his name but wasn't sure if I was allowed to do something like that. I'm in the United States so a letter from me to him or to whoever he works under wouldn't matter if it was coming from me because I'm in the United States. They probably wonder who the heck I thought I was and to mind my own business. But if somebody wanted to write to this guy, his name is there. It seems he's a regular contributor to the blog. And he's always got something to say. He also says the NHS needs to turn into the NIS. And that he doesn't think he can stand working under the NHS anymore. I wonder if any of you would recognize his name. He just might be somebody's doctor.
This is what I have sent to day by email to the Pulse Editor
Dear Editor
I recognise that the publication Pulse does not rival the gravitas and peer review status of the Lancet. Nonetheless, General Practitioners who author articles that could be regarded as “tongue in cheek” or “rants” to take advantage of fashionable media band-wagons, are still bound by their promise to “do no harm” when they took the Hippocratic Oath, and you, as an editor, are bound by the IPSO Editors’ Code of Practice, and accuracy is a clause of The Code. The Pulse published an article on 23 June, 2022 by Dr Tony Copperfield with the title “B12 or not to B12” and I believe it does cause harm and contains inaccuracies.
I have recently been diagnosed with B12 deficiency also known as Pernicious Anaemia which means I need B12 injections for life. My condition is not due to an unbalanced diet, or an inappropriate lifestyle but probably due to the genes which I inherited. I was fortunate enough that a vigilant GP realised that something was wrong and undertook a B12 blood test. Had she not done so, it is quite probable that I would have suffered permanent neurological damage. Contrary to what Dr Copperfield says, the B12 treatment has not made “sod all difference” but has been a fundamental and vital element of my recovery.
My concern about this article, is that it trivialises a serious and often mis-understood auto-immune disease which if left untreated can cause irreversible damage to the mind and body. Irrespective, of the number of patients affected, if B12 blood tests are not undertaken, the damage will become irreversible which increases the burden on the NHS, the social care system as well as having a devastating impact on those affected.
This article sadly reflects the current lack of nutritional education amongst many General Practitioners, and indeed health professionals in general, about the vital role of vitamins on the function of the mind and body. Fortunately, there are well educated and respected General Practitioners who have acquired deep medical knowledge combined with vast clinical experience to identify patients who need to be prescribed B12 throughout their lives. Whilst, I am not advocating that anyone’s opinion is invalid, I am advocating that editorial balance prevails.
Therefore, in the spirit of The Editors’ Code and to uphold the highest professional standards, I request that the Pulse addresses the imbalance of reporting on B12 deficiency by commissioning an article from a respected and knowledgeable practitioner such as Dr Martyn Hooper MBE, Chair of the Pernicious Anaemia Society. I am confident that you will address my concern in a constructive manner, and that it will not be necessary for me to raise a complaint with the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
I thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Absolutely Brilliant!!! Thank you so much! That was worded so professionally so perfectly. I got chills reading it. That is exactly what I wish I had the ability to write. Thank you for putting it in such a way that will actually demand respect. You covered everything, perfectly. You must me an attorney. LOL
I feel he should be reported to the NHS for the other blogs he has been writing. This man is literally giving GP's and doctors a bad name. This is another blog entry that I copied from Pulse. Perhaps your brilliant letter could find a way to report him to the NHS, so he can not hurt his patients. Can you imagine how many of his patients are suffering from B12 and he is blaming menopause or some kind of dietary solution. In the meantime, they are slowly quite literally dying. And he is hovering over the check box for a B12 test or not B12 and has decided to play god and not check it just to insert his power over his disdain for his so called B12 epidemic.
Thank you again Wwwdot 👏👏
I forgot to say how even more brilliant it was for you to suggest they allow someone like Martyn Hooper to write a rebuttal to his article.
"If and when I ever get around to writing volume three of my memoirs I have a working title in mind. It’s ‘Tony Copperfield – Actual Doctor’.
During one of the less-exciting Christmas and New Year afternoons I decided to flick through the pile of comics that had piled up by the sofa. A picture of James Robertson Justice in full on Sir Lancelot Sprat mode jumped out of the page (page 24 of the December 5th BMJ, to be exact) next to the headine ‘The title Doctor disrespects patients’.
The new Big Idea seems to be for us to introduce ourselves to patients as if we were out of work actors waiting tables at lunchtime
Bollocks. A more reasoned and cogent argument appeared at the foot of the page, penned by an actual patient. He claimed to be empowered, which is almost as bloody annoying as claiming to be an ‘expert patient’, but he wrote well. However, to save time I’m going to stick my original riposte. Bollocks.
Not too long ago it was easy to spot a doctor in a crowded hospital ward or outpatient clinic. He or she may have worn a white coat, carried a stethoscope that didn’t fall out of a Christmas cracker or had a Cuscoe’s speculum glinting in his pocket. And, and this is the important bit, colleagues would address our hero as ‘doctor’ or refer to them as ‘the doctor’ when chatting to patients and visitors.
When a doctor stood at the foot of the bed, the patient knew where they stood too.
The new Big Idea seems to be for us to introduce ourselves to patients as if we were out-of-work actors waiting tables at lunchtime: ‘Hello, I’m Tony and I’ll be looking after you today. I really think you ought to go with the pharmacist’s special. It’s tramadol with a side-order of furosemide served on a nest of stir-fried 14G catheters.’ At risk of repeating myself, bollocks.
The title ‘doctor’ doesn’t enjoy any particular legal status, unlike physician, dietician, dentist, surgeon or GP, but decades of common usage have defined it to mean exactly what every patient knows it means – someone with a medical degree or, at a pinch, a dental or veterinary qualification. Not a nurse. Not a physician’s assistant. Not a ward clerk. Not a physiotherapist. Not a phlebotomist. Not a pharmacist. Not a paramedic. Not, especially not, a sodding consultant upper limb function recovery specialist or whatever occupational therapists are calling themselves this month.
No, a doctor is a doctor. Even if the patient is a doctor. Even if the patient is a medically qualified doctor as opposed to someone who knocked out a 10,000-word dissertation on the mating habits of the northern hairy-nosed wombat at the University of Wollongong.
Anyway, it’ll never catch on. When people get properly ill, after they’ve shouted for Mummy and then realised that there’s very little chance that Mummy is an actual interventional cardiologist, they’ll shout for a doctor. An actual one."
_____
The arrogance is unbelievable!! Could you imagine working for him? Especially if you were a woman.
Thank you for your kind words. Don’t get too excited, we may not get the response we wish … but it’s a first step.
Fingers crossed 🤞
Wonderful! I like the dig about The Pulse not having gravitas...perhaps this publication is the equivalent of a daily rag newspaper - not to be taken seriously.
Would that pernicious anaemia was a fad! I for one would be ecstatically happy not to follow it. This doctor is looking for ways to cut his workload. If B12 deficiency is a new and current trend, why did my wee Auntie have a doctor come to her home of his own volition insisting she needed B12 and needed it NOW. This was many years ago and it seems this condition is still totally misunderstood by medics. I dislike going to see a GP and have on many occasions let myself become desperately ill before bothering them. After reading that article, it is patently obvious why many of us choose to SI.
"it is patently obvious why many of us choose to SI"
Agree with that comment, Twaddletop.
Have you seen this article about patients who self inject B12 in UK?
Their reasons for doing so are discussed in article.
Patient safety, self-injection, and B12 deficiency: a UK cross-sectional survey
Natasha Tyler, Alexander Hodkinson, Naeem Ahlam, Sally Giles, Andrew Zhou and Maria Panagioti
British Journal of General Practice 2022; 72 (725): e891-e898. DOI: doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2021.0711
He sounds nice....NOT. You can let Doc Tony know what you think about his insighful article on Twitter @DocCopperfield
Hi,
I wish I could say I was shocked charks but I've read about so many suffering from health professionals unhelpful attitudes that I'm not anymore.
See response dated 24/4/2020 in next link
bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m13...
Article about review of patients receiving B12 injections for a Scottish Health Board.
guidelinesinpractice.co.uk/...
Plenty of examples on these B12 blogs
Martyn Hooper's blog about PA
B12 Info.com blog (formerly B12 Deficiency Info)
And for those unlucky enough to be living in Gloucestershire, UK
b12deficiency.info/gloucest...
For anyone in UK, struggling with unhelpful doctors, see this thread I started about Patient Safety which has lots of useful links for those who've had difficult experiences.
I have saw an elderly GP worse than this last week. he swore at me and my daughter , no help, after many weeks of asking. Now being officialy complained about. No excuse for rudeness however hard they are working , politeness should be inbuilt.
See the thread about Patient Safety I linked to in one of my other replies on this thread .
Yup ,thankyou!
What a disgusting and totally uncaring attitude for someone who pledged in their oath. " I solemnly promise that I will to the best of my ability serve humanity—caring for the sick, promoting good health, and alleviating pain and suffering."
This person definitely has no intention of keeping that promise, they are obviously only in the profession for status and financial gain ............ no wonder the NHS is no longer fit for purpose
Do we know their name and GMC no.
Agree 100%!
His full name is at the bottom of the article. Also somebody mentioned in this thread that he's on Twitter and they left his name. You can comment to him on Twitter evidently he writes blogs. Very dangerous man.
The picture on his Twitter account is a martini with an olive in it. This is a doctor who sips his martinis living high on the hog with all the money he makes by being a doctor and talks about his sick patients the way he does. Have you read any of his other blogs? This man does nothing but talk badly about his patients he makes fun of them he talks badly about the NHS. This man is spreading terrible terrible mistruths and burned out opinions to impressionable young doctors who are going to follow in his footsteps. I wrote to him on Twitter. I can't write here what I wrote to him on Twitter. But believe me I gave him a piece of my mind. How dare he sip his martinis and talk about his desperate patients that way. Please you all need to write to this sorry excuse for a man. He should never practice medicine again.
Wow! Talk about ' Gaslighting' as I believe they call it now.
I too have sent an email to the editor. Pointing out the flaws in the article which included the attitude and ignorance of the person that wrote it.
Yay!! 👍Excellent!
Anxiety UK are running a campaign dealing with medical gaslighting
Ffs 🙄
I read those words with anger and sorrow. The tone of this article suggests something more sinister and repugnant than straight ignorance or arrogance. The GP is clearly making a political statement to collegues and the wider world. I suspect he is well aware of the impact his message is delivering and that may be his primary motivation. Yes, there is a fundamental ignorance by playing this game to make a cheap point, but it's a very dangereous game. There is no excuse for someone of his profession and position in society to undermine the trust of the people in his care, particularly when people's health and welbeing are at serious risk with this behavour.
CherylclaireForum Support
Justin Copitch's reply was the only compassionate, measured response to a self-centred snipe from an arrogant GP. The others sadly just followed suit.
Yes, I have seen this article before - I'd like to think that the author has since retired and been replaced by a GP who actually cares.
Someone like Justin Copitch perhaps.
What arrogance and dreadful ignorance. This doctor is an absolutely lazy prat! Sorry but no other way of describing someone with his shocking behaviour. Frankly he couldn’t possibly want to become a doctor for the rights reasons of helping people, that requires too much care and effort. A typical useless ‘doctor’… or should I say a quack! This man is dangerous to patients who really need the understanding and support of their doctor in order to get better. Unfortunately there are too many of them.
It turns out that Tony Copperfield is his pseudonym name. He's such a coward that he's spewing out all this hatred and negativity using a fake name so that it doesn't hurt his business as that nobody knows really exactly who this person is. I feel so sorry for his his patients. What a coward. If you Google Tony Copperfield Sussex, you get a lot of information about him. Or his pseudonym rather.
Yes that's right. I think he acts as a sort of 'distorted' angry GP, letting off steam as a spokesperson for all GPs.
I think you're right that he's a coward and wouldn't dare reveal his true identity. He hasn't tweeted since 2017.
So I think he can get away with it since it's not a real Doctor but 'the voice of Doctors'. It exposes their lack of training and bruises their egos. Because what we really need is a Doctor 'voice' that says 'I feel so helpless to do what these patients seem to want and need me to do. They are clearly suffering, yet my training did not show me how to treat them correctly. So, all I can do is refer them to a specialist who should, hopefully, know more than me'.
But no Doctor would ever say that.
Because they're a Doctor.
Update - no response from two emails sent to two editors of The Pulse. Complaint sent to IPSO today - not holding my breath but as someone in this thread said ... at least we have tried!
I will keep you posted folks. Meanwhile, keep smiling, keep positive and keep supporting each other!
Complaint to IPSO
Well done for trying and making some noise.
Sadly, I believe we do live in a world where money and power have the most influence. A litigious environment is sometimes the only way to shock people into action.
So long as there is always the argument for 'freedom of speech', people will say inflammatory stuff and get away with it.
As I've always said, we need someone rich and powerful to get B12 deficiency so it can be taken seriously at least by one or two Doctors.
UPDATE 2 - what a surprise The Pulse is not a member of IPSO (had email from IPSO) so it’s not bound by the editorial code!
Resent the email to the editor of The Pulse asking for the courtesy of a reply. If no luck then we may have to employ PA power - will keep you posted guys!
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