Fuming

Anyone can get a bad sore throat with or without tonsils. I got it many years ago - without tonsils - and it was called pharyngitis. My throat was covered in little white spots and my temperature was well above normal. I think it's what is now known as a 'strep throat'.

annodomini

Anyone can get a bad sore throat with or without tonsils. I got it many years ago - without tonsils - and it was called pharyngitis. My throat was covered in little white spots and my temperature was well above normal. I think it's what is now known as a 'strep throat'.

Yes, I had that even though I still have my tonsils. It is very painful and makes you feel really ill.

I remember being diagnosed with Streptacoccal Pharyngitis back in the 1960s and it being described as 'strep throat' so I don't think it is anything new. My previous comment related specifically to tonsillitis.

Doctor didn't diagnose me with an underactive thyroid for 2 years, he insisted I was depressed. Spent 15 minutes with a nurse practitioner who said she was sure she knew what it was and did a blood test. 24 hrs later I get a call to say doctor needed to see me urgently. He looked at my results and said I must have been feeling awful, life must have felt like swimming through treacle. No shit Sherlock I'd been telling you that for 2 years.

Sometimes a nurse practitioner gets it wrong, sometimes a doctor does. They are all human.

My DH was due his blood test to be taken at home as he is bed bound. A nurse turned up unannounced this morning. Polite and pleasant but unexpected today. No prior text or phone call. Had it been the same time yesterday I would have been out for 20 minutes at the GP myself for a test result diagnosis. DH not able to answer the door. What a waste of resources that would have been. The nurse just shrugged his shoulders when I commented.
DH is also due his covid and flu jabs as well. No idea who will turn up to do them. No idea who to contact to have an idea of the date. I will ring the GP surgery later today, but they will no doubt say nothing to do with them. Its all a bit slapdash. We were pleased to have the blood test at home don't get me wrong and will be pleased to have the jabs, but it's not a linked up service and for the sake of a text is potentially wasting money. Sorry to have derailed from the actual thread, but it is all part of the overall problem.

I saw two nurse practitioners at two separate hospitals and was most impressed by both of them. The first occasion the junior doctor had signed me off without even seeing me (I had a broken wrist) and I was left to wait for five and a half hours before we discovered what happened; the Nurse P rectified it, and made things move. The second occasion I thought I had broken the other wrist; the NP thought not, but that I had chipped my elbow and asked for a specific X-ray in that area. The radiographer did not do this; I was sent back, treated to a diatribe about 'those nurses'. but the NP was proved right and showed me the minute chip on the second X-Ray.
Both NPs introduced themselves and told me who they were; they are highly qualified and experienced and I am surprised at the behaviour of the one in the OP's case. Perhaps it was a Practice nurse (not the same thing at all,) or a Physician Associate?
I would trust Nurse Practitioners above junior doctors.

eazybee I agree with you. I also saw a nurse practitioner when I broke a bone and she was spot on.

Can I put in a good word for the paramedics who now do the home visits. Did you even realise it was still possible to get home visits?

DH has had 2 this week because he was too ill to get the surgery and I was too ill to take him. We both have very bad respiratory infections.

The paramedic was superb, did all the necessary checks, had a huge printout of DH's underlying medical problems, which he consulted, and today used as the basis of referring him to the local Day hospital for further assessment, even though standard measurements, BP, pulse etc etc were OK. He said he was clearly very ill and his history of lung problems meant he needed extra tests . Any prescription he gives has to be signed by a doctor.

I am often very critical of the NHS, and with good reason, but for me the 111 service and now how home visiting works are a beacon of just how good it can be.

Yes I agree. I had a very good experience in contacting 111 for
DH and the subsequent very quick arrival of 2 very efficient and sympathetic paramedics. They completed a raft of tests. The only not joined up bit was that their test results didn't automatically feed through to the GP. I had to take their printouts to the GP surgery to be scanned into his notes.
I expect that will link up eventually.

I have used 111 for myself and found it very helpful.

Shinamae

At 71. I still have my tonsils and appendix…
Quite aware that something could go wrong with either of them, but hopefully not..

But do you still have your index ?

Don't think poor GPs and surgeries are a new thing. I can remember one local GP going back over 40 years who was nearing retitement and couldn't wait to get people in and out of his surgery and had little or no empathy with his patietnts. You knew if he was on duty at the local surgery that it would be a very quick visit and a scribbled prescription. Luckily the two younger doctors in the surgery were far more professional and one recognised I was developing measles when I passed out at school.

Inadequate GPs and surgeries have always been with us, but at least you could see a doctor then, good or bad. Just turn up at 8.30 and join the queue in the waiting room.

What is more the doctor saw you. Eye-to-eye. If you looked anaemic, you got sent for a test. On the telephone, where a doctor cannot see you someone can be brought to the edge of death with anaemia, because the doctor could not see the patient and forgot it was one of the biggest risks with their medical problem. The result was a critically ill daughter whose survival was not asured. Yes, she lived, but if the doctor, good or bad, had seen her, one look would have told him she was anaemic and a blood test was required as soon as possible.

I have seen nurse practitioners and doctors at out practice and have been impressed and grateful for their care. I know GPs so often nowadays are overwhelmed with too many patients needing help that it makes sense to see someone else who is properly trained instead. But in any system things can go wrong, and no one (including doctors) is infallible. So I think if you are unhappy with treatment or a consultation and you think there is room for improvement then it is a good idea to send a complaint. (Not a rant! )But clearly set out what happened, and what you think went wrong, complete as far as possible with dates and names. If you can add a suggestion for how things could be improved, then do that too. For me, this is worth doing and I have in the past also sent a message to the practice website saying I was grateful for the help and treatment I had recieved. Worth giving positive feedback when we can, to people who are often overworked and still doing a good job.

On the subject of palming people off… I see there is a vaccine for people who suffer reoccurring chest infections in the winter. My husband falls into this category.. but as he is over 80… he doesn’t qualify for it!! How is it we hear that hospitals are overrun in winter with older patients suffering chest infections!! Who made this decision! He is paying £300 to have the vaccine privately. Not an option for all. I did ask why this ruling was in place and was told it was due to economic reasons!!! False economy which will cause chaos and distress!!!

Please do not allow under 12's anywhere near aspirin

My husband saw our GP with a sore throat & was given antibiotics for Laryngitis when it did not clear he was given a further two doses.Twelve months later he died with throat cancer.So much for seeing a GP.

Babs03

Well this is the latest in what is the ongoing saga about my awful GP practice.
A while ago I went to see a GP or someone I thought was a GP but was later told was a nurse practitioner. Anyway I had a really bad sore throat and a low level fever, he didn't even look in my throat and promptly announced that it couldn't be tonsilitis because older people don't get it. He then proceeded to launch into a lecture about the ill effects of taking anti biotics when they aren't necessary and told me to take Ibuprofen and gargle with salt water. Which I did. My throat didn't much better but my ears started up, I was in agony, so went back to the GPs, this time I saw a GP who said I had a nasty ear infection and prescribed antibiotics, I didn't think to mention what the nurse practitioner had said, thing is I believed him, had been ages since I had had tonsilitis and I imagined it must be like glandular fever only affecting the young.
Now I have a sore throat again and in conversation with my daughter told it couldn't be tonsilitis because I was too old to get it, she laughed and said that her MiL is in her early seventies and had it not long ago. Then I googled and found out that it is less prevalent in older people but if you have tonsils you can get tonsilitis.
So why did that stupid man tell me otherwise, was he just trying to get rid of an old fogey cluttering up the waiting room?
Am sure the awful ear infection was a result of an untreated case of tonsilitis, would write a letter but who really cares these days.

well I feel sorry for you.I'm sick to the back teeth of incidences like this .I could list several here but it would identify the people involved. It's really scary I think.

I feel for you. I had a similar experience in August.
I started sweating profusely, it was running through my scalp and dripping off my hair. My whole face was also running with sweat and I felt weak. I rang the surgery at about 3pm and to my astonishment, was offered an appointment at 5pm! Believe me, that NEVER happens.
I was seen by a young man, in plain clothes, who I assumed to be a GP. He didn’t examine me, but typed my symptoms into the computer.
He then told me I was suffering from hyperhidrosis, a medical type of excess sweating and prescribed a spray containing aluminium hydroxide, an antiperspirant agent to spray on my scalp.
After returning home, I started collapsing every time I tried to stand up. I rand 111 and they advised A&E immediately. There would be a really long wait for an ambulance, so I opted for a lift from my neighbour.
On arrival, my BP was 81 over nothing and pulse of 135.
Very quickly I had a drip in and admitted. To cut a long story short, I was having an internal haemorrhage. My haemaglobin had dropped from my normal 135 to66. Then I started passing dark red motions. I needed blood transfusions.
I’m still undergoing investigations, but it’s looking like the colon.
I have since found out that the eejit who prescribed anti perspirant is a physician associate.
I’m still unsure whether to take it further

Good job the sensible GP looked at my husband's sore tonsil, (only one of them,) and put him on the two week pathway, he had it out, it was cancer and then he had to have six weeks of radical radiotherapy every week day for six weeks. We are very fortunate to have a really good surgery.

Three weeks ago I tried to make an appointment to see a GP. Told receptionist that I thought I might have a DVT. No appointments available. I suggested that the clot travelling to my lungs, heart or brain might actually kill me and is that what NHS economies are all about? She told me to ring at 0830 the next day.

Did same. Could not get through. Several days later, someone from the surgery called and invited me for an appointment with a GP. Two weeks hence. In the intervening period, I had a strange episode of uncontrollable shivering, the rattle from my lungs could be heard in the next village and I started coughing up blood.

Called surgery on the Monday and was seen on the Tuesday by, not a GP, but a nurse practitioner. Allegedly, she would make arrangements for me to have a chest X ray.

On Thursday, I had a call from the DVT clinic at the hospital asking where I was. No idea what the woman was talking about. Her colleague swore blind that she had a conversation with me about the appointment at 1700 the previous day (no - I was with the physio). "The woman" rang the surgery who also swore blind that I had made the appointment with DVT clinic at reception on my way out. No. Went straight to the waiting car.

What on earth is going on? The blame game? I am not yet that ga-ga. Or are these people trying to make me so?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

No helpful thoughts dalrymple23 about your current situation, but it would have been a good time to have rung 111 when you initially thought you had a DVT and certainly when you were coughing up blood. I feel sure they would have been of more help. Their calls are recorded so nothing can be invented. I have found them very helpful although you have to be patient with all the questions which often feel irrelevant. Hope you get some tests done quickly and answers.

I can tell from different posts that there are big discrepancies where GPS are concerned in different parts of the UK. On my patch you are lucky to see a GP and even luckier if you get good service. And is not just our practice but friends at other practices near us say the same. To be honest if we feel really ill we will just ring 111 and go to A&E and if we need antibiotics for tonsillitis, sinusitis or treatment due a UTI we will go to our pharmacy.

Been there done that.....I had a chest infection, knew if I got antibiotic I could stave it off..NP can't give you antibiotic as it's not bacterial..Go home have a hot drink ! By end of week I was awful had to go back seen her again. I could hardly walk or move but she insisted I come down. She said you can come in your pyjamas if you want! I think not! Iwas not happy gave me 3 days amoxycillin, told her it would not work with me now as it was too late..she refused to give me anything else despite looking at my record. On way out she said' I don't like your attitude!' I replied 'And I don't like yours much either!'Had to phone back 2 days later as I was really ill..refused to see this woman again...got someone else who queried why I hadn't been given the stronger antibiotic, given my history? I replied I asked and got told no...I was furious as I was needlessly far more ill than I should have been!

biglouis

I wish my GP practice would stop pestering me and sending people to take my blood etc without making an up front appointment. Ive had to complain about this several times to the practice manager and there was an up front arrangement made to text me the day before a visit. These people ring on multiple phones - like many people I dont answer unknown numbers - then bang at the door like they were the drugs squad. They have no idea how intimidating that can come across to a vulnerable elderly person who lives alone. I wish they would bugger off and pester people who are much sicker than I am.

They strike me as being very rude and very presumptuous and I'd defo not count myself as being "vulnerable elderly person" as you do - more like "early 70's person - well able to stand up for myself".

You could be out or busy or just having an afternoon nap for all they know. They're just acting like you don't have A Life/anything else you might be doing and that they can just turn up whenever it suits them personally.

Seems like an official letter to the practice manager might be an idea - along the lines of "When I said 'text' = I meant 'text' and not 'phone call' and reminding her of the arrangement you have made with them. I'd be inclined, in your position, to do them a letter specifically stating the means of contacting you/notice you expect and make sure you keep a copy.

If they just turn up again - then a quick note sent to them of "I enclose a copy of my letter to you of such-and-such date stating what arrangements are required for visits to me". If need be - ie because they do it again - then they get another note saying "I enclose AGAIN a copy of my letter to you of x date" and, if need be, repeat this procedure several times in a row. So - until they get the message then.

I've done this before now - in a different medical context - ie I rang my doctors surgery at the beginning of Covid jabs and told them not to EVER contact me in any way re them, as I wouldnt be having one. I was concerned because some people I know had had contact after contact after contact (around 12 contacts on average seemed to be not abnormal!).

It worked for some months - and then they contacted me again and I reminded them of what I'd told them in the first place. Months passed and then they just sent me a standard letter - saying "We've made an appointment for you at so-and-so time and place for a flu jab. Whilst you're there - howzabout a Covid jab too". Cue for I waited until I had to go into the surgery anyway for a health issue - and I slammed it down very hard on the counter and asked them just how many times they intended to contact me re that - as I'd now told them 3 times NOT to do so ever about that. I think the message finally got home - when they had an irate me standing there 2' away from them - and yep...I do look intelligent and determined if someone physically encounters me in person LOL.

Sometimes one does has to repeat a message several times over - firmly - and in words of no more than 2 syllables before it finally gets through and they "hear" you.

I'm not totally sure what qualifications the various people at our GP practice (and adjacent "out of hours" clinic - which is a godsend).

I have sometimes had poor treatment from two of the GPs (one of whom I refuse to see, having been on the end of his tongue both with my late mum who had alzheimers, with my husband, and with me, the other actually apologised to me, but the nurses are superb (whatever level they are) and if something is outside their level of competence they refer you to someone who has that.

However, getting appointments has become more problematic in recent years. But all in all I feel they are doing their best.