Hello
I am my wife’s carer, she has had MS since the early 1990’s and has gone through all the travails and MS stages, including patchy care as we have moved around over the years.
We are now in Argyll & Bute, having followed one of my sons to Scotland as he is an excellent source of support. We have been here now for two years, and whilst Scotland is slightly more patient friendly than our experience in England, the hospitals are a bit of a patchwork of services, with Queen Elizabeth in Glasglow (60miles away) seemingly to have the lead in resources and equipment.
My condition is now in the progressive stage with all its challenges, we live in a bungalow so all one level, it’s only access being the issue as there are four steps up into the house, but we are working on a solution hindered somewhat by being near a sea loch.
This week after a covid booster my wife felt slightly worst, and unfortunately took a fall after her right leg gave out, causing her to fall whist using her four wheel stroller.
I asked the nearby doctor if he could attend but he said get an ambulance, which told me she was a lower priority as she had no injuries. I was unable to lift he up, 72, with a hernia, my son came over, nor could he lift her. Desperate for a solution as she could stay trapped between the hall and doorway in a most uncomfortable and painful position.
My neighbour came in but said given her position she could only suggest contacting her friend a retired local nurse. She came over, said we need to get her off the floor, so she rang one of the local retained firemen, he could help but we would need to ring 999 and explain the situation. The call centre agreed as a once only event given it was acceptable to the local station, who arrived within minutes and after some manoeuvres got he up and into a wheelchair. My wife suffered no apparent physical injury, but my son said he would go down to the GP and ask if a the doctor or nurse would just come at some point just to check, my wife saying she was fine but it’s better to safe than sorry.
To cut a long story short, the doctor came late afternoon, spoke to my wife, quick examination, did not check blood pressure etc as he did not have a ‘bag’ etc with him.
Afterward the doctor took me to one side and started to verbally abuse me, which in my somewhat distressed state was not the best thing, so my reaction was some what defensive. Basically he said we are living in a dangerous place and that we are a strain on limited resources, I asked why is escalating aggressively in his attitude. He said my wife could have had a stroke, so I asked as she he said probably not. I should say in the two years with his practice he has never seen my wife so has no awareness of her condition.
Again I asked why is this dangerous, I have put in place all aids, an ms nurse, speech therapist and OT, and what else do I need to do, to which he replied sell up and leave, to where I said, not my problem, but you need to go, otherwise you are putting your wife at risk, you are a danger to your wife.
His attitude was still aggressive, i said his body language is giving away his attitude, folded arms, followed by gestures, saying he was leaving and will not return, he is the only doctor, other than numerous locums when he takes times away from the practice. l did say at one point i would report him for unprofessional conduct, which seemed to make take a step back towards normality saying as he was leaving he would come back tomorrow to check sharon or to ring afterhours if she hot worst but he did not, nor send the nurse or even phone to check, that was a Friday .
i think this will either now become an underlying issue with that practice or possibly he will remove us from his list, there is no other practice within 20 miles, and will not cover us i suspect so now as i spend the weekend in limbo, aiding my wife as she hopefully recovers from what is a flare up.
sorry for putting this out there on this forum but I would welcome any suggestions
Look in to funding through social care to have a ramp or something put in, obv you have your son and a great community and moving home would be very stressful, i get that doctors are like this, im in Scotland also and we are in Ardrossan, i think a lot of doctors are the same right now but just keep on there back and dont give up and dont feel intimidated at the end of the day you are a customer so use your rights and also stand your ground. Take care both of you.
GP practices can’t remove patients without clear reasons! Have a look at grounds for removal in Scotland .
Also look up the steps to take if you want to complain - start with speaking to the GP or practice manager. Gather your thoughts together and write down a clear account of what happened and your complaint. Let the manager know you want to resolve this without having to take it to the Health Board. Basically let them know you have an issue to discuss and want to deal with it amicably but that you are aware of the steps to take if it can’t be resolved amiably and within the practice.
P.S for completely different reasons and circumstances I once kept a dictaphone in my jacket pocket to record what I thought was going to be a difficult and confrontational meeting.
I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this ordeal with the doctor. Basically he has a duty of care, and you need to put in a complaint if you’re not happy with the outcome you can then take it to the next stage this information should be found on there website.
I’ve had loads of issues with my doctors surgery, and have ended up putting in several complaints. With regards to your steps, there are ramps you can buy that will fit over steps when needed, or you can request an OT referral via your GP surgery and get some help for a ramp .