How to make sure you are properly treated/ examined by the GP?

Posted by Coloringadmin@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 18 comments

I had a weird lesion on my body and the receptionist didnt even send me to a doctor instead a nurse looked at it and just gave me antibiotics. I have a strange lump on my arm but I don’t see the point in getting it looked at by the GP as they’ll just pass it off as nothing to worry about. I would rather get checked for cancer and have tests etc but I think they just say everything’s okay to save money and time. I would be devastated if I ended up having a late and untreatable cancer diagnosis and it could have been prevented if better care was taken from early symptoms no matter how small they might be. So how can I stand ground and demand that things be taken seriously? P.S I am a bit of an introvert

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18 Comments

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CensorTheologiae@reddit

You need to make sure you're actually seen by a doctor first. You can't get a diagnosis from a nurse.

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Jaded_Leg_46@reddit

Take my word for it, advanced nurse practitioners have more knowledge and experience than Drs who have been qualified for less than 5 years. They will have had the extra training and will have seen more. The majority of skin cancers have specific characteristics and there maybe the odd one or two that don't look obvious and before they send people off to dermatology clinics or take samples they treat the lesions with antibiotics and antifungals first. Take a picture of the lesion and use tracing paper or baking paper and trace around the lesion, if changes or grows you have evidence of 'changes'. If the antibiotics don't work and they suggest antifungals try it with the proviso of booking an advanved appointment so you know you have a future appointment should the antifungals not work.

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cwtchyfemme@reddit

If you have some money you can spend on a private gp consultation or specialist consultant, then you can always rush it through that way. You can get back in to nhs treatment after, and a lot of them usually work nhs too, and can get you on their clinic lists.

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Upstairs-Guitar-2722@reddit

This could be a great advice should private clinics be less expensive. If a person is in the salary bracket where they can afford private care, they would not be asking reddit about what to do with the GP. Also, routing people to private should not be normalised as that will be the end of NHS. Going on the US route of healthcare is not a good prospect.

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cwtchyfemme@reddit

A lot of people don’t know they can have a one off private visit for under £200, some places under a 100. When you think you have cancer potentially then it’s worth it. I had no option but to do it and found my own cancer when my nhs gp had flagged me as potential cancer but couldn’t get me seen quickly. They were doing their best to flag my referral as urgent but there was too much backlog where I live. The doctor I saw was the local specialist expert and medical teacher for training people on the cancer I had, she got me back in to the nhs for a biopsy two days later and I was having surgery by a few weeks after that. I am not in the bracket of being able to afford private care, and I haven’t got insurance set up even though that doesn’t cost much per month. My diagnosis is enough to get me seen as a priority now. When someone thinks they have cancer and aren’t aware of other possible options telling them about them isn’t a bad thing, I certainly didn’t know I could do it until my own.

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Upstairs-Guitar-2722@reddit

I didn't know about this either. That's a great piece of information. Thanks for sharing.

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UKvomitbucket@reddit

Ask for a doctors appointment. A lot of the time you think you are seeing a doctor but will instead be seeing a nurse / PA / paramedic.

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sockeyejo@reddit

Every serious thing I've had has been caught by a nurse asking routine questions, follow up questions, and then connecting the dots. Not sure why we persist in this viewpoint that doctors diagnose and nurses do nothing more than empty bedpans.

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IansGotNothingLeft@reddit

Nurses are medical professionals. They wouldn't be doing their job if they weren't qualified. In my experience, nurse practitioners are way more helpful than GPs (but that will differ by area, obviously). GPs are also not in the business of fobbing people off to save time and money. Just make the doctor's appointment.

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peppermint_aero@reddit

I've been given advice so wrong on a basic level I knew it was inaccurate by a nurse. Not saying doctors don't also do that.

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TippyTurtley@reddit

Did the antibiotic prescription work? If that is the first thing they've tried then if it hasn't worked then you'll probably need to see a doctor. The Nurse will have been trained in such things and will escalate to a doctor if needed when they see you. Re the lump. I have seen a nurse practitioner for a lump and they did everything I believe a doctor would. They both follow the NICE guidelines.

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Superspark76@reddit

I know you feel you were fobbed off by being seen by a nurse instead of a doctor, you weren't. If anything the nurse was probably a better person to make a prognosis, most nurses have experience on the ground more so than your GP, doctors tend to have a detailed knowledge on smaller clumps of ailments, hence why we have so many specialists needed to make an accurate diagnosis. We are seeing nurse practitioners being utilised more in GP surgeries, these are higher qualified nurses who would be as knowledgeable (and often as qualified) as doctors with more clinical experience, IMO because they are called a nurse we undervalue them.

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Mr_Bumcrest@reddit

Whats wrong with seeing a nurse? They're still medically trained. Take the antibiotics, and if things don't improve, go back again.

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YuccaYucca@reddit

You’ll be seen by a nurse. Not Dave from the pub.

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Spiritual_Ground_778@reddit

If the antibiotics cured the lesion then why are you implying that you were not properly treated? They assessed your case and decided a prescribing nurse was the best person to see you. If the lesion did not get better, then surely you went back to your GP right? This is a completely different situation and you don't know whether the GP practice triage will get you seen by a nurse, a GP or at all yet. You're just making random assumptions. What about you actually contact them first and see their response? Or pay for private. In my experience they'll happily send you down a rabbit hole of exams, particularly if it's self paid.

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DameKumquat@reddit

Did the antibiotics not work on the lesion the nurse saw? If so, go back and say so. Pharmacists are often more expert in skin conditions so worth seeing first. But a nurse would have been perfectly competent to assess a skin condition. With your new lump, you're obviously worried that it's cancer, so tell them that. Hopefully the GP can explain why they think if it isn't (if they do), or refer you appropriately. But honestly, if a doc says this lump doesn't have any cancerous characteristics, will you believe them? Being introverted and gaining energy from alone time should be irrelevant - do you mean you get anxious a lot? That may be more worth discussing with a doctor - or nurse, as many of them can also deal with such things.

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SpecificStrawberry55@reddit

I find going in and asking for exactly what I want is the best way to get the support. Like on the econsult I’ll say I want blood tests for XYZ or I want a referral for X based on these things. It takes more work and research on your end but it has helped me more forward and be taken more seriously.

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