Hi again!
After all troubles I passed through with NHS ( being said I'm fine after being diagnosed with Hashi in my home country) I decided to make an official complaint. Did any of You ever try it? And if yes how did it go, is there any chance for a positive course of action? Thanks!
I've made plenty of complaints and discovered that GPs lie to cover their backs. The GMC is not interested in dangerous and incompetent doctors. Now investigating the legal route.
I recentky looked into legal route too, but because it is a medication problem, they didn't really want to know. Hope you have better luck, and if you do please ket us know.
Madness07, Treatment protocols vary country to country but NHS is only bound by UK protocols which don't consider Hashimoto's means one is hypothyroid, although it is likely one will become hypothyroid in time. A hypothyroid diagnosis isn't made until TSH is between 5-10 or FT4 is below range.
I have a friend who took legal against a surgeon whose negligence, on more than one occasion, caused her to need emergency life-saving surgery and lose her job due to her resulting ill health and surgeries over several years. The surgeon 'lost' some of her notes as did the hospital, the surgeon went on to dispute everything and to produce incomplete notes i.e. missing out the disputed facts, but each time he waited until the very last moment to do so, causing untold stress and extra work for my friend. This went on for a couple of years until eventually the surgeon settled out of court at the last moment, but the settlement was less than my friend had lost, didn't justify the stress caused and because he settled the case wasn't reported to the GMC. I've seen this last minute settlement happen in my own work and it seems that unless you use one of the well-known and ruthless ambulance chasing law firms you might as well not bother because the stress is appalling.
I would have thought many people will have filed a complaint. Whether there's a legal case to answer? - I doubt it, since most Drs know the guidelines and adhere to them, therefore family Drs cannot be deemed negligent in their care. Where would the buck stop? It's the guidelines that need changing to include different diagnosis methods and treatments. In my opinion anyway - that's where our collective effort is best spent.
EpicSwan - my experience is that GPs did not remember what they were taught hence their repeated failure to diagnose me. These GPs did not follow guidelines. Also they all stick together and show misplaced loyalty.
From what I read on here, mine were not the only GPs unable to correctly interpret lab test results and let's not forget that GPs are not taught anything about nutrition, vitamins and minerals.
cinnamon_girl - fair enough points regarding diagnosis and incompetence, I see where you're coming from. I may back track a tad on what I wrote; in light of reading some of the medical school guidelines/training I found. My experiences have been easier in terms of diagnosis since my TSH was nearly 30, however, my GP let me down a couple of years previously when I went with anxiety/panic attacks (more than likely thyroid related) and was prescribed beta-blockers. I really need to get all of my medical notes to find out what else was tested when my TSH was high (i.e. TPO, which I now know is high) since the diagnosis made was hypothyroidism and no mention verbally of auto-immune thyroiditis. The auto-immune side is important as the treatment plan is different where Levo must be increased gradually until TSH is between 0.2 and 2. This has never happened, which has left me under-medicated and feeling like sh*te for a few years. They should have monitored me. All you get when you ring for the blood test results is a receptionist saying everything's fine with a TSH of 4.8. Maybe I have a case after all? You're right about the vits/minerals, etc. I also think the lower end of serum B12, vit D, etc. ranges needs raising as people complain when they're normal, but I suppose at least we can buy supplements over the counter for that.
I complained to the GMC about the very wrong treatment I had received from a GP for over 5 years, but they defended him. Because the GMC didn't support me, legal firms weren't interested.
Sadly, it's all a waste of time and energy.
Oh so after all there is no good result. That's very sad... I didnt plan to accomplish anything particular, im trying to get my treatment elsewhere. But i guess it doesnt hurt to try anyway, will see how it goes and keep u informed.
I made a complaint against the endos at my local hospital. All I wanted was:
•To see the same doctor as much as possible for continuity
•If I wasn’t seeing the same doctor, for my notes to be properly written up
•To see someone with expertise in thyroid disease
The first problem I had was actually getting them to treat it as a complaint. I finished up complaining to the Chief Executive about that. After that, it just got ridiculous. They basically denied most things and lied about others and I was never able to achieve my aims. Eventually I was discharged by a registrar who specialised in acute admissions in diabetes, with a letter saying there was ‘no endocrine reason for my symptoms.’
My one small victory was getting an A5 poster from the Pituitary Society on the notice board in an Endocrinology Centre where every other piece of patient information was for diabetics! It stayed up for less than three months.
I wouldn't even bother to complain and waste energy with the NHS system. Here is Wales people are waiting up to 36 months for treatment. They are so overloaded and backed up.. you might get some imbecile who doesn't understand cutting edge treatment looking at your complaint and not caring about your result but just that the "one size fits all" has been satisfied.
Whenever I go overseas to the US, I get my thyroid checked and adjusted. I get TSH tests done here.. but guess what? If your TSH is within limits, the system will cancel ALL THE OTHER TESTS your GP has ordered, including T3, T4 blood levels. So why frustrate yourself in a system that is not working?
Complaint about my GP
Skin complaint
Would you make a complaint over this?
Help and advice re Hashi's references for PALS complaint
Shingles / impetigo / folliculitis / deep skin tissue complaint 
