Can my Doctor do this to me ... ?

Clark2014

I just a letter today from my GP asking that I be formally "transferred" to another GP clinic within 2 weeks. The letter did not even say why she wants me to move to another clinic.

I have gone to this clinic since I was child. But in the last 2 years I developed a very rare medical condition which this clinic does not recognise. There is another doctor 30 miles away from me that does recognise my condition but to due distance and being in bad health it is very difficult for me to get out to him.

My GP thinks I'm some sort of hypercondriac and now wants me "transferred" to another clinic. The problem is there is no other GP clinic in my area that is in walking distance.

Due to the condition I have I suffer from chronic fatigue which makes it very difficult for me to travel. The GP I'm with at the moment is only 5 minutes walk away from my house. But my GP wants me to register with another doctor which is atleast 30 mintues away from me.

My question is has my family GP got the power to kick me out of her clinic without my consent and without giving me a reason ? and if so have I any legal comeback if my health gets worse due to the stress she is putting me under by leaving me without a GP ?

Also could the reason shes wants my out of the clinic is because I'm a medical card patient ? I have gone to this clinic 3 times this year and my last visit only lasted 5 minutes so I dont think I'm costing them that much money.

RobFowl

Your GP is entitled to ask you to find another GP. If you cannot the HSE will allocate you one locally or as close as possible.
They don't have to give a reason but are advised to.

Sulla Felix

If your current GP doesn't even believe you have the condition and are instead a hypercondriac, I'm at a loss as to why you'd want to continue to be treated (what treatment? she's hardly treating you for something she doesn't believe you have!) by that clinic in the first place.

Clark2014

Sulla Felix wrote: »

If your current GP doesn't even believe you have the condition and are instead a hypercondriac, I'm at a loss as to why you'd want to continue to be treated (what treatment? she's hardly treating you for something she doesn't believe you have!) by that clinic in the first place.

I go there because its the only GP clinic within walking distance to me.

While they dont recognise the condition I have, I still have to get standard blood tests there a few times a year.

Clark2014

RobFowl wrote: »

Your GP is entitled to ask you to find another GP. If you cannot the HSE will allocate you one locally or as close as possible.
They don't have to give a reason but are advised to.

Does this mean if I can't find a GP within two weeks I will left with out one if it hasnt been sorted out by then ?

By kicking me out of the clinic this so called "doctor" is making my life hell becuase I'm simply not able to travel at the moment due my condition and her GP clinic is the only one in my area.

RobFowl

Clark2014 wrote: »

Does this mean if I can't find a GP within two weeks I will left with out one if it hasnt been sorted out by then ?
.

If you can't find one the HSE will for you.
Your present GP will cease to be your doctor though when the notice period has lapsed.

Clark2014

Anyone know if a Solicitors letter could stop my GP from kicking me out of the clinic ?

She knows I have high blood pressure by putting me under this kind of stress she is directly having a negative effect on my health and leaving her self open to legal action.

Clark2014

RobFowl wrote: »

If you can't find one the HSE will for you.

Yes but I think the HSE will take weeks at the minimum to sort that out. Mean while I'm left without a doctor.

Gael23

Yes she can.
This happened to me in March of this year, I posted about it here at the time.
There's absolutely nothing you can do unfortunately, and if you have a medical card like me the situation gets a whole lot messier. I have to stay with the GP which I was transferred to, not a GP of my choice, for 3 months and only then can I move to a doctor of my choosing.
For a while when it happened to me I was not happy to attend the locum GP I had been assigned and until the mess was sorted I did see another GP and I signed an STC form but you can only do this a few times. My situation was a little more complicated than yours but that's how it works.

If you don't have a medical card then you just move wherever you want.

Clark2014

ryanf1 wrote: »

Yes she can.
This happened to me in March of this year, I posted about it here at the time.
There's absolutely nothing you can do unfortunately, and if you have a medical card like me the situation gets a whole lot messier. I have to stay with the GP which I was transferred to, not a GP of my choice, for 3 months and only then can I move to a doctor of my choosing.
For a while when it happened to me I was not happy to attend the locum GP I had been assigned and until the mess was sorted I did see another GP and I signed an STC form but you can only do this a few times. My situation was a little more complicated than yours but that's how it works.

If you don't have a medical card then you just move wherever you want.

Hi ryan can you post a link for that thread your talking about.

Also have you tried to make an official complaint to Irish Medical Council ?

I find it very strange that the clinic I have been going to for the best part of 20 years can suddenly turn me away with out even giving me a reason.

It seems to me all these doctors care about is money I doubt I would be treated the same way if I was private patient.

Anyway before the deadline runs out I'm going to go into the clinic while I still can and raise hell.

RobFowl

Clark2014 wrote: »

Hi ryan can you post a link for that thread your talking about.

Also have you tried to make an official complaint to Irish Medical Council ?

I find it very strange that the clinic I have been going to for the best part of 20 years can suddenly turn me away with out even giving me a reason.

It seems to me all these doctors care about is money I doubt I would be treated the same way if I was private patient.

Anyway before the deadline runs out I'm going to go into the clinic while I still can and raise hell.

To be fair you've made it very clear you don't have faith in them and they obviously don't accept the diagnosis you have.
Its very clear the Dr/Patient relationship has broken down completely and I'm mystified why you want to keep going there.

Gael23

RobFowl wrote: »

To be fair you've made it very clear you don't have faith in them and they obviously don't accept the diagnosis you have.
Its very clear the Dr/Patient relationship has broken down completely and I'm mystified why you want to keep going there.

Agree with this fully, once trust with a Doctor is broken the relationship ends. As I said, my situation was a little different but in the few weeks it took me to find out the full story with what was going on, I didn't want to set foot in there.
As it happened one of the GPS there works in the temporary practice and we get on ok now.

Will PM you link and some details, don't want to say too much on the public forum.

Clark2014

RobFowl wrote: »

To be fair you've made it very clear you don't have faith in them and they obviously don't accept the diagnosis you have.
Its very clear the Dr/Patient relationship has broken down completely and I'm mystified why you want to keep going there.

Its my family doctor that I have been going to since 1996, its also the only GP clinic that is near where I live.
I have other health issues apart from the condition they dont recognise such as high blood pressure and B12 deficiency.

With B12 deficiency I need to get regular blood tests just for that alone. If I have to travel to get blood tests I simply wont be able to get them as regularly as I need them.

The Dr/Patient relationship has not even broken down. Because out of nowhere without any warning the doctor in question just sent me a letter out of the blue saying she was going to have me "transferred" to another clinic.

After almost 20 years going to the same clinic I feel this is an appalling way to treat a patient.

I feel so strongly about this I would seriously consider protesting outside the clinic even though I'm not in the best health. This atleast would let the other patients know what sort of "doctor" is running the clinic.

Gael23

I was with my GP for 4 years but we got on really well and he helped me a lot with my skin condition. He left the practice without any warning at all, literally when I went to make an appointment one day I was told he doesn't work here any more. A few weeks later I got that letter you describe that we were being transferred. I can tell you never felt so angry about something and I hope I never again do because it made me unwell d my skin problem went totally out of control.
I found out afterwards why the events unfolded and know now it was down to an unfortunate sequence of events, and my GP left for entirely personal reasons but 4 months on it still annoys me that I wasn't told something.

I did everything short of protesting but whatever you do will get yo absolutely nowhere, I objected as it said you can do on the letter, stating that due to my condition I need continuity with a doctor and to be messed around at the mercy of the HSE but it got me nowhere.

Wasn't going to get into that here but theres no harm in it I suppose. Will still send you that link

Mrs OBumble

OP, for all you know the GP running your current clinic may be closing the business down.

If you need to go to the doctor that often, and a 30 minute walk is a problem, then you need to either:

1) Find a new house that is closer to another doctor's office, or
2) Find some other way of getting there


Some options for 2) include ask a friend for a lift, ask VdP or some other community group if they can find someone to give you a lift, figure out how to get there on the bus.

Gael23

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

OP, for all you know the GP running your current clinic may be closing the business down.

If you need to go to the doctor that often, and a 30 minute walk is a problem, then you need to either:

1) Find a new house that is closer to another doctor's office, or
2) Find some other way of getting there


Some options for 2) include ask a friend for a lift, ask VdP or some other community group if they can find someone to give you a lift, figure out how to get there on the bus.

Agree with a lot of this. Having been there it's a horrible situation especially when it's someone you really trust.
With my medical issues, I want a doctor that I like and trust, and not always who is closest, to me that's secondary.

RobFowl

sleepyheadh wrote: »

It's pretty important in this situation to understand what the condition is.. how can anyone form an opinion if they don't know what condition the OP has. The way I would lean in favour for the GP totally depends on the condition.

I just think that it's pretty weird that the GP "doesn't recognise" a condition. If it is a serious condition that the OP makes out it is, how does a GP not recognise it?

Whether it's important or not it's not going to be discussed here as it's in breach of the forum charter to do so.

digzy

<mod snip>

Mod note
Discussing OP medical condition is not allowed as per forum charter

RobFowl

sleepyheadh wrote: »

I really can't see why the OP can't name the condition they have, so long as no one offers any medical advice.

Because if he/she names it, the it will lead to a discussion about how valid it is etc.
That's is against the forum charter and I'm simply not going to allow it.

Mrs OBumble

Well I can't see how the non-recognised condition is at all relevant.

The OP clearly has other conditions that are what is causing them to need to go to the doctor, and one that is causing them to have some disagreements with the doctor.

But the latter cannot be very important, because the OP does not want to go somewhere that will give him/her treatment for it. Instead, the OP wants to go to a local doctor who is treating his/her existing conditions, but does not want to continue doing so, for whatever reasons.

We've established that doctors are free to kick patients out of their practise at any time - provided they give appropriate notice, and that (for medical card patients) the HSE will help patients to find another doctor who will take them on.

Clark2014

sleepyheadh wrote: »

I really can't see why the OP can't name the condition they have, so long as no one offers any medical advice.

There are only about a hand full of people in Ireland that have the condition I have. If I was to say what the condition was it could identify me.


Let me just say that there has been atleast 5 known suicides linked to the condition, so it is extremely serious.

It is estimated that there is thousands of people world wide who are suffering with this conidition.

The problem is most doctors have never even "heard of it" and will not even take the time to investigate it, even though there are a small number of studies that show the conidtion is indeed real.


I dont think doctors care about rare illnesses simply because there is no money in it for them. My doc coundn't even be bothered to read the study I gave her.

Gael23

I don't see how the condition is of any relevance at all.
I post in HS a bit and have never said what my condition is, although if you look at my posts in the LTI forum you'll find out what it is

RobFowl

Any more badgering the OP for personal medical information will result in an immediate ban

RobFowl

sleepyheadh wrote: »

no badgering going on at all!

and would you mind answering the issues I brought up in my last post to you please.

You are!
Asking the OP to pm you details of their private medical history is unacceptable and I've not going to get into a debate with you on this.
Neither is it acceptable to ask them to detail it on thread especially after mod instructions.

Also as on all forums on boards querying mod actions in thread is not allowed as per forum charter.

Gael23

You said it maggie!

I actually have said on this thread that its a skin condition but thats as far as i'll take it, not that I have ever made a secret of it but its not relevant here.

ShaShaBear

Long story short, yes. They don't have to treat you if they don't want to. They've said as much, so that's the end of it really. All protesting is going to do is alert your new GP that you're trouble and they might decide they don't want to deal with you either.

RobFowl

Closing this to let people cop on!

RobFowl

Reopened after deleting off topic and back seat moderation posts.
Stay on topic and read mod instructions.

Gael23

I said this earlier but it got lost in all the madness.
When you have ongoing medical issues, it means a lot as a patient to have build up a strong relationship with your GP and for your GP to know you well and all about your condition. It's a relationship that takes time to build and you grow to trust that Doctor a lot. RobFowl as a GP you'll know where I'm coming from.

In the OP's case, which was me 4 months ago,when that relationship is broken it does upset things quite a bit. For me it meant having to wade through 23 years of all my medical problems, operations, etc and my medication which is the biggest one seen as it's recently been changed and so it's still a little trial and error with dosage and so on. As of now I'm on my 3rd GP since February and I'm not sure that's the end of it yet, depends on who gets the GMS list.

d9oiu2wk07blr5

They don't have to treat you, but I am 99.9% certain that GP's who hold the GMS contract are also subject to Freedom of Information, which means that you do have the right to ask the GP for a statement of reasons under the Act. I'd check it out with the FOI Commissioner just to be doubly sure though. I'd also tell the GP that you want all your records photocopied and because they're the one's asking you to leave, I wouldn't pay a dime to cover the photocopying costs. OP you're better off investing some time in finding a new GP who will 100% work with you in meeting all your medical needs.

Gongoozler

OP your doctor cannot do this, there is a responsibility of care on your doctor even with transfer. It is in the guidelines that your doctor must make arrangements for someone to take over your care in the event that he cannot anymore. Though it's not clear that he isn't arranging for this.

Gael23

Gongoozler wrote: »

OP your doctor cannot do this, there is a responsibility of care on your doctor even with transfer. It is in the guidelines that your doctor must make arrangements for someone to take over your care in the event that he cannot anymore. Though it's not clear that he isn't arranging for this.

They have to arrange for you to be transferred to another Doctor, but you have little say in the matter. At the beginning I wasn't given reasons I was satisfied with as to why this was happening and wasn't happy yo attend the place where I was transferred until I did find out, which thankfully only took a few weeks.
Now thats sorted and Ive begin to build things up with my new GP, I still have no choice but to attend that practice because of how the GMS system works.

Xeyn

Clark2014 wrote: »

I dont think doctors care about rare illnesses simply because there is no money in it for them. My doc coundn't even be bothered to read the study I gave her.

Could you explain how you think any GP makes money from not recognising any condition or for only treating common pathologies?
If anything that is a counter intuitive statement.

Rarer diseases receive less funding generally for research but that has nothing to do monetisation of the disease by local GP's.

Clark2014

Xeyn wrote: »

Could you explain how you think any GP makes money from not recognising any condition or for only treating common pathologies?

Because its a huge amount of work for them for very little return. I think I'm the only person in my clinic that has the conidtion I have.

sleepyheadh

Clark2014 wrote: »

Because its a huge amount of work for them for very little return. I think I'm the only person in my clinic that has the conidtion I have.

Ridiculous statement, again no evidence to back up any of these claims against gp's

Gael23

sleepyheadh wrote: »

Ridiculous statement, again no evidence to back up any of these claims against gp's

What a ridiculous statement to make. What the OP is saying is correct. Ive got a fairly complex medical history and one of my problems is also quite rare so for that reason there isn't too much known about it. I know that the surgeon that saved my life saw 2 cases of it in his career, me and one other patient that died soon afterwards.

sleepyheadh

ryanf1 wrote: »

What a ridiculous statement to make. What the OP is saying is correct. Ive got a fairly complex medical history and one of my problems is also quite rare so for that reason there isn't too much known about it. I know that the surgeon that saved my life saw 2 cases of it in his career, me and one other patient that died soon afterwards.

You didn't understand what I said. Of course there are rarer cases than others. And of course it is to be expected that conditions that are more rare will be harder to treat.

But you really just proved my point for me. The surgeon that treated your condition even though he had only seen two cases in his career. He treated you!

The OP is saying that the GP will not treat the condition because it is rare and there is no money in treating it. If your surgeon had done what the OP is saying all Doctors do, you would not have been treated, simple.

You have just proven your argument and the argument of the OP completely mute, so please read what I actually say not what you think I said.

Xeyn

Clark2014 wrote: »

Because its a huge amount of work for them for very little return. I think I'm the only person in my clinic that has the conidtion I have.

How does a GP make money from any other pathology? Why is one condition just because it's supposedly harder to treat less cost effective? GP's do not have stakes in pharmaceutical companies or other therapeutic modalities so seeing you is how he makes money. Sending patients away is how he loses money. I still don't understand how this decision he or she took is in any way related to monetary value.

sleepyheadh

Xeyn wrote: »

How does a GP make money from any other pathology? Why is one condition just because it's supposedly harder to treat less cost effective? GP's do not have stakes in pharmaceutical companies or other therapeutic modalities so seeing you is how he makes money. Sending patients away is how he loses money. I still don't understand how this decision he or she took is in any way related to monetary value.

Excellent Point, However, I am afraid it could fall on deaf ears. The OP and a small group seem to think GPs are money grabbing trolls that don't care about anything or anyone except the bottom line.

RobFowl

sleepyheadh wrote: »

Ridiculous statement, again no evidence to back up any of these claims against gp's

Would agree with you on this.

Clark2014

Xeyn wrote: »

How does a GP make money from any other pathology? Why is one condition just because it's supposedly harder to treat less cost effective? GP's do not have stakes in pharmaceutical companies or other therapeutic modalities so seeing you is how he makes money. Sending patients away is how he loses money. I still don't understand how this decision he or she took is in any way related to monetary value.

I'm a medical card patient so I am actually costing the clinic money the more I go and see them.

As I said I think I would have been treated differently if I was paying them money for every visit.

After almost 20 years going to this clinic for most of my life I was suddenly told that I was being "transferred" without any warning.

I don't think this is anyway to treat a long term patient.

gctest50

Originally Posted by Clark2014 View Post

I dont think doctors care about rare illnesses simply because there is no money in it for them. My doc coundn't even be bothered to read the study I gave her.

Do you have a link to the study ?

Gael23

But you really just proved my point for me. The surgeon that treated your condition even though he had only seen two cases in his career. He treated you!
[/QUOTE]

He treated me to try and save my life, and despite giving a 50% chance of success, he did it. That particular time was life or death so even though he was in no way confident of doing that surgery, he did.

Clark2014 wrote: »

I'm a medical card patient so I am actually costing the clinic money the more I go and see them.

As I said I think I would have been treated differently if I was paying them money for every visit.

After almost 20 years going to this clinic for most of my life I was suddenly told that I was being "transferred" without any warning.

I don't think this is anyway to treat a long term patient.

I never experienced that with my GP as a medical card patient, but if you do that would be an issue to be taken up with the medical council.

RobFowl

gctest50 wrote: »

Do you have a link to the study ?

Let's not go there.....

Please stop asking OP for diagnosis !!!!

GarIT

Clark2014 wrote: »

As I said I think I would have been treated differently if I was paying them money for every visit.

I don't think this is anyway to treat a long term patient.

You are definitely right, I am aware that there are some rouge doctors in this country that will diagnose any condition if you pay them enough. So yes you could pay for a diagnosis, but that doesn't mean it's correct.

I have a common medical condition, I require blood tests every 6 weeks so that my meds can be adjusted, the doctor I go to doesn't do injections so they have to get a nurse in to do it, sometimes it's just me that they have to do it for, although they do try to arrange a group together, my doctor has never tried to get rid of me, even though I must be costing them.

It might not be the way to treat a good patient, but some patients cause a lot of trouble and try to "raise hell", those patients most likely do deserve to be asked to leave. If somebody who wasn't qualified questioned my ability to program or told me to read about what I do, I'd tell them to f off.

<mod cut, trolling>

RobFowl

I think the OP's original question has been answered and this thread is going in a direction that can't end well so I'm going to close it.