Recently this caught up with me and I urgently needed to seek some advice and solace for an on-going medical problem that I have had issues with for the last 12 to 18 months...
Below is a letter that I have sent to the Australian Medical Association - WA branch regarding a recent visit I had and the terrible service I received while there... Names & locations have been withheld to protect the privacy of those involved (excepting myself obviously)
To whom it may concern,
I'm not sure where else to pass on this feedback (complaint) but hoping you can help me (or direct me to someone who can).
Recently I visited the closest GP to me at (practice name withheld) and felt that the doctor I saw was not professional in his conduct (I have withheld his name in-case this isn't directed at the correct person/department)
Firstly (and I understand this is beyond his control) I had an appointment and was made to wait a full hour before he could even see him, there was no apology for the wait either by him or his staff. I was enquiring about how long I should have to wait when my name was called and he then walked off to sort something else out and then finally directing me to his office/room.
After starting to explain the reason for my visit (i.e. my symptoms & history) he received and took a phone call, interrupting me mid-sentence, once I was allowed to complete my explanation he did examine the affected area, but did so in a rude and rushed manner.
After the examination he explained I would need to see a specialist and gave me a print out of one to see and also gave me a medical note covering my absence from work that day, one thing I felt was missing was any treatment or suggestions to help with the immediate pain and bleeding that was occurring, during this explanation the consultation was interrupted again with one of the nursing staff knocking opening the door and then handing the doctor some patient test results.
In all the entire process took less than 5 minutes and I even have receipt even backing this up.
It is event's such as the above which has made me lose faith in the medical industry in WA and why I generally avoid going to the doctor unless I very urgently need to. I honestly felt like I was being handled like a fast-food customer with the idea being of "get them in and out as fast as humanly possible".
Again I'm not sure if this is a reflection on the particular practice or the doctor in question but it's certainly damaged my faith in an industry that is meant to be there to assist people with their problems.
I'm not sure if the AMA will respond to my letter, but it's little wonder that people dislike going to the doctor so much these days...
The sad thing is I wouldn't have minded the wait, the interruptions or even his semi-rude manner if he had even offered me some sort of palliative care :(
