"I feel very stressed in this situation"

I am in my 60s, chronically sick with ME and a wheelchair user. 10 years ago I had an advanced bowel cancer which resulted in a colostomy and recently I have been diagnosed with a second bowel cancer. I am also awaiting an appointment regarding a possible skin cancer and have a number of health issues. I have been with the GP practice for 20 years and rarely see the doctors and see the nurse - every 8 weeks for a B12 injection.

I am not comfortable with the proposed surgical treatment for this second bowel cancer and I am currently seeking a second opinion.

I visited the practice recently to get a B12 injection. The nurse I saw disagreed that I should be seeking a second opinion. I felt bullied and that they browbeat me. I asked the nurse to leave it as it was clear we were in disagreement, but they ignored me and carried on. I feel that they talked down to me and was unpleasant. I was extremely upset at being treated like this.

I decided to write this nurse a measured private note to express that I did not find their behaviour acceptable or appropriate, and being more respectful of patients would be a better policy. I kept the note private rather than make a formal complaint because I didn’t want to embarrass them.

Next I received a note from a doctor at the Practice to say that they were taking the liberty of asking the health board to reassign me. In other words, they were de-registering me.

The GMC, BMA and GMS contract say that a patient should be given a 12-month warning and efforts should be made to investigate and resolve any situation. It is also clear that a patient cannot be de-registered because they make a complaint.

I feel that they made no attempt to ascertain the facts or resolve the situation. They didn’t communicate with me at all about how I could ensure continuity of care. I find this to be very negligent considering my situation. There has been no consideration given to the added stress they have caused me and my husband.

I wrote back to say this was unfair and an overreaction. I never received a reply. I finally managed to get to see the doctor and practice manager after they gave me the runaround for several days. I recorded this meeting even though the doctor objected.

The doctor said to me that I was abusive, threatening and vindictive. They said that they were being fair because they could have called the police and the best thing I could do would be to register with another doctor and forget it.

I feel I received this as an attempt to try and frighten me and intimidate me, and the doctor was also insulting and derogatory to me. They gave me no clear explanation of how I was abusive, threatening and vindictive, even though I asked several times for them to explain that to me, and they discounted the way the nurse had behaved toward me. I found the doctor  dismissive of me and they didn’t answer my questions.

I think that it is possible that they realised they made a mistake in acting so peremptorily and they realised that the only reason you can de-register a patient in this way is because they are violent and threatening. So they have actually tried to claim that I am threatening and at the same time attempting to intimidate me into not making a complaint.

I feel very stressed in this situation which in my opinion is entirely unnecessary. I believe that this practice is in breach of their duty of care. I objected, in a reasonable way, to a nurse being bullying toward me and then being threatened with the police being called. The doctor was clearly trying to intimidate me and I do not believe that this is a responsible way for these people (care professionals) to behave and that they have been blatantly unfair.