Thread: Making a formal complaint against a GP

Hi all

As some of you know there are a lot of fuckwit GP's out there i've had more of my fair share of them. Today i had one that was abusive, discriminatory, rude, withed information and lied to me. I won't go on about it but after this i know i really did have enough so i decided to find out how to make a formal complaint against any medical professional.

If you visit medical centers often it's more than likey your gonna meet your fair share of unprofessional and very unhelpful doctors, why because no one complains about them so the problem goes unnoticed and they get away with all kinds of things. Most people don't complain because they simply cbf or don't know how.

So here's how to do it:
http://www.abc.net.au/health/consume...20/1837237.htm

it's really easy just go to your states health ombudsmen here's the links and numbers, and/or file an online complaint.
Health Ombudsmen

VICTORIA
Office of the Health Services Commissioner Freecall™ 1800 136 066
NEW SOUTH WALES
Health Care Complaints Commission Freecall™ 1800 043 159 (within NSW)
QUEENSLAND
Health Rights Commission Freecall™ 1800 077 308 (within Queensland excluding Brisbane)Brisbane 07 3234 0272)
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The SA Ombudsman Tollfree 1800 182 150
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Office of Health Review Freecall™ 1800 813 583 (within WA)
TASMANIA
Health Complaints Commissioner Tollfree™ 1800 001 170 (within Tasmania)
ACT
ACT Community and Health Services Complaints Commissioner Telephone (02) 6205 2222
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Commissioner for Health & Community Services Complaints Freecall™ 1800 806 380

you might think yea ombudsmen what they gonna do well the company that i work for gets raped by the TIO (telecommunications industry ombudsmen) everyday. When some lodges a compliant with them we get royal fucked and loose alot of money so if the health care complaints commission is anything like the telecommunications ombudsmen then then yea it will make GP's pull their thumbs out of their asses.

im glad someone is stepping up mate

I agree the ombudsman will act. I had a client complain to the financial ombudsman service about us, we were proven right but it ended up costing us over $7K after paying for all costs. The person who complains get charged nothing. S if you want to f*ck him in costs alone it will be worth it. Just make sure you have all the facts documented.

Danm wtf happened??

Thanks MICHAEL.... someone needs to hold some of these buffoons accountable.

And you're right: medical centre doctors are in general, the worst.

Stick up em, I say.

Cheers

Originally Posted by mrt

Danm wtf happened??

what to me?

what do you guys reckon worth a sticky??

I don't mind if one of the mod's change it around and post it up them selves in a new thread i just want the information to get out there, if someone told me about how to do it a long time ago i would of complained and maybe even litigated against one GP who cause me a fair bit of harm from his negligence to this day I've got a problem on one of my feet cause of a GP.

Once the information is out there and more people take action against dimwit GP's, you will see many GP's pull their head in and our medical centers brought up to a new standard. IMO anyway

The mistake you made was to think bulk billed medical centres would be of help. Thats mistake 101.

You need to approach PRIVATE PHYSICIANS. Ones with their own practice. And don't ask for anything silly on your first visit, get to know them first, visit a few times for random reasons and show your not a drug seeking addict.

People also have to realise that medical science isn't perfect; people are under the wrong impression that a good doctor can diagnose the root cause of every symptom you have. This is incorrect; Sometimes people are asymptomatic for a medical problem they have; or symptomatic for something they don't. Being a doctor is about trying to discover the cause of a symptom.

Another thing you have to imagine; if 999/1000 people have symptom xyz, and the doctor tells you to wait 1 week and do nothing; don't get pissed off that he/she should have done something on day one; because heuristics has tought them otherwise.

I guess i'm just sick of all the doctor bashing by people who have nfi what being a doctor is. If you're so bloody top shit, go become a doctor yourself. I'm not commenting on you Adz, or your specific situation; just in general.

If people are so sick of doctors; go study medicine... you'll be the best doctor ever. surely.

Plexus your only sick of dr bashing becausae one of your family members is a doctor and you clearly haven't receved the same poor treatment as most have.

Withholding information and lieing to paitent is fucked up no matter how you try to put it there a soo many doctors out there that should not be practicing.

Also medcal center doctors don't give proper diagnosises because they don't even check the patient properly they try to get them out of there office asap, with a scirpt for anything really. If they took some pride in their work more than half the shit that goes wrong with them wouldn'd happen.

I know what happened here , this guy went in for a prostate exam and when the doc stuck his finger in he said oooh yeahhh,,,our guy here freaks out resulting in this thread

What a vacuous statement michael.

I've had poor service from doctors before; but i'm lucky to have a better perspective knowing a few doctors and having a few in the family. I also have a great GP.... I'm usually the one standing up waiting to go while they're talking in depth about my medical situation; and only get charged for a short session even when i take up a long session.

In fact, when i went to my doctor last; she insisted that i call in on Tuesday to let her know how it's going; and to book an appointment if I wasn't better on thursday; and she said she'd bulk bill me. That's service!

Not all doctors are interested in turnover and $$. Go to a nice suburb or the CBD, stop looking for doctors in boganVille for free; and pay for someone who is worth it.

Look guy's Michael is the one that has had the problem, its great that the rest of you have been getting good service etc but clearly he hasn't so there is no need to be putting the guy down, he has clearly reached a point where enough is enough and now he is doing something about it, this has been happening to him for quite some time now and he has had enough, he has even asked me if he could visit my local GP so he certainly has been willing to travel to get good treatment, enough of the slandering he is doing what he is doing now.

Plexus I never once said every singlr GP is interested in a turnover I've made it quite clear that there are alot out there that are and even if it was only one it wouldn't be aceptable.

Your argument saying if you want proper treatment pay for it is bogus because, I mean don't get me wrong i completely agree that if you want a decent service you have to pay for it with your own cash. My whole point is

IT IS NOT RIGHT!!! MORALY, ETHICALY, OR LEGALY...

If that's the way this county works then would should not have medicare or medical centers if we should just be like the USA where if you ain't loaded then you get no medical attention at all, if your poor then you don't deserve it. This is what your promting with your agument.

You have just renforced my arugment that you recive a great medical service with you fluffy story about your GP and blah blah. Well that's great for you but for the rest of us who don't it's a problem. Just cause your living in fairly land where everything works for you! dosen't mean there are people out there living in hell.

It's like your a person living in a rich subburb with no crime in sydney so when someone rants about getting robbed all the time you say i'm sick of hearing these bogus stories of people getting robbed cause i don't see it.

Also fwiw i've always lived around the CBD or eastern subburbs not boganville but your right i don't pay to go see private doctors because i've been a student and the way i see it i shouldn't have to if there is a system there for people who can't afford to.

we know its not right, but looking for help in free medical centres... its not going to happen.

You need to find a nice, private GP. They will bend over backwards for you...

I'm sorry your learning the hard way, but if you take this advice, you will not look back!

i've been to docs i've paid for that have been useless, i had gonhorrea as a 17yo, it was fucking excrutiating when it got more developed, i was homeless and had fuck all money, so i paid for this **** who fucked me around for weeks before he would give me the pills i demanded which fixed it, homeless 17yo correctly self diagnosed an illness he had never seen or experienced before, when a doctor couldn't help him regardless of money wtf.
the free ***** are shit for the most part, how many people get sent out of there with fucking valium to fix their dramas, fucking making drug addicts out of housewives.
a mate broke his femur in a drunken car crash, he couldn't work as a result and had to take a doc's certificate to centrelink, the docs would only give him a 1 or 2 week certificate regardless of the fact he is a tradesman and he wasn't allowed to walk for 9 months. when he said to the doc his life is fucked and he's smoking too much weed etc the doc says 'you've got depression have 3 months off' 3 month certificate in hand. wtf.
i hate going there myself, my close friend is a doc and she tells me the other side of the desk stories about how we treat them at times and some people are a lil out of line at times as can be imagined.

Originally Posted by C_T

we know its not right, but looking for help in free medical centres... its not going to happen.

You need to find a nice, private GP. They will bend over backwards for you...

I'm sorry your learning the hard way, but if you take this advice, you will not look back!

yes but then on the other hand i never pay and always get what i want when i want it, even the shit they shouldn't be prescribing me.
take for instace HGH that i once got, the question was what do you want this for my answer was to build muscle, and that doc was in no way dodgy just an understanding kinda guy, and then when i did have a serious problem sickness etc they would still bend over backwards and do all they can for me all covered by medicare.
and all the blood tests i get done all covered by medicare even when they say 1-2 times per year is all that is needed for blood tests 5 times per year for a 25yr old is ridiculous but still medicare pays for it.

I went to a doctor who didnt know what a protien shake was,,,i shit u not!!!

I went to a doctor who didn't know what creatine was. He then asked if I was on steroids and suggested I drop the creatine and just do it naturally

I've been seeing doctors for the last 50 years. I have seen great ones, ok ones, and downright shit ones.

Going to a private GP does not guarantee better service, better diagnosis, better knowledge. My original GP (seen for 30 or so years), a man I respect, completely mis-diagnosed my illness and it was nearly fatal.

I have seen doctors at medical centres who've been excellent, others need to be exported.

That aside:

There are some fundamental problems with doctors:

1. They practice curative medicine, that is, it's about treating symptoms, usually with drugs.
2. They are woeful at preventative medicine, because it's not focussed on at medical school, and it requires the doctors to take a COMPLETE history.
3. GPs, by definition, are "general" practitioners, and their knowledge across many areas is rudimentary at best.
4. Medical Centres are desigined to process as many patients as possible to maximise returns based on medicare rebates. That should not excuse them from delivering a reasonable service.
5. Most doctors are reluctant to admit that their patients may know as much as they do on certain topics. eg I had to explain to one GP what the treatment was for Haemocromstosis, the illness I have, despite the fact it's the most common genetic blood disorder in Australia.

The medical profession, like any other sector in Australian society, has its best and its worst. The point of this thread, unless I'm mistaken, is to give people access to resources to make a complaint if they feel their doctor has in some way failed them. That, imo, is a good thing.

If nothing is said/done, then nothing changes.

Laz.