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How to make a complaint

RayofHope
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Back in 2014 before my cancer was diagnosed I went to my GP.  She looked at the abnormality on my forehead and said "You need to keep an eye on that. Come back if it bleeds or crusts over."  I went away feeling confused.  A few weeks later I couldn't stop worrying about it so I went back and saw a locum GP who sent me urgently to hospital.  The dermatologist said she couldn't tell what it was by looking at it and booked me in for an urgent biopsy.  "Luckily" the results came back as a BCC which is slow growing and rarely fatal. However I was told that it could have been a melanoma which is why the test was done urgently.

I no longer trust my GP.  I mentioned what had happened to a senior partner in the practice last year. I was told they would discuss it in their team meeting but no one ever got back to me.  If my cancer had been a melanoma she could have killed me.  As it is I have had to have major surgery to remove all of the tumour. The wound went right down to my skull and three months on still isn't healed.  Throughout all of this the tumour never bled or crusted over.  The wait could have been very dangerous.

Can I still make a complaint officially? She is still listed as my GP although I never see her but if I need a phone call they get her to phone me.  I have no trust in her at all.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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    Hi there Ray of Hope, welcome to the forum. I was sorry to read of your experience with your doctor. I know that doctors are human and certainly make their share of mistakes. I also think that most of them are overworked with more responsibility than most people. Having said that, when they make a mistake, they need to be made aware of it so they learn from it, rather than have it destroy them. I really believe that most doctors are dedicated to their patients and certainly want to take good care of them. Here in Canada, we have the College of Physicians and Surgeons that governs the medical profession. This is where we would lodge a complaint against a doctor and hopefully they would follow up with the complaint. They don't give a lot of feedback information to the complainant, but they do acknowledge receipt of your written complaint. I did lodge a complant about a doctor once and when I found another doctor, I mentioned my concern to her and also told her that I registered a complaint. It just happened that another patient of hers also had a bad experience with this particular doctor and my new doctor incouraged her to also register a complaint. I found out later that the College did take steps to correct that situation and said doctor had to take refresher education on the procedure that got him into trouble. He was forbidden to do the procedure until he successfully completed the refresher.

    I hope this helps you with your decision. Your complaint should be in writing and presented in a respectful manner.

    Let us know what you decide and how it works out for you.

    Take care.

    Lorraine

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    Hi RayofHope

    Welcome back to the forum!. Sorry I upset you with my last reply and I hope you read my apology to you on your thread. We have more in common than you could imagine. I too had concern about a lesion, I was fobbed off by my GP twice and told it was not skin cancer despite it growing at an alarming rate. However I had the luck to see a locum who sent me for a biopsy. It was SCC cancer and because it was left so long I now have a 3inch hole in my head and like your down to the skull. Worse because it was undiagnosed for so long it metastasized into my neck and throat and saliva glands causing me even more grief.

    I thought about making a complaint at the time but was really too tired and ill to go through with it. I made some enquiries recently and was told that complaints really need to be made as soon as possible and certainly within one year however they could make allowances if if it was still possible to investigate the complaint. There is more info at NHS choices website and here at Citizens Advice.

    www.citizensadvice.org.uk/.../

    Hope this is of some help and hoping your surgery eventually heals. Kim

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