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New GP

I went to visit the GP this week. But this was not my usual lovely, friendly GP that knows my history, understands my condition and appears to show genuine concern for not only my well being but that of my entire family. No. This was my first visit to a GP in Nottingham and to be honest, I'm not impressed. 

I needed to get some medication that is normally on my repeat prescription. However, being a new patient the policy of the practice is that a doctor must see me before they will prescribe anything. Fine. I've not got a problem with that. Seems pretty sensible to me. What I have got a problem with is there not being any appointments available for 2 weeks. "Can you wait?" the receptionist asked. Er, no is the short answer. So I had to have an emergency appointment that day as that was the only way that I could see the doctor. Crazy. 

The doctor that I saw asked for a brief background to my request for morphine. So I took a deep breath and began. The more I talked the whiter he turned. I think it's far to say that I probably had the most interesting medical history that he'd heard for a while. The moment I lost all faith I'm him though was when I had to explain what a J-pouch was. Now I have no problem explaining this to anybody that asks me but I do expect that a doctor has heard of it at least even if they have never had any personal experience of managing a patient with one. 

So once I had educated my new doctor I asked for my medication again which he was only too happy to give me. To be honest I think he just wanted to get me out of the surgery! But we hit on another stumbling block- the quantity required. When I told him the amount of morphine I can go through on a bad day he seemed shocked. I know I'm not the bog standard patient but surely in his long career (I'm trying to politely indicate his age!) there must have been other patients like me? But his face told me otherwise. But he seemed happy to know that UCLH were looking after me from a pain management perspective. Probably because he knew that he wouldn't have to!

And the icing on the cake came when I asked to discuss a referral to an Occupational Therapist. He told me that it would probably be best to make another appointment. Which yes, seems a reasonable request but it was the way that it was said. I just got the impression that he wanted me out the door as quickly as possible. So on the way out I made an appointment (this time only a week and a half wait instead of 2 weeks) bit it was with another doctor in the practice. I'm going to do what I was advised to do by my last lovely GP. Try all the doctors in one surgery and if I'm not happy with any of them go and register at another. So I'm onto my 2nd now, two more to go! 

NB x


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