Terrible and just not acceptable. I once had a period lasting more than 21 days which was totally abnormal for me and the receptionist at the GP told me I’d have to wait at least a month before being seen because “irregular periods aren’t urgent or a cause for concern”. The whole reasoning behind my wanting to be seen by a professional was to ensure that it *wasn’t* something that required urgent attention, like ovarian cancer.
Rest in peace, Oliver.
Desperate-Oven-139 on
Bad, but if he died 4 months after reporting symptoms, he was already dead when he reported symptoms.
I can’t actually get a GP appointment anymore without jumping through a set of absurd hoops with phone triage, very specific call windows, and then a call back from a doctor at a seemingly completely arbitrary time.
If we’re not going to resource doctors properly, it’s time to at least open the doors for pharmacists to prescribe even more. If I know what’s wrong and only want a repeat prescription, why involve a doctor who doesn’t know me, only has 10 minutes with me, and really won’t end up with an understanding any better than I?
Dry_Sandwich_860 on
I already posted on an article about The Duchess of Cambridge’s progress that my mother died two weeks after getting a cancer diagnosis. She wasn’t able to get a GP’s appointment for over a year when she first started having symptoms, and when she finally did, she was told the problem was her weight and issues from childbirth (I’m middle-aged and she never got help with those problems).
After I moved, it took 3.5 years to get signed up with a GP and I could only get one phone appointment for the year after that. I only got a face-to-face appointment when I had a cancer scare.
Maybe this guy got a bad GP but it’s much more likely that if the Tories hadn’t stripped the NHS bare under austerity, he would have been able to see GPs who had the time to investigate his symptoms.
jordanae on
The state of the NHS is really bad, I’ve had a severe allergic reaction last year and couldn’t see a doctor, had to submit an online form with photos to prove it (I literally never go to the doctors). Really discourages any gender from trying to go to the doctors.
I think more people would be outraged with the state of GP surgeries if they understood that they are essentially partnerships which are ran for profit.
BigMikeAshley on
GPs are utterly shambolic. Never had a positive experience with them.
fluffycatapillar on
This is awful… That poor man. It’s unforgivable how many people are told to ignore something clearly wrong and that it’s ’just Anxiety’, etc.
A relative of mine was in her late twenties and went to her GP about a lump in her breast, was told it’s nothing and to come back in a year if she was still worried. She was extremely worried as we’ve had numerous women in our family/extended family die from breast cancer. She thankfully had private medical insurance through work which ultimately probably saved her life. For the about £100 excess for the initial appointment they found it was a tumour which she had thankfully caught it early and it was treated. Still clear in her yearly check ups thankfully.
Years later I’m still extremely angry at the first GP who poo pooed her and told her she was worried about nothing. Thank goodness she was lucky enough to have the insurance for a quick second opinion, so many aren’t as lucky…
She was fobbed off with she was too young for breast cancer (despite the unfortunate extensive family history of it). You are never too young for cancer.
Remarkable_Row296 on
his Dad took his own life sometime after his Son died?
that is beyond grim the whole situation.
FeralSquirrels on
One thing I keep falling back on is that yes, inarguably this is a tragic and awful situation and having a history of Cancer in the family I’m _also_ no less anxious at the thought of the “what if’s” myself…..
If the NHS was actually adequately funded and hadn’t been through year after year of utterly garbage throttling by the Government, we’d have more Dentists, GP’s and overall better healthcare services.
We wouldn’t have GP’s pushed to look after a totally unrealistic number of patience, no need to have half the systems in place we do where they filter out patience via online forms etc and would actually be capable of being seen, diagnosed and able to be off and looked after properly.
SweetDoubt8912 on
This is so disgusting and upsetting. Any repeat appointment after a telephone consultant should trigger a face to face appointment with a proper doctor.
The only people who set eyes on this man was apparently a physiotherapist over 4 months of worsening symptoms and disability. The quality of healthcare has really been demolished by the deregulation and defunding of the NHS by the Tories.
Demand to see a doctor, and if you are fobbed off, physically go to a&e, urgent care, or the GP surgery. Don’t let them say they didn’t know how bad it was.
Lyrakish on
Awdul way to die. My other half has had testing because he was worried about cancer symptoms. He was seen by a GP but they were immediately dismissive that he was ‘too young’. And yet in the same breath the NHS advertises to get anything minor checked out.
Clbull on
A friend’s nephew once had a tumour aggressively growing on his knee. Even after falling down the stairs at school and having the tumour grow to the size of a tennis ball, the doctor dismissed it as “growing pains”
Only when they went elsewhere for a second opinion did a doctor sound the alarm.
He was lucky to survive.
Decent_Flamingo2286 on
Sloppy NHS workers more worried about the coffee/tea they’re drinking rather than actually doing work. Horrific.
Bilbo_Buggin on
It’s terrible that this continues to happen. I had a brain tumour in the early 90s when I was 6, my mum was repeatedly sent away from the doctors after being told it was the flu, it was this, it was that. Took me fainting for the third or fourth time and falling down the stairs to actually be taken seriously. I’m an so sorry for this gentleman.
pretty_gauche6 on
Once doctors know you have anxiety/mental health issues, it is a fight to get them to take you seriously every single time.
floweringcacti on
Very sad though I’m not sure seeing the GP would have helped either – it seems the physio had no concerns when seeing him in person and I was surprised they even gave him antidepressants and a physio, I’m pretty sure if I rang up and said “I’m tired and my back hurts” the receptionist would tell me to eff off.
delpigeon on
The fact the guy had swelling of his arms and legs with severe intractable back pain and was just told call back wtf. All but one of his subsequent interactions weren’t even with qualified GPs but clearly with people who didn’t even think to ask for any red flag symptoms. God knows why the GP didn’t discuss those with him in the single contact that was had with a medic.
yourlocallidl on
What a sad story. Hopefully the GP is held responsible and their license or whatever they have to operate with is taken away from them. Honestly the state of our GP services are awful.
18 Comments
[deleted]
Terrible and just not acceptable. I once had a period lasting more than 21 days which was totally abnormal for me and the receptionist at the GP told me I’d have to wait at least a month before being seen because “irregular periods aren’t urgent or a cause for concern”. The whole reasoning behind my wanting to be seen by a professional was to ensure that it *wasn’t* something that required urgent attention, like ovarian cancer.
Rest in peace, Oliver.
Bad, but if he died 4 months after reporting symptoms, he was already dead when he reported symptoms.
I can’t actually get a GP appointment anymore without jumping through a set of absurd hoops with phone triage, very specific call windows, and then a call back from a doctor at a seemingly completely arbitrary time.
If we’re not going to resource doctors properly, it’s time to at least open the doors for pharmacists to prescribe even more. If I know what’s wrong and only want a repeat prescription, why involve a doctor who doesn’t know me, only has 10 minutes with me, and really won’t end up with an understanding any better than I?
I already posted on an article about The Duchess of Cambridge’s progress that my mother died two weeks after getting a cancer diagnosis. She wasn’t able to get a GP’s appointment for over a year when she first started having symptoms, and when she finally did, she was told the problem was her weight and issues from childbirth (I’m middle-aged and she never got help with those problems).
After I moved, it took 3.5 years to get signed up with a GP and I could only get one phone appointment for the year after that. I only got a face-to-face appointment when I had a cancer scare.
Maybe this guy got a bad GP but it’s much more likely that if the Tories hadn’t stripped the NHS bare under austerity, he would have been able to see GPs who had the time to investigate his symptoms.
The state of the NHS is really bad, I’ve had a severe allergic reaction last year and couldn’t see a doctor, had to submit an online form with photos to prove it (I literally never go to the doctors). Really discourages any gender from trying to go to the doctors.
I think more people would be outraged with the state of GP surgeries if they understood that they are essentially partnerships which are ran for profit.
GPs are utterly shambolic. Never had a positive experience with them.
This is awful… That poor man. It’s unforgivable how many people are told to ignore something clearly wrong and that it’s ’just Anxiety’, etc.
A relative of mine was in her late twenties and went to her GP about a lump in her breast, was told it’s nothing and to come back in a year if she was still worried. She was extremely worried as we’ve had numerous women in our family/extended family die from breast cancer. She thankfully had private medical insurance through work which ultimately probably saved her life. For the about £100 excess for the initial appointment they found it was a tumour which she had thankfully caught it early and it was treated. Still clear in her yearly check ups thankfully.
Years later I’m still extremely angry at the first GP who poo pooed her and told her she was worried about nothing. Thank goodness she was lucky enough to have the insurance for a quick second opinion, so many aren’t as lucky…
She was fobbed off with she was too young for breast cancer (despite the unfortunate extensive family history of it). You are never too young for cancer.
his Dad took his own life sometime after his Son died?
that is beyond grim the whole situation.
One thing I keep falling back on is that yes, inarguably this is a tragic and awful situation and having a history of Cancer in the family I’m _also_ no less anxious at the thought of the “what if’s” myself…..
If the NHS was actually adequately funded and hadn’t been through year after year of utterly garbage throttling by the Government, we’d have more Dentists, GP’s and overall better healthcare services.
We wouldn’t have GP’s pushed to look after a totally unrealistic number of patience, no need to have half the systems in place we do where they filter out patience via online forms etc and would actually be capable of being seen, diagnosed and able to be off and looked after properly.
This is so disgusting and upsetting. Any repeat appointment after a telephone consultant should trigger a face to face appointment with a proper doctor.
The only people who set eyes on this man was apparently a physiotherapist over 4 months of worsening symptoms and disability. The quality of healthcare has really been demolished by the deregulation and defunding of the NHS by the Tories.
Demand to see a doctor, and if you are fobbed off, physically go to a&e, urgent care, or the GP surgery. Don’t let them say they didn’t know how bad it was.
Awdul way to die. My other half has had testing because he was worried about cancer symptoms. He was seen by a GP but they were immediately dismissive that he was ‘too young’. And yet in the same breath the NHS advertises to get anything minor checked out.
A friend’s nephew once had a tumour aggressively growing on his knee. Even after falling down the stairs at school and having the tumour grow to the size of a tennis ball, the doctor dismissed it as “growing pains”
Only when they went elsewhere for a second opinion did a doctor sound the alarm.
He was lucky to survive.
Sloppy NHS workers more worried about the coffee/tea they’re drinking rather than actually doing work. Horrific.
It’s terrible that this continues to happen. I had a brain tumour in the early 90s when I was 6, my mum was repeatedly sent away from the doctors after being told it was the flu, it was this, it was that. Took me fainting for the third or fourth time and falling down the stairs to actually be taken seriously. I’m an so sorry for this gentleman.
Once doctors know you have anxiety/mental health issues, it is a fight to get them to take you seriously every single time.
Very sad though I’m not sure seeing the GP would have helped either – it seems the physio had no concerns when seeing him in person and I was surprised they even gave him antidepressants and a physio, I’m pretty sure if I rang up and said “I’m tired and my back hurts” the receptionist would tell me to eff off.
The fact the guy had swelling of his arms and legs with severe intractable back pain and was just told call back wtf. All but one of his subsequent interactions weren’t even with qualified GPs but clearly with people who didn’t even think to ask for any red flag symptoms. God knows why the GP didn’t discuss those with him in the single contact that was had with a medic.
What a sad story. Hopefully the GP is held responsible and their license or whatever they have to operate with is taken away from them. Honestly the state of our GP services are awful.