Speaking to doctors and health professsionals

PterionPterion

textbook said:

Floss said:

Personally I think your post suggests a lack of respect for anyone medical whatever country they practice in.

Surgeons are highly qualified & experienced and would be (in my eyes) quite within their rights to take offence at your comments.

As an NHS employee in an acute trust, my suggestion would be to start with your GP and politely request a referral to whichever private provider you prefer. However, remember that the majority will also work in the NHS where your care would be free & possibly better if there are any complications requiring emergency intervention.

If I seemed hostile to ALL that's not what meant- some excellent, some good and some less good and if I came across as targeting all as negative that's wasn't my intention.  Mixed bag.  Excellent doctors are like Gods.

On the NHS, you can't request a particular doctor though can you?   Also, what do you mean complications which require medical intervention?

We all take our health seriously but when an Italian Orthopaedic doctor (this is recent) said ALL doctors in the large Birmingham hospital he worked at (now left) are quacks and gave me a list of examples, you get concerned. When another of my local customers of mine had a knee operation which made it worse than prior to the op and has been on crutches for last ten years you get concerned and want a name; doctor just tried to ignore him as well.

  And finally my other friend had a vasectomy which went wrong- he has been on Naproxen for last three years and lost his testicle a year after the op.     

It sounds to me this 'Italian doctor' who thinks all the doctors in the large bham hospital he worked at were poor, may be the problem himself. Sounds like a bitter man who likely ran into some issues himself and is discrediting others. I worked across 2 trusts in that region for many years. There are excellent doctors and the consultants provide teaching to two medical schools which puts their work under even more scrutiny. 
Furthermore in that area there are more than 50% south Asian doctors and it was not uncommon for other staff to malign them based on their accent over competency. 

Moving on,  your point regarding the knowledge of receptionists and auxiliary staff and their opinions of doctors is another poor notion. From experience, they usually consider the friendlier doctors as 'better' when in reality, communication and clinical skills are not dependent on one another especially in the case of surgeons. 

It seems you are set on searching for the negatives rather than making a realistic plan of action for yourself. 
If one GP has declined an x ray referral then ask the GP to arrange a second opinion and if they refuse, see one privately. 

If you are not keen on NHS services, which unfortunately can be variable then try private consultation in the UK or abroad. 

Ibrahim5

Yes I remember being told that if a man tells you that he has been married 10 times because all the women he married were rubbish then that is unlikely. It is more probable that the problem lies with the man.

elsien

Are you planning to get help via the NHS or privately?
If it’s the NHS you don’t get to choose your consultant.  

Either way, I suggest thinking about how to phrase your requests because you don’t have the easiest style to follow. 

I find it slightly odd that you reference a quack abroad who messed up your hip, but then go in to malign doctors here and praise the systems abroad. Slightly mixed messages there. 

theoretica

textbook said:

   A GP basically said an X-Ray was pointless but physios (private ones) all strongly advised it , specifically MRI, anyway,  

If you are attempting to manage your own health care, it really helps to call things by the correct name - an X-ray is one thing, and MRI something different.

Ibrahim5

One of the most shocking things that people don't seem to realise is that 50% of doctors are worse than average. Who would want to see one of those?

Floss

textbook said:

Floss said:

.... However, remember that the majority will also work in the NHS where your care would be free & possibly better if there are any complications requiring emergency intervention.

...   Also, what do you mean complications which require medical intervention?

If you develop complications during or after a procedure in a private hospital then you will most likely be transferred to the nearest NHS ICU. 

And why should moving around be a sign of a good consultant? Several of the country's most respected clinicians work at my hospital, some of whom have been there for 10-20+ years. Would you say they aren't good purely because they haven't got a long list of employers?

Grumpy_chap

I'm finding this quite hard to keep track.


The OP has their hip adjusted abroad and has had ongoing hip problems, so blames the Dr abroad (whether correctly or otherwise).
The OP seems to think all Drs in the NHS are rubbish, yet Drs in USA, Italy, Turkey are all most excellent (and affordable in Turkey)
The OP would seem best to get treatment from a Dr in USA, Italy or Turkey, but definitely not anywhere that is abroad, and definitely not with a Dr that speaks English just in case that Dr ever worked in the NHS and had all their skill and competency surgically removed.

I understand it is possible to request a specific Consultant in the NHS - certainly when I have needed treatment some options have always been available and discussed with GP as part of the referral process.

textbook

Don't think all doctors are rubbish in Britain or great abroad.  That's a generalisation, mainly the issue of secrecy, protectionism etc, lack of openness and lack of exposure to the incompetents are my major concerns.  Of course there are good ones too.  Let's not get emotional and, let's work with what we've got and that includes the culture and be positive, how do I do that with physios, doctors etc?. (you said getting angry won't help situation so I want to be polite and assertive), so this is the situation- 

My hip was adjusted by a quack abroad (years ago) they generally only train for two weeks, there are no certifications for chiropractors (if that's what he was) and they work outside their medical system so shouldnt even be associated with doctors.   He noticed my leg was shorter on one side (common) so decided to adjust my hip and make it the same as the other one- so foot matched the longer one.   A few days later a girl sat on me and her weight moved that hip as it wsa adjusted.  For the last few years (20)this has caused me pain and money trying to resolve it.  I find it very hard to stay calm when explaining this to medics and just angry.  Their then protection of this guy in a far off land who really was a quack (but they don't know this obvious fact)  and consequently intimidating feelings if I get angry and their arrogance furthers my anger.   How do I talk to these people ?  Docs, chiropractors, physios (far easier with physios tbh)  How do I stay calm?    If they say something which appears wrong to me, how do I react?   Any help with my social skills in this frustrating situation would be greatly appreciated?    I guess just stay calm, you can always get a 2nd opinion.   

By the way, the only person who helped me with this was an excellent osteopath who was British. I have hope. 

Undervalued

textbook said:

Don't think all doctors are rubbish in Britain or great abroad.  That's a generalisation, mainly the issue of secrecy, protectionism etc, lack of openness and lack of exposure to the incompetents are my major concerns.  Of course there are good ones too.  Let's not get emotional and, let's work with what we've got and that includes the culture and be positive, how do I do that with physios, doctors etc?. (you said getting angry won't help situation so I want to be polite and assertive), so this is the situation- 

My hip was adjusted by a quack abroad (years ago) they generally only train for two weeks, there are no certifications for chiropractors (if that's what he was) and they work outside their medical system so shouldnt even be associated with doctors.   He noticed my leg was shorter on one side (common) so decided to adjust my hip and make it the same as the other one- so foot matched the longer one.   A few days later a girl sat on me and her weight moved that hip as it wsa adjusted.  For the last few years (20)this has caused me pain and money trying to resolve it.  I find it very hard to stay calm when explaining this to medics and just angry.  Their then protection of this guy in a far off land who really was a quack (but they don't know this obvious fact)  and consequently intimidating feelings if I get angry and their arrogance furthers my anger.   How do I talk to these people ?  Docs, chiropractors, physios (far easier with physios tbh)  How do I stay calm?    If they say something which appears wrong to me, how do I react?   Any help with my social skills in this frustrating situation would be greatly appreciated?    I guess just stay calm, you can always get a 2nd opinion.   

By the way, the only person who helped me with this was an excellent osteopath who was British. I have hope. 

I don't think that is still true in the UK. At one time it was but I think you will find it changed 10 to 20 years ago.

Floss

OP, by assuming they are wrong & arrogant, you are not doing yourself any favours.

You've had some suggestions - to consult your GP again or to seek a private opinion. I'm not sure there is anything we can do to recalibrate your perception of the medical profession as a whole!