Doctor is leaving, worried

Gael23

I posted this on the Psoriasis thread but might get more of a general audience here.
I had a need to go to the Doctor this morning unrelated to any of my medical conditions but when I got there I discovered that my regular GP no longer works at the practice. I just couldn't believe it and I haven't quite gotten over the fright I got yet.
I know a Doctor is a Doctor and another one in the practice will take me over but this man was probably the best doctor I have ever been to and was a genuinely nice person, patient, understanding and listened to your concerns and worries you might have had.
I'm just not sure how I'm going to manage without him. I have a number of long term conditions which he managed and had me on treatment plans for. My main worry is that the other Doctors will interfere with the medication that he had me on. We tried things that might appear more suited to long term use but simply don't work for me and he understood that
Has anyone ever been through this before and how did you deal with it.

username123

ryanf1 wrote: »

Has anyone ever been through this before and how did you deal with it.

I really really liked my old doctor. She was very emphatic, very sympathetic, never rushed me etc...

However, I did not like how the practice was run and I ended up trying out a different local doctor after a particular incident where the receptionist was horribly rude and unhelpful to me on the phone.

To my surprise, not only was the new doctor equally nice, but she actually made a positive difference to my long term stuff, despite having no historical records - sure wasnt I able to tell her what had been tried.

Sometimes a fresh set of eyes is no harm. I have now attended a number of different doctors in the new practice and found them all to be really lovely and helpful and not remotely difficult in terms of me explaining the situation re my long term meds. There is simply no issue at all, and given its half the price of my previous place with a receptionist who doesnt act like she is guarding the gates of Valhalla - its overall a better experience!

So, I hope you have a similar positive experience.

Gael23

Cost is not a huge issue for me as I luckily have a Medical Card.
I moved to this particular practice for many of the reasons you say in your post. It was a large practice with far more patients than they could cope with. At the time I was recovering from surgery and things weren't going so well so i needed to be there regularly but appointments were like gold dust and when you did get one it would rarely be with the same person twice.
When I moved the practice was a female and this male doctor although it has since grown slightly. I found that he was this new pair of eyes I needed as being that bit younger was in touch with new methods etc. I have often thought to myself that I wish I had found him a few years before I did and now he's gone I just feel a little lost.
I know I need to give one of the other doctors a chance but I'm not convinced I'll ever find a match for him although I hope I will be one day proved wrong on that.

username123

I know it's a worrying time for you but try to stay positive. You had a god experience before, no reason you won't again.

Alternatively you could try to follow the doctor to to his new practice if that was possible?

Wyldwood

I had a similar experience a number of years ago. I had a great doctor for 30+ years who was so easy to talk to and never dismissed symptoms as nonsense then without warning she was gone, retired. A new younger set of doctors took over the practice and I bore with them rather than have the trouble of finding someone new until the female doctor in the practice left to get married.
At that point I decided to look elsewhere as there were issues with the Rottweiler receptionist who didn't pass messages and phone calls that weren't returned.
Reluctantly, I moved to another practice and I haven't looked back. New doctor is proactive and thorough, totally happy with her.

Gael23

username123 wrote: »

I know it's a worrying time for you but try to stay positive. You had a god experience before, no reason you won't again.

Alternatively you could try to follow the doctor to to his new practice if that was possible?

I've got a feeling he's not in the area anymore but I'm back again in a month so might try and find out then because I would move to stay with him if it was possible.
Not only was he a great doctor but he was a really nice person to deal with and I certainly would never have gotten as good as I am now without his help and advice.

username123

ryanf1 wrote: »

I've got a feeling he's not in the area anymore but I'm back again in a month so might try and find out then because I would move to stay with him if it was possible.
Not only was he a great doctor but he was a really nice person to deal with and I certainly would never have gotten as good as I am now without his help and advice.

Just ring and ask where he moved to.

I got a brilliant locum doc once and I tried to track her down as I would definitely have moved to stick with her but she wasn't in a practice, she worked covering other docs and moved about.

Ask around your friends, family and local pharmacist too. It was my local pharmacist who recommended the place I use now. The pharmacist knows who the nicest doctors are!

Gael23

Would they tell you where a doctor has moved to? After all they want you to stay with the practice don't they?
I've had a chance to think about it a bit more logically since last night and realise that i need to give the other doctors a chance even though I'm not convinced I'll ever find someone like him. My parents also correctly said to me that he has left me with a treatment plan that I'm on now so to an extent his job is done, which is true I suppose to a point.
I just got such a shock yesterday. I was with him 5 weeks ago and agreed my next planned follow up for April, he never said anything that it might not be with him.

username123

ryanf1 wrote: »

Would they tell you where a doctor has moved to?

I dont see why not. When I was with the original nice doctor I had she started working part time hours because she was also working in her own practice near her home. They were totally open about where she was when she wasnt in the usual practice.

Sure isnt it freely available information if you google it?

Yeah, I can imagine it was a big shock alright. He may not have known that he was going to be moving on last time you saw him, sometimes things change quickly or people have unexpected things come up in life.

Gael23

I got such a shock yesterday that I nearly felt sick and didnt have the mindset to ask those questions so when I go in there again next month I will try to find out if hes somewhere in the same area.

Gael23

I've heard since that he is taking some time out before relocating to Limerick.
I actually go to college there so was thinking I could try to find him but have no idea how to go about tracking him down

username123

ryanf1 wrote: »

I've heard since that he is taking some time out before relocating to Limerick.
I actually go to college there so was thinking I could try to find him but have no idea how to go about tracking him down

I just googled my current doctors name there and the practice she is in was the first result.

Gael23

For those of you have been through this before did you simply go to another GP in the practice or move on to somewhere else?

Wyldwood

I moved to a different practice as I wasn't happy to stay with the original practice for a variety of reasons but if you find a doctor in your current practice you feel confident with then maybe give them a try before moving.

The move to the new practice was quite seamless for me. Just went in and registered and they arranged the transfer of my records, I'm not a medical card holder so not sure if the same procedure applies.

Gael23

I don't think its quite so straightforward with a Medical Card but outside of Dublin I haven't ever heard of someone being turned away from a practice with one.
I'm not going to rush into anything for the moment though.

username123

Some practices will be "full", nothing to do with medical cards but just closed to new patients.

Some may not take medical card patients.

Gael23

I have never heard that happen much with the exception of places in Dublin though. Some single handed GPs may have their books closed but in bigger practices outside Dublin I haven't seen it happen.
I'm going to hold tight for a while anyway and see what happens. Where I am now is really handy for me so want to try and stay and ,as someone said, I might get on fine with someone else or a new doctor might start

Gael23

Seems its not an easy thing to do alright.
Is it as simple as if a list is full, thats it? I'm going to stay where I am for the time being but if things don't work out I would like to think I can move to a Doctor that I am happy with, not simply one that has space for me.

username123

When I moved doctor I tried to move to one who was recommended by a number of friends but when I phoned up to move his (rather rottweiler like) secretary insisted on knowing why I wanted to move doctor, when i pointed out that it was my own business why I wanted to move doctor she told me I would have to be interviewed before they would accept me as a patient. I politely told her where to go. An interview? To see if THEY would accept MY money for services? I dont think so.

After being alerted to such odd behaviour I then phoned round some other practices ready to say Id moved house so needed a new GP and some were simply closed to new patients (nothing to do with medical card).

Eventually I made an appointment at the place Im with now and all they asked for were my personal details, they have never asked me why I moved.

I would suggest that a place that is full or where the secretary doesnt come across well is a place to avoid anyway, you dont need a place where its so busy youre waiting days to see a doc nor do you need a place where the secretary makes making an appointment a stressful experience.

Gael23

username123 wrote: »

I would suggest that a place that is full or where the secretary doesnt come across well is a place to avoid anyway, you dont need a place where its so busy youre waiting days to see a doc nor do you need a place where the secretary makes making an appointment a stressful experience.

There is this too. I was in this articular practice before and it got increasingly difficult to get an appointment at all, let alone with the same Dcotor twice. At the time I was recovering form Surgery so as soon as I was over that I left to this doctor that I was recommended, and he exceeded that recommendation many times over. Also, when i'm not well I need to be seen within a day or two max andd I have not been doing so good the last while, going in every 2 weeks at the minutte
Now that they have taken on more doctors I thought things may have changed but im told they have reached theuir quota of Medical Card Parients. Yet if you flash a €50 note at them they will see you no problem.

Gael23

Since I last posted things have escalated quite a bit, in a bad way.
I thought about my situation for a few days and decided I was prepared to give things a try with the other Doctor in the practice for a few months and see how things went.
Just a few days later I got a phone call to say that the other Doctor was also leaving and that the practice was closing down! This turned out to be absolutely true, and the Doctor wasn't moving to his new practice until The Tuesday after Easter, which is a 2 week gap. Needless to say I spent a few days virtually breathing fire I was so angry.
It also seems that I am not allowed to change from this Temporary GP for 3 months, which when you have a list of medical problems as long as mine is a problem.

Gael23

Well I have been able to switch to a new doctor but I'm still finding it difficult.
I find myself comparing him to my last Doctor and he's just not the same, but then I don't think anyone will ever be.
Someone said a while back that it can be good to have a new pair of eyes, and he was that person to me. I have had my condition for quite a few years and just last year he changed my medicines which has led to dramatic improvements and he had supported me all the way through and dealt with spthe bumps along the road.
I know that to a doctor a patient is a patient but we just had a really good relationship built over time as well as being a great doctor, he was someone that I trusted. For that reason I can't help but feel a little annoyed that I didn't know about him leaving.