GP changed medication that he shouldn't have. Serious repercussions.

Poppie68

A GP is allowed to increase or decrease and even stop medication prescribed by specialists with or without their authority.
What they shouldn't do is change the dose or medication without discussing it with the patient....
To get to the bottom of all this your father or mother need to book an appointment to see the Practice Manager but from what you have described its not negligence but maybe a few crossed wires or lack of communication.
For future reference generic and non generic brands can different in dosage but for all intents and purposes be exactly the same...(does that sentence even make sense).

Fake_Northerner

Yes that sentence makes sense and if they had changed the medication from generic to a non-generic one but the ingredients were still the same then we wouldn't be in this predicament though.. I don't think so anyway.

Surely it shouldn't be allowed (though it is) to change dosage prescribed by a specialist. They could at least consult each other first. A quick email to them saying 'I'm thinking of changing patients dosage. What do you think?' Could have happened.

I'll get my dad to set up a meeting or to talk to the practice manager on Monday and see what they say then.

Undervalued

Fake_Northerner wrote: »

Surely it shouldn't be allowed (though it is) to change dosage prescribed by a specialist.

Sorry but that is far too simplistic!

Circumstances and conditions can change, sometime very rapidly.

People can develop an intolerance to something that has been fine for a long while.

They might have been prescribed something for a different condition, perhaps more serious or urgent, that would conflict with an existing medication or dose level.

etc etc etc........

Also, a fully qualified GP is a specialist (in general practice), a member of the relevant Royal College not some sort of inferior being! A very significant part of their training is in mental health issues as it makes up a big part of their case load.

j.e.j.

Fake_Northerner wrote: »

Having to make a correction. Spoke to my dad who told me that the GP didn't change the medication (as originally thought as it was different packaging) but actually lowered the dosage of it! Which again.. He's not the right person to be deciding that.

Ah I see.. that's slightly different. Most peculiar to do that without talking to the patient though. Did your mum not notice that the dosage was different or that the box looked different to usual?

I would get your mum to write to the practice manager in the first instance, explain what has happened as a result of the wrong dosage of meds being given, and see what their response is. If it is unsatisfactory I think you can take it further.

Fake_Northerner

Undervalued wrote: »

Sorry but that is far too simplistic!

Circumstances and conditions can change, sometime very rapidly.

People can develop an intolerance to something that has been fine for a long while.

They might have been prescribed something for a different condition, perhaps more serious or urgent, that would conflict with an existing medication or dose level.

etc etc etc........

Also, a fully qualified GP is a specialist (in general practice), a member of the relevant Royal College not some sort of inferior being! A very significant part of their training is in mental health issues as it makes up a big part of their case load.

I'm referring to this case when it comes to changing dosage which was prescribed by a specialist. Not including every single case that a GP has to deal with My mum spent approx 2 years seeing a specialist whilst they were trialling different medication and dosages to see which one was best suited for her. This is why I don't understand why a GP just lowered it when all this effort went into getting it right before.

I'm not talking about them as an inferior being at all. I understand the amount of time, years, effort and knowledge when it comes to being a GP. But they're not going to know the ins and outs in all mental health cases which is why you do have specialists, especially forms of psychosis.

Fake_Northerner

j.e.j. wrote: »

Ah I see.. that's slightly different. Most peculiar to do that without talking to the patient though. Did your mum not notice that the dosage was different or that the box looked different to usual?

I would get your mum to write to the practice manager in the first instance, explain what has happened as a result of the wrong dosage of meds being given, and see what their response is. If it is unsatisfactory I think you can take it further.

My mum saw the box was different but just assumed it was just different packaging. She's pretty simple minded and cant read very well so even if it was a compete different medication, what with how complicated the names of most medication is, she wouldn't have noticed.

Mrs_Ryan

I know with my anti depressant medication my GP is not allowed to do anything to it as it can only be prescribed/altered by a consultant. My medication was altered a few weeks back but I had to call my consultant and he did it, my GP said she was not allowed.
This has happened to us before. The GP stopped my partner's anti-psychotics without checking with his consultant and he tried to overdose. He now has a note on his records that the GP is not to alter his medication except on the direct instructions of his psychiatrist.
I suggest making a formal complaint to the Practice Manager and then taking it further if not satisfied.

sinizterguy

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

I know with my anti depressant medication my GP is not allowed to do anything to it as it can only be prescribed/altered by a consultant. My medication was altered a few weeks back but I had to call my consultant and he did it, my GP said she was not allowed.

Some medications are not normally altered by GPs. Some are.

Stating what happened in your case in an anecdote. No relationship to what happened in the OPs case.

Mrs_Ryan

I was actually meaning to say this could be very relevant if it happened to be a medication the GP wasn't supposed to alter.

Poppie68

Fake_Northerner wrote: »

My mum saw the box was different but just assumed it was just different packaging. She's pretty simple minded and cant read very well so even if it was a compete different medication, what with how complicated the names of most medication is, she wouldn't have noticed.

I really hate saying this but if your mum is'simple minded' is there a possibility the GP had mentioned it but your mum didn't understand while telling the GP shedid verbally or nodding?
Maybe she would be willing to allow the surgery to put a flag on her notes for either yourself or your dad to be informed of any medication change..

It could be a good idea especially if her meds are changed to generic brands as some patients do get confused with what they see as a dosage change when in fact the dose is the same it's just the amount of tablets can change for certain drugs...Off hand I remember Zocor is Simvastatin...10mg of Zocor is equivalent to 20 mg of Simvastatin..so therefore patients who previously took 1 tablet now have to take 2.

I hope your mum is feeling better.....