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Changing doctors - sorry - bit of a rant!

As the title says, I am thinking of changing doctors, and would love some advice/ thoughts if anyone has had the same?

We have always had two lovely doc at our surgery but they have recently left and the practice has been taken over by a management company and is largely run with locums.

This means that to book an appointment, you have to call in the morning and then they get someone to call you back to assess wether you are allowed to see a doctor , a nurse practitioner or a health advisor, or none of the above. Which means that when you speak to them, you have no idea who they are and you have to tel them all about your issue before they will see you. I have had problems before, when I had early mc earlier in the year I was dismissed by the doc and pretty much told to go away, and then when I had a telephone consultation six weeks later I had to really push for an appointment and when I went to the doctor I was rushed into A&E with an eptopic ( which I was miscarrying).

Recently however it has got even worse, I have had Four scans at the epu and the doctors have been sent reports of all of these and yet none have ever appeared in my notes. I booked in with the hospital midwives at 12w and was told to contact my surgery to book my 16w check, the surgery said then to wait until 2w before , and when I went in to book it earlier in the week, they told me that I was too late and the MW was fully booked for the next month, and that she only does wednesday mornings and cannot be contacted outside of that time. Also that they don't bother with 16w checks. I kicked up a fuss and said that I was told that I had to have a 16w check and they said that i should call nearer the time and book to see a doc if I had to!

SO, I figure that this is going to drive me round the bend for the next 6 months and beyond when the baby is born. It is appalling and even made me tempted to think about a private midwife as I would love to have a home birth, but with this level of care I just don't see that it will be possible. So I thought I might change doctors surgeries, but I am worried that it might be a real faff during pregnancy. What does anyone think? There is a practice nearby that is meant to be really good and have a really well managed baby clinic etc.
Has anyone else had similar?

Replies

  • Blood Hell, that's appalling!

    If I were you I'd change immediately.

    B x
  • Definitely change GPs. And if you want to speed things up get your notes from your currect GP and physically take them with you when you register at your new GP. (Otherwise it can take 6 weeks for them to be transferred and it sounds like at your docs maybe even longer)

    Good luck and I am sorry you are having to go through this at such a crucial time.

    Niblett xxx
  • Hi not quite the same but i first changed doctors surgeries to be with my husband when i got pregnant with my first that way if my oh had to take the baby to the doctor he new where to go. I had all my mw appoints there these were ok but she was not gr8, never meet the doctor, then after i gave birth i had a 6 week check up letter to visit the doc when i got to the appoint he asked me what i was doing there and he had no record of me having had a baby. I was not impressed i came straight home and changed doctors in fact i chnaged all of us to a new doctors practise, they where gr8 and still are, anything wrong with daughter and they fit us in straight away even if they are fully booked, my mw is also gr8 this time and has picked up on things that i never recieved with the first baby.
    I would so change, i contacted the new surgery by phone asking if i could join the surgery i got a telephone call off the head doctor asking why i wanted to move and i told the truth about the practise i was currently with and he accepted us straight away, We had to go to a small check up on med history which lasted 10 minutes probably longer if your pregnant and i havenever looked babk, they have been gr8.
    What have you got to loose if you ring and inquire it may work out for the better.
    Good Luck
    Nikki
  • i would definately change surgeries as thats an appalling way you have been treated & such an ordeal to go through to get an appintment too.
  • i recently changed my gp's because my old dr refused to give me medical care and moving is the best thing i could of done in this pregnacy.

    good luck
  • Thanks for all the advice Girls. I have done it already! Am working from home today, so called the other surgery and they said they would happily take me. I went down, filled out the forms and the staff were friendly ! Something that has never happened at the other practice! Already have appointment booked to register properly and they will book me to see a midwife or a doctor the immediately afterwards for my 16w check.
    As so pleased that I have done it! I think that once I know that all my notes are safely at the other practice I will write a letter of complaint to concordia who manage them! Wouldn't trust doing it before, the staff are so rubbish they would probably throw my notes in the bin!
  • I'm glad you got it all sorted & the staff at your new practice are soo nice x
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